Pope Tawadros II (born Wajih Subhi Baqi Sulayman; 4 November 1952) is the 118th and current Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, succeeding the late Pope Shenouda III as leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. He took office on 18 November 2012 (Coptic calendar: 9 Hathor 1729), two weeks after being selected.
A papal name or pontifical name is the regnal name taken by a pope. Both the head of the Catholic Church, usually known as the pope, and the pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria (Coptic pope) choose papal names. As of 2025, Leo XIV is the Catholic pope, and Tawadros II or Theodoros II is the Coptic pope. This article discusses and lists the names of Catholic popes; another article has a list of Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria.
While popes in the early centuries retained their birth names after their accession to the papacy, later popes began to adopt a new name upon their accession. This began in the sixth century and became customary in the tenth century. Since 1555, every pope has taken a papal name.
The pope (Coptic: Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ, romanized: Papa; Arabic: البابا, romanized: al-Bābā, lit. 'father'), officially the pope of Alexandria and the patriarch of the see of St. Mark, also known as the bishop of Alexandria, or the patriarch of Alexandria, is the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, with ancient Christian roots in Egypt. The primacy of the Patriarch of Alexandria is rooted in his role as successor to Saint Mark, who was consecrated by Saint Peter, as affirmed by the Council of Nicaea. It is one of three Petrine Sees affirmed by the council alongside the Patriarch of Antioch and the Pope of Rome. The current holder of this position is Pope Tawadros II, who was selected as the 118th pope on November 18, 2012.
Following the traditions of the church, the Pope is chairman and head of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. The Holy Synod is the highest authority in the Church of Alexandria, which has between 12 and 18 million members worldwide, 10 to 14 million of whom are in Egypt. The pope is also the chairman of the church's General Congregation Council.
The following is a list of all of the Coptic Orthodox popes who have led the Coptic Orthodox Church and have succeeded the Apostle Mark the Evangelist in the office of Bishop of Alexandria, who founded the Church in the 1st century, and marked the beginning of Christianity in Africa.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches (not to be confused with the Byzantine Orthodox group of churches) and is presided over by the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria who is the body's spiritual leader. This position is held since 2012 by Pope Tawadros II, the 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the Holy See of St. Mark.
Adly Mahmoud Mansour (Arabic: عدلى محمود منصور, romanized: ʻAdlī Maḥmūd Manṣūr, pronounced [ˈʕædli mæħˈmuːd mɑnˈsˤuːɾ]; born 23 December 1945) is an Egyptian judge and politician who served as the president (or chief justice) of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt. He also served as interim president of Egypt from 4 July 2013 to 8 June 2014 following the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état by the military which deposed President Mohamed Morsi. Several secular and religious figures, such as the Grand Imam of al-Azhar (Ahmed el-Tayeb), the Coptic Pope (Tawadros II), and Mohamed ElBaradei supported the coup against President Morsi and the military appointed Mansour interim-president until an election could take place. Morsi refused to acknowledge his removal as valid and continued to maintain that only he could be considered the legitimate President of Egypt. Mansour was sworn into office in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court on 4 July 2013.