The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Tewahdo has postponed until further notice, the great national protest called for next Sunday in the context of a serious episode of tension following the recent declaration of a schism that, they denounce, would have had the tacit support of the Prime Minister of the country.
«The decision was taken after an agreement was reached with the government, which accepted the demands of the church, and is committed to implement them», announced in a statement reported by the ‘Addis Standard’ after a meeting between the Orthodox Patriarch, Abuna Mathias and the head of the government, Abiy Ahmed, last Friday, in which the religious asked for the support of the authorities against this new rebel branch.
The tension began on January 22, when three Orthodox bishops declared the creation of the so-called Holy Synod of Oromia, the Nations and the Nationalities, formed in principle by 25 episcopates. All of them were fulminantly excommunicated three days later by the main Tewahedo branch, followed by some 50 million faithful throughout the country.
Behind the split was Archbishop Abune Sawiros, who explained his decision to dissociate himself from the Tewahedo Church, considering that its leaders had done nothing to offer religious services in the tribal languages, which had led to the loss of millions of faithful in recent years in Oromia and the Southern region.
The Ethiopian prime minister initially tried to distance himself from the crisis, which he described as an internal affair, and called on the leaders of the two branches to resolve their differences. These comments sparked the ire of the Tewahedo synod, which accused the Oromo and Protestant leader of distorting the crisis by describing it as a personal conflict.
«We find it particularly disturbing that the prime minister implied that this synod is opposed to mass in the Oromo language, which is far from the truth,» according to a letter sent earlier this month by the Tewahedo church and signed by the patriarch.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
