A few months ago, an Egyptian Human Right Organization known as “Front of the Million†started a campaign for the nomination of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III for the Nobel Peace Prize. The idea is great, and here at Voice of the Copts, we join our friends in Egypt, in carrying with them the great honor of nominating Pope Shenouda III for this Prize. We ask our peace-loving friends all over the world, to support the nomination of His Holiness, who is a distinguished and prominent religious leader, a profound theologian, a gifted preacher, a talented author, a spiritual father, a man of God and of peace his entire life. Herewith, please find a short Curriculum Vita of His Holiness: – His Holiness was born Nazeer Gayed on August 3, 1923, to a pious Christian family in Egypt. – After graduation from the University of Cairo, in 1947, H.H. completed his military service and began work as a teacher of English and History. Meanwhile, he completed his Bachelor of Theology and was appointed as lecturer in the Old and New Testaments, at the Coptic Theological seminary. – On July 18, 1954, H. H. chose the solitude of the Egyptian desert and the angelic life of monasticism and joined “El-Suryan” Monastery. He became a hermit and lived in a cave that he had carved out himself for a period of six years. – On September 30, 1962, he was called by the late Pope Cyril VI to be consecrated as Bishop of Christian Education and President of the Coptic Orthodox Theological Seminary. He was known as His Grace BishopShenouda. Through his leadership of the seminary, the number of students tripled. – On November 14, 1971, His Grace Bishop Shenouda was consecrated as His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. – A prolific author, His Holiness has authored over 100 books in Arabic, English, French, Spanish, and German. – During his era the Coptic Church was attacked several times, but he always called for peace and love for the attackers. – His voice was always loud and clear calling for peace and justice for everyone. – He is known for his commitment to Christian unity and has, since the 1970s, advocated inter-denominational Christian dialogue. – His Holiness ordained more than seventy bishops, established general bishoprics, including the first Bishopric of Youth, more than four hundred priests, and countless deacons for Cairo, Alexandra and the Churches abroad. This extended the pastoral care to every city, village and family all over the See of St. Mark. – His Holiness is blessed with a unique ability to speak to the multitudes; he still delivers weekly addresses at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, defending the faith in this overwhelmingly Muslim society, promoting love and peace. – In the year 2000, His Holiness was awarded the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence by UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura on the recommendation of an international jury. – In August 2007, Pope Shenouda III received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the University of Lawrence in Michigan, USA, for his efforts in spreading the values of peace, human love and tolerance in the world. This is the eighth Honorary Doctorate which His Holiness has received in his life. The Letter from the Institute declares that Pope Shenouda is a “man of peace who works in his utmost efforts to maintain more understanding between the Middle Eastern people, regardless their religions or nationalities”. The letter continues by saying that His Holiness “shows us the way of reconciliation in that region which is torn apart by wars”. We kindly ask you, if you believe that Pope Shenouda III deserves this Peace Prize, to write to the Norwegian Nobel Institute before January 25th, 2009, quoting the following: I agree to the nomination of Pope Shenouda III for the Nobel Peace Prize Please include the following: Name: E-mail: Title: You may use one of the following: By E-Mail to: nobelpeaceprize.org@nobel.no OR by letter to: The Norwegian Nobel Institute Henrik Ibsens gate 510255 OSLO OR By mail to: The Norwegian Nobel Institute Fax: (+47) 22 12 93 10.