[quote="Sam_777, post:3, topic:304048"]
:thumbsup:
Tell me friend in Christ, is that random selection part of the Coptic Church teaching? and which other Christian sect does the same in choosing their Bishop?
[/quote]
Sam,
It is not just the child that is involved. I could not open the original link however discovered this...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_of_the_Coptic_Orthodox_Church_of_Alexandria
This controversy ultimately led to the development of a new set of bylaws in 1957. These state that a candidate for election to the Apostolic Throne of Alexandria must be a man of at least 40 years of age. He must be a monk with at least 15 years of monastic service, but he may be of any ecclesiastical rank: monk, Hieromonk (Monk Priest or Monk Archpriest), Abbot, or bishop, in that Coptic bishops are always drawn from the ranks of monks.
A potential candidate who meets the requirements of the bylaws must be endorsed by six bishops or twelve of the 24 members of the General Lay Council of the Church, a church governing body composed primarily of laypeople elected by the congregation to five year terms. A Nominations Committee is then formed by nine bishops appointed by the Holy Synod and nine laypersons elected by the General Community Council. The Nominations Committee, chaired by the locum tenens patriarch, narrows the field of candidates to a group of five or seven. Each diocese then contributes twelve electors to an Electoral College; their numbers are augmented by the members of The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the General Community Council, Coptic Orthodox political leaders and journalists and envoys of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The voting of the Electoral College results in a ranking of the remaining five or seven candidates, and the three highest-ranked candidates advance to the final stage of the selection process.
The election culminates in a drawing of lots. The name of each of the final three candidates is written on a separate piece of paper and the three pieces of paper are then placed in a box on the altar of St. Mark Cathedral in Cairo during a Sunday eucharistic liturgy.
This is not just a child selecting a name. It does make you wonder if we were to do something similar, nominating 5 people for President of the United States that qualify and then have a child of 5 draw a name at a banquet. Could we be any worse off than with what we have? Think of the money that would save.
