What are the roots of the divisions within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church?

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Christian denominations in the world, with roots dating back to the first century AD. It is the largest religious body in Ethiopia and is believed to have more than 40 million adherents in the country. It is part of the family of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and is distinguished by its uniquely African traditions that include the use of incense, chanting, processions, veneration of saints, and its strong commitment to monasticism. She was closely associated with the Ethiopian royal family and played a major role in the country’s history and culture.

The Ethiopian Church traces the beginnings of the entry of the Christian religion into the country to the first century AD, as the Bible tells in the Acts of the Apostles, chapter eight, the story of the evangelization and baptism of one of the senior officials in the Kingdom of Abyssinia at the hands of Deacon Phillips. It adopts the word monotheism in its official name, to denote its belief in the one nature of Christ.

It was associated with the ancient kingdom of Aksum, which is believed to have been founded by the legendary King Menelik I in the fourth century BC, a kingdom that became an important center for Christianity in the region, and it is believed that it was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion.

The church was founded by King Azana in the fourth century AD, who converted from paganism to Christianity at the hands of the famous monk Fromentius, who later became the first bishop of Ethiopia, and is now known as St. Anba Salama.

It was also associated with the Ethiopian Empire, which was founded in the thirteenth century AD and which was an effective political and military force, and it played an important role in the spread of Christianity throughout the region.

Since then, this church has been the cornerstone of Christianity in Ethiopia and its influence is still evident today, from its monasteries to its spiritual practices. in Ethiopia today.

It is estimated that besides the 40 million members of this church within Ethiopia, there are about 35 million members worldwide. The church also operates a variety of schools, hospitals, and other institutions to support its members.

Three months after the end of a two-year Ethiopian civil war that displaced millions, the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia is facing a schism as three bishops announce the formation of a separate church, which has already appointed more than 20 new bishops.

The dissident bishops, who are from the Oromia region that surrounds Addis Ababa and is the most populous region in the country, have accused the church leadership of discrimination and a lack of diversity.

For a long time, they say, the Orthodox Church has been dominated by other ethnic groups. Amharic, for example, is the language spoken in the church, and the patriarch, its influential leader, is of Tigrayan descent.

The dissident clergy accuse the church of maintaining a system of linguistic and cultural domination in which prayers are not held in Oromia in its original languages, and the church denies this accusation.

The bishops, who were excommunicated after the establishment of a separate synod, indicated that they had a great deal of support in Oromia.

“We took this step to save the church’s followers who are led by clerics who do not understand their language,” said Anba Sawirus, one of the dissident bishops.

The separatist church seeks to have the bishops it appointed replace those currently appointed in the Oromia region and parts of southern Ethiopia.

But in a blow to the dissidents, the court issued an injunction banning them and the clergy they recently appointed from entering churches affiliated with the Orthodox Church.

The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Anba Matthias, has expressed concern and denounced the secession, calling it illegal. Other bishops have described the schism as “a plot to divide the faithful on the basis of race”.

These repercussions may also have a political dimension. Patriarch Anba Matthias had previously expressed his concerns about the suffering of the civilian population during the conflict in Tigray.

Some analysts say the patriarch, Anba Matthias, has not been on good terms with the authorities since he spoke publicly about the war in Tigray, saying a genocide was being committed there.

The supreme leadership, or synod, of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has threatened to call nationwide rallies led by its patriarch, Anba Matthias.

The church criticized Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s recent statements regarding rogue clerics involved in appointing bishops without her knowledge.

Abiy Ahmed had said in televised statements, after the synod expelled the dissident clergy, that both sides were “right.”

He also warned his cabinet members not to get involved in church affairs. “Currently, we are witnessing the promotion of racism and religious and ethnic intolerance,” he said. He also criticized social media, noting that it had created a division in Ethiopia “according to region, religion and ethnicity.”

For its part, the Synod responded to Abiy Ahmed’s statements, saying that the prime minister’s statements ignore the decisions of the Synod, challenge his authority, and recognize an “illegal and power-hungry” group. He added that some of Abiy’s statements were “misleading”.

The synod’s statement came amid accusations by church followers of the authorities of supporting dissident clerics. The church also accuses the government of harassing and arresting senior figures. Church leaders have vowed to continue speaking out even if they have to “give their lives”.

Relations between Abiy Ahmed’s administration and the church, which includes nearly half of Ethiopia’s 110 million people, were positive in the early days of his tenure.

However, members of this church have reported in recent years that they are being targeted.

Relations became particularly tense during the height of the Tigray war after Bishop Matthias spoke out against what he described as genocide in the region.

The authorities in Ethiopia imposed restrictions on social media ahead of the start of marches called by the church.

The recent events are the final chapter in a long history of divisions in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

In the fourth century, Christianity became the official religion of the Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum in the days of King Ezzana, thanks to the missionary efforts of Fromentius of Syriac origin. Fromentius had gone to Alexandria, sent by the King of Ethiopia, to meet Patriarch Athanasius, bringing to him the king’s request to install a bishop for the kingdom. Athanasius accepted the king’s request and ordained Fromentius himself as the first bishop of Ethiopia. From that time until 1959, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria was called the Archbishop of the Church. ethiopian.

On July 13, 1948, the Coptic and Ethiopian churches reached an agreement that paved the way for the separation and independence of the Ethiopian church, as the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria in that year ordained five bishops for this church and authorized them to elect a new patriarch for them who would later have the authority to ordain new bishops for his church. This agreement was completed when the Coptic Patriarch, Pope Yusab II, appointed Basilios as Archbishop of the Ethiopian Church, who is of Ethiopian origin, on January 14, 1951, and then in 1959, the Patriarch of the Coptic Church, Pope Kyrillos VI, crowned Basilios as the first patriarch of the Church. Orthodox Ethiopia.

With the fall of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, the church in Ethiopia was separated from the state, and the new government of Ethiopia – Marxist – began nationalizing lands, including church lands.

In 1991, with the fall of the regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam and the arrival of the ruling coalition, the “Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian Peoples” to power, Patriarch Merkorios was dismissed because of what he considered at the time “unjustified political interference in the affairs of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.” The church elected Paul as its new patriarch.

Anba Merkorios left the country and announced from his exile in the United States that his removal was under duress, and accordingly he is still the legitimate patriarch of Ethiopia, and a number of bishops followed him and formed outside Ethiopia a holy complex for them that was recognized by several Ethiopian churches in North America and Europe, which considered Mercurius to be the legitimate patriarch. , While the other Holy Synod inside Ethiopia continued to acknowledge the legitimacy of Patriarch Paulus.

After Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1991, the Eritrean Orthodox Monotheistic Church separated from the Ethiopian Church, and thus had its own holy complex.

On July 25, 2018, delegates from the Patriarchate in Addis Ababa, and those in the United States, announced the reunification of the Tewahedo Church with the help of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

In August of 2018, Bishop Merkorios returned to the country, after 27 years spent in exile in the United States of America, as part of the delegation of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, who concluded an unofficial 6-day visit to the United States.

Mercurius’ return came after a historic reconciliation led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, between the two Ethiopian Orthodox churches, in both Ethiopia and the United States, which culminated in an agreement that restored the Anba’s position as head of the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia.

According to the agreement reached in Washington, the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Anba Matthias, will become an administrative patriarch, while Anba Mercurius will occupy the position of spiritual patriarch of the church. In March 2022, Bishop Mercurius passed away.