Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
Encyclopedia
The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. Its autocephaly
was recognised by Pope Shenouda III after Eritrea
gained its independence in 1993.
ተዋሕዶ tawāhidō) is a Ge'ez
word meaning "being made one"; it is related to the Arabic word توحيد tawhid
and means "Miaphysite", or more literally "unification". This refers to the Oriental Orthodox
belief in the one single unique Nature of Christ
(i.e., a belief that a complete, natural union of the Divine and Human Natures into One is self-evident in order to accomplish the divine salvation of humankind), as opposed to the "two Natures of Christ" belief (unmixed, separated Divine and Human Natures, called the Hypostatic Union
) taught by the Catholic
and Eastern Orthodox churches. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia
(1917 edition) article on the Henoticon
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07218b.htm: the Patriarch
s of Alexandria
, Antioch
, and Jerusalem, and many others, all refused to accept the "two natures" doctrine decreed by the Byzantine Emperor Marcian
's Council of Chalcedon
in 451, thus separating them from the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. The Oriental Orthodox Churches, which today include the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church
, the Syriac Orthodox Church
, the Malankara Orthodox Church of India, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, are referred to as "Non-Chalcedonian", and, sometimes by outsiders as "monophysite" (meaning "One Nature", in reference to Christ; a rough translation of the name Tewahido). However, these Churches themselves describe their Christology as miaphysite.
The Eritrean Orthodox Church claims its origins from Philip the Evangelist
(Acts of the Apostles
, Chapter 8). It became the established church of the Axumite Kingdom under king Ezana
in the 4th century through the efforts of a Syrian Greek named Frumentius, known in the church as Abba Selama, Kesaté Birhan ("Father of Peace, Revealer of Light"). As a boy, Frumentius had been shipwrecked with his brother Aedesius on the Eritrean coast. The brothers managed to be brought to the royal court, where they rose to positions of influence and converted Emperor Ezana to Christianity, causing him to be baptised. Ezana sent Frumentius to Alexandria
to ask the Patriarch
, St. Athanasius, to appoint a bishop for Axum. Athanasius appointed Frumentius himself, who returned to Axum as Bishop with the name of Abune Selama. For fifteen centuries afterward, the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria always named a Copt
(an Egyptian) to be Abuna
or Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ethiopian Church.
influence, which broke the connection with Egypt. Union with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria continued after Arab conquests in Egypt.
Abu Saleh records in the 12th century that the patriarch sent letters twice a year to the kings of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Nubia
, until Al Hakim stopped the practice. Cyril, 67th patriarch, sent Severus as bishop, with orders to put down the practice of polygamy
and to enforce observance of canonical consecration for all churches. These examples show the close relations of the two churches concurrent with the Middle Ages
. Early in the 16th century the church was brought under the influence of a Portuguese
mission.
In 1439, in the reign of Zara Yaqob
, a religious discussion between Abba Giorgis and a French visitor had led to the dispatch of an embassy from Ethiopia to the Vatican
; but the initiative in the Catholic missions to Ethiopia was taken, not by the Holy See, but by the church in Portugal
, as an incident in the struggle with the Muslim
Ottoman Empire
and Sultanate of Adal
for the command of the trade route to India
by the Red Sea
.
In 1507 Matthew (or Matheus) an Armenian, had been sent as Ethiopian envoy to Portugal to ask aid against Adal
. In 1520 an embassy under Dom Rodrigo de Lima landed in Ethiopia (by which time Adal
had been remobilized under Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi
). An account of the Portuguese mission, which remained for several years, was written by the chaplain, Francisco Álvares
.
