The legitimate Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church in exile lead by his Holiness Abune Merkorios, Patriarch of The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewhahedo Church, successfully completed the Holy Synod’s 24th session in Columbus, OHIO on November 10, 2007. It was the first conference held in the new Ethiopian Millennium. Read the full statement. Click here.
5 thoughts on “The EOTC Holy Synod held its 24th session”
አባቶች ሆይ፦
“ዘይሴኒ አስተደሀርከ” (የሚሻለውን ወይን አዘገየኸየው) ነው ነገሩ። አሁንም “እመሰ አማን ጽድቀ ትነቡ” (ከልባችሁ ከሆነ) ነውና እስቲ እናያለን።
well done our holly fathers. let tagayi gebermedhin dances with beyouce. shame on him
Politics as usual
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church Holy Synod held in Ohio on November 10, 2007 under His Holiness Abune Merkorios, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, had extensively preached politics instead of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
In most of its sessions, one could not find any substantial or relevant discussions about the spread of the word of God to the world, particularly to the Ethiopians in Diasporas or at home. One concerned about the world of God may ask why the Holy Synod did spend much time discussing about the Ethiopian, Sudan, and Kenyan politics instead of finding some ways and means to train young Ethiopian theologians who can spread the word of God to those who have never heard of it. I am not saying that the Holy Father should tolerate what the Sudan, the Kenyan, and the Ethiopian governments did to some Ethiopians.
The second question one may ask is why did His Holiness Abune Merkorios leave Ethiopia and try to conduct a holy synod in Ohio in stead of Ethiopia? Did he leave Ethiopia because the Ethiopian government had made every thing impossible for him to preach the word of God to the Ethiopian people? Did he leave according to the word of God in Matthew 10:23 that clearly states: “When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another”? Or did he leave Ethiopia simply because his patriarchate was given to another person, in this case to Abune Paulos – perhaps a better person than him? As I am still trying to understand, I think, he left Ethiopia to protect his supremacy; we know, in politics, kings, presidents, and generals leave their offices voluntarily or by force – in case of Haile Selassie by force, and in case of George Washington by his own will to be a good example for his successors. Therefore, why not ecclesiastical affairs should not be treated the same way secular businesses are conducted?
With all my respect to Abune Merkorios, he had done a bad judgment by abandoning his spiritual children at home and coming to America to live comfortably or poorly. For sure had he stayed in Ethiopia abdicating his holy office for the sake of the Gospel and the unity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, he could have avoided the division of this ancient Church that we witness today. Now as in the time of St. Paul, some Ethiopians are saying that they belong to Abune Merkorios, and other Ethiopians are saying that they belong to Abune Paulos, not to Abune Merkorios. “For one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ “and another says, ‘I follow Apollos,” 1st Corinthians 3:5. When such a man-made division is created or being to be formed, Abune Merkorios or Abune Paulos should have courageously said, like the real Apostle Paul, “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task.” If Abune Paulos wants the supremacy, the highest office, and if he is worthy of having that holy seat, why not Abune Merkorios then say, “let him have it.” What matters here is not the personal or the worldly affairs but the affairs of the saving of millions of Ethiopian souls who are thirsty of hearing the word of God. My suggestion in this church affair is that Abune Merkorios should go back to Ethiopia, denounce his supremacy for the sake of Christ and his temple the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church and live there as a normal monk or saint, preaching the Gospel to the Ethiopian people. After he has renounced his holy seat, and still the Ethiopian government continues to persecute him for his humility, then he must sacrifice his life for the sake of the Gospel as his predecessors Abune Petros and Abune Theofelos did. On the other hand, if he survives the persecution, he would be reinstalled to his former position as the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church when Meles leaves office.
It is odd to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church to have two rival patriarchs, one in America and the other in Ethiopia. To witness, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church has never been in such ecclesiastical crisis in its long Christian history. In the long run, however, it is up to us Ethiopians to decide whether we should have one or two patriarchs, or we may never need one; we can simply be satisfied with what we have – a number of Ethiopian bishops(Epicoposat), archbishops (Likanepapast), monks, and thousands of priests or clergies. Why do we need a patriarch after all? We are the supreme Holy Synod, and as that we can change this new tradition – appointing a patriarch. We should rather focus on spreading the word of God throughout Ethiopia and beyond. Many other Christian denominations do not have patriarchs, and yet we see them flourish in disseminating the Gospel of Jesus Christ the world over. Why do we spend our times in trying to bring reconciliation between the two rival monks: Abune Merkorios and Abune Paulos? I am sure, we Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Christians can govern ourselves without them.
Dear Asta Getu:
Do you know the Bible and what it says? More specifically have read a single verse of Isaiah? To tell the truth is not to be a politician. First you need to be a bible person ever before you start to criticize your fathers? In fact the reverse is true. Our Holy fathers need to paly a greater leadership role in Ethiopian Affairs. The church needs “Good Governance” too. We are all living in one nation, and any one is affected by any one’s policy. Got it?
Is that so, my dear friend, Ewnetu?
The Holy Bible says thousands of good things and millions of pitfalls we have to be cautious of before we knowingly or unknowingly fall into one of these stumbling blocks. However, one of the pitfalls is that you have failed to show me a single verse either from one of the Major Prophets, Isaiah or from one of the Minor Prophets Habakkuk or for that matter from the New Testament that tells me I have first to know the Scriptures before I first criticize my Holy Fathers the Patriarchs of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. If you have read Isaiah and known the verses quite well, why don’t you then tell me what Isaiah have said about the Holy Fathers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church? How much I could have appreciated your efforts on this matter if you have told me so.
Logically speaking, you don’t have to be a bible scholar to criticize any leader whom you think has blundered in his/her secular and spiritual leadership. Personally I respect all religious and secular fathers of all faiths, particularly those famous Church scholars from my Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. I highly recommend any person like Ewnetu to study the Holy Bible – the Ethiopian Bible – the Semania-ahadu Methahift (the Blui and the Hadis Kidans) the tirgum – the hermeneutics from some of the Ethiopian Church scholars in Ethiopia.
My message to you, my friend, and to those my other Ethiopian friends here and at home is simple and clear: We do not need a patriarch with a long black hat on his head, a golden cross on his chest, a staff in his hand, and a long and wide garments around his body. Jesus strongly criticized such showy and superficial church leaders in Matthew, chapter 23. Ages before Jesus, the Prophet Isaiah decried such people with unequivocal words: “They are dogs with the mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own gain. ‘Come,’ “each one cries,” ‘let me get wine!’” (56:11-12)
To me, both Abunes are working hard for their worldly gain – the supremacy in the church; specially, it seems to me as I saw his picture, that Abune Paulos has a big appetite for food as well as for a woman; otherwise he should not have a bulging belly and allowed his picture to be taken with a seductive and glamorous young and beautiful woman.
A patriarch, whose desire is always for food, wine, and something else, should ask the Lord in prayer: “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame.” (Isaiah 49:23) God is calling the two patriarchs to avoid their worldly ambitions to be the head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church – to avoid the jealousy that exists between the two, but they are ignoring God’s call: “…for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” (Isaiah 65:12) What pleases God more than any thing else is humbleness – to humble before God and his Angels; however, Abune Paulos has become the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church instead of rejecting his appointment as unlawful and recognizing Abune Merkorios as a legitimate person for the patriarchate. To save his patriarchate and his life, Abune Merkorios fled Ethiopia instead of staying there and ignoring his patriarchate and sticking to the teaching of the word of God. In all circumstances, both patriarchs have erred against God and robbed the church its legitimate rights to be served by these two worldly patriarchs who have done injustices to the members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church: “For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.” (Isaiah 61:8)
I believe in my Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church who firmly believes, unlike the Catholic Church, that its leaders, the Clergy, the Bishops, the Archbishop, and of course the Patriarchs are fallible; if so, if I see something wrong in their leadership, I have the right to respect or to criticize them. For this privilege, my faith in my Church is strong and sound, and I stand firm in my devotion to my Church. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (Isaiah 7:9) But I don’t see these two Ethiopian Patriarchs carrying the message of God to the world: Abune Merkorios seems an angry person because he is not any more the Patriarch of all the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Churches. In the same way, Abune Paulos is an insecure person, for he believes one day when Meles leaves his office voluntarily or by force, he may forfeit his patriarchate and go into hiding. So what kind of news are these two rival Patriarchs bringing to the Ethiopian Christians? Nothing good comparing to the good news the Prophet Isaiah had been preaching: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation….” (Isaiah 52:7)
Of course the salvation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is not far away. The time will come after the corrupt secular and spiritual leaders have disappeared or retired, and when honest church leaders and government officials have been appointed as democratically elected good leaders of the people, and under such good leaders there will be peace and harmony, prosperity and the respect for human rights, and the fear, and love of the Almighty God throughout the Christian Kingdom of Ethiopia. Then, only then, we can say proudly what the Prophet Isaiah prophesied long time ago has been fulfilled: “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and yet a little child will lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6)