Vacant Dioceses
Vacant Dioceses
By the will of God, His Holiness the Pope will travel to Upper Egypt at the beginning of Great Lent. He will visit Aswan and El-Balyana to personally ascertain the opinion of the people in each diocese regarding the new bishop.
Written recommendations alone are not sufficient to rely upon. Signatures may sometimes be unreliable; some may sign without full knowledge, under pressure, due to misguided or malicious influence, out of courtesy, embarrassment, or fear.
Likewise, those who travel from a town to Cairo to give recommendations may not represent the entire people, nor may they be officially authorized to express a particular opinion. There may also be a strong opposing opinion within the town that does not reach the Papal Residence.
For these reasons, His Holiness deemed it best to go to the people himself and listen to all segments: the priests, servants, members of associations and community councils, as well as all groups and individuals.
The outcome of these visits and meetings is a natural agreement between the shepherd and the flock regarding the nature of the diocese and the selection of the new bishop—often by the consensus of all.
The people are the primary and ultimate stakeholders in choosing their bishop.
The tradition established by His Holiness—visiting vacant dioceses to agree on the selection of their bishops—is a practice of profound benefit and rich pastoral meaning. It reflects respect for the opinion of the people, personal pastoral visitation, giving everyone the opportunity to express their views, and not relying merely on hearsay. It also allows for studying the vacant diocese and understanding its circumstances and needs.
The Church’s previous experience in selecting new bishops through this method has been successful, implementing Church canons fully—both in spirit and in letter.
The bishops of the vacant dioceses will be ordained in two groups.
In the first group, the Church will celebrate the ordination of two bishops: the Bishop of Aswan and the Bishop of El-Balyana.
As for the remaining dioceses, they will wait until the new geographical distribution is finalized.
The new Bishop of El-Balyana will not have the Abu Tesht district under his jurisdiction, as it will be annexed to the Diocese of Nag Hammadi.
