A Papal hat trick?
There seems to be intense speculation on who the next Pope of Rome will be, with bookies taking bets, and comments on Facebook and other social media sites.
But whoever he turns out to be, I suggest that there is only one possible choice for his name — Theodore II.
His Beatitude Theodoros II, Greek Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa
That would make a papal hat trick, since we already have two popes with that name:
His Beatitude Theodoros II of Alexandria, is the current Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa. He was elected following the untimely death of Patriarch Petros VII in September 2004.
In the wake of the death of Patriarch Petros and other senior bishops in a helicopter crash in the Aegean Sea, Theodore was unanimously elected on October 9, 2004 by the Synod of the Alexandrian Throne as Patriarch. The enthronement ceremony took place at the Cathedral of Annunciation in Alexandria, on Sunday, October 24, 2004, in the presence of distinguished religious and civilian representatives and a great number of faithful (Wikipedia).
Pope Theodoros II (in Arabic: البابا تواضروس الثاني) is the 118th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark since he took office on November 18, 2012, a fortnight after being selected. in succession to his predecessor Shenouda III.
Pope Theodoros II was born Waǧīh Ṣubḥī Bāqī Sulaymān (وجيه صبحى باقى سليمان) on 4 November 1952 in the city of Mansoura in Egypt.[2] He studied at the University of Alexandria, where he received a degree in pharmacy in 1975.[5] After a few years of managing a state-owned pharmaceutical factory, he joined the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi Natrun to study theology for two years. He was ordained priest in 1989 (Wikipedia).
There, I think I’ve even beaten The Onion Dome in making this suggestion for ecumenical rapprochement.