Later, Saint
Ignatius Loyola wished to essay the task of conversion, but this did not happen. Instead, the pope
sent out Joao Nunez Barreto as Patriarch of the East Indies, with Andre de Oviedo as bishop; and from Goa
envoys (followed by Oviedo) went to Ethiopia. After repeated failures, some measure of success was achieved under Emperor Susenyos
, but not until 1624 did the Emperor make a formal declaration of communion with the then pope
, Urban VIII. Susenyos made Catholicism the official state religion but was met with heavy resistance and, in 1632 had to abdicate in favour of his son, Fasilides
, who promptly returned Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity as the official religion of the country. He then expelled the Jesuits in 1633, and in 1665 Fasilides ordered all Jesuit books (the Books of the Franks) be burned.
was granted autocephaly
by Pope Joseph II of Alexandria
, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in 1950. At that time Eritrea was regarded as a province of Ethiopia, so the Coptic Church in Eritrea was simply a division of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
.
Following the independence of Eritrea
from Ethiopia
in 1993, the newly independent Eritrea
n government appealed to Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria for Eritrean Orthodox autocephaly.
Tensions were high between the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and no representative from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
attended the official recognition of the newly autocephalous body. However, the Ethiopian Church has recognized the Autocephalous status of the Church of Eritrea although it objected to the method in which the Coptic Church went about granting it. Eritrea's first two Patriarchs were originally Archbishops of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the first Patriarch, Abune Phillipos
did visit Addis Ababa during joint efforts by the two Churches to explore a possible resolution to a border conflict that had broken out between the two countries in 1998. The two churches, remain in full communion
with each other and with the other Churches of Oriental Orthodoxy
, although the Ethiopian Church, along with the Coptic Orthodox Church have not recognized the deposition of the third Patriarch of Eritrea, and the enthronement of the fourth Patriarch, Abune Dioskoros
.
The first Patriarch of Eritrea was Abune Phillipos
who died in 2004 and was succeeded by Abune Yacob
. The reign of Abune Yacob
as Patriarch of Eritrea was very brief as he died not long after his enthronement, and he was succeeded by Abune Antonios
as 3rd Patriarch of Eritrea.
Abune Antonios
was elected on 5 March 2004, and enthroned as the third Patriarch of Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Eritrea on 24 April 2004. Pope Shenouda III
presided at the ceremony in Asmara
, together with the Holy Synod of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and a Coptic Orthodox Church delegation.
In August 2005, the Patriarch of Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Eritrea, Abune Antonios
, was confined to a strictly ceremonial role. In a letter dated 13 January 2006, Patriarch Abune Antonios
was informed that following several sessions of the church's Holy Synod, he had been formally deposed. In a written response that was widely published the Patriarch rejected the grounds of his dismissal, questioned the legitimacy of the synod, and excommunicated two signatories to the 13 January 2006 letter, including Yoftahe Dimetros, whom the Patriarch identified as being responsible for the church's recent upheavals. Patriarch Antonios
also appealed his case to the Council of the Monasteries of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Abune Antonios
was deposed by the Eritrean Holy Synod supposedly under pressure from the Eritrean government; as of 2008 he is under house arrest. Many believe that Abune Antonios was wrongly deposed and still consider him Patriarch. Many Eritrean Orthodox followers disagree with the Eritrean government making decisions in religious matters.
, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church professes belief in the seven sacraments of baptism
, confirmation, eucharist
, confession
, the anointing of the sick
, matrimony or holy orders
. It regards the first four as being "necessary for every believer"
As is the tradition of the East, non-episcopal clergy may be married at the time of ordination, which is reserved for adult males. In order to clearly demonstrate that a bishop is a member of a synod, there must be at least three bishops taking part in any episcopal ordination.
The Church holds fast to the ancient Christian belief in the Real Presence
of Christ
in the Eucharist
stating that "The consecrated bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ. Jesus Christ is truly, really and substantially present in the consecrated elements. In the Eucharist we eat the blessed flesh of our Lord and drink His precious blood under the form of bread and wine." Ceremonies are elaborate by western standards.
The practice of reconciliation in the sacrament of penance is regarded as strictly personal, and members of the Church are encouraged to select a confessor (also referred to as a 'soul father') who is well known to them and with whom they are comfortable.
As in other Eastern Christian traditions, the bond of marriage is able to be dissolved, but only on the grounds of adultery. To safeguard the practice of the faith, Church members are discouraged from marrying people outside of the Orthodox communion. Church members who undergo a purely civil ceremony are not regarded as sacramentally married.
There have been no printings of the Broader Canon since the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Haile Selassie Version of the Bible which was published in 1962, contains the Narrower Canon.
, which has been the language of the Church at least since the arrival of the Nine Saints
(Abba Pantelewon, Abba Gerima (Isaac, or Yeshaq), Abba Aftse, Abba Guba, Abba Alef, Abba Yem’ata, Abba Liqanos, and Abba Sehma), who fled persecution by the Byzantine Emperor
after the Council of Chalcedon
(451). The Septuagint version was translated into Ge'ez. Sermons are delivered in the local language
.
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
was recognised by Pope Shenouda III after Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
gained its independence in 1993.
Origins
Tewahdo (Te-wa-hido) (Ge'ezGe'ez alphabet
Ge'ez , also called Ethiopic, is a script used as an abugida for several languages of Ethiopia and Eritrea but originated in an abjad used to write Ge'ez, now the liturgical language of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Church...
ተዋሕዶ tawāhidō) is a Ge'ez
Ge'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
word meaning "being made one"; it is related to the Arabic word توحيد tawhid
Tawhid
Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God is one and unique ....
and means "Miaphysite", or more literally "unification". This refers to the Oriental Orthodox
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
belief in the one single unique Nature of Christ
Christology
Christology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
(i.e., a belief that a complete, natural union of the Divine and Human Natures into One is self-evident in order to accomplish the divine salvation of humankind), as opposed to the "two Natures of Christ" belief (unmixed, separated Divine and Human Natures, called the Hypostatic Union
Hypostatic union
Hypostatic union is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis.The First Council of Ephesus recognised this doctrine and affirmed its importance, stating that the...
) taught by the Catholic
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and Eastern Orthodox churches. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia
Catholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
(1917 edition) article on the Henoticon
Henotikon
The Henotikon was issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in 482, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of the Council of Chalcedon and the miaphysites...
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07218b.htm: the Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
s of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, and Jerusalem, and many others, all refused to accept the "two natures" doctrine decreed by the Byzantine Emperor Marcian
Marcian
Marcian was Byzantine Emperor from 450 to 457. Marcian's rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which the Emperor protected from external menaces and reformed economically and financially...
's Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
in 451, thus separating them from the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. The Oriental Orthodox Churches, which today include the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
, the Syriac Orthodox Church
Syriac Orthodox Church
The Syriac Orthodox Church; is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean, with members spread throughout the world. The Syriac Orthodox Church claims to derive its origin from one of the first Christian communities, established in Antioch by the Apostle St....
, the Malankara Orthodox Church of India, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, are referred to as "Non-Chalcedonian", and, sometimes by outsiders as "monophysite" (meaning "One Nature", in reference to Christ; a rough translation of the name Tewahido). However, these Churches themselves describe their Christology as miaphysite.
The Eritrean Orthodox Church claims its origins from Philip the Evangelist
Philip the Evangelist
Saint Philip the Evangelist appears several times in the Acts of the Apostles. He was one of the Seven Deacons chosen to care for the poor of the Christian community in Jerusalem . He preached and performed miracles in Samaria, converted Simon Magus, and met and baptised an Ethiopian man, an...
(Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
, Chapter 8). It became the established church of the Axumite Kingdom under king Ezana
Ezana of Axum
Ezana of Axum , was ruler of the Axumite Kingdom located in present-day Ethiopia, Eritrea, Yemen, he himself employed the style "king of Saba and Salhen, Himyar and Dhu-Raydan"...
in the 4th century through the efforts of a Syrian Greek named Frumentius, known in the church as Abba Selama, Kesaté Birhan ("Father of Peace, Revealer of Light"). As a boy, Frumentius had been shipwrecked with his brother Aedesius on the Eritrean coast. The brothers managed to be brought to the royal court, where they rose to positions of influence and converted Emperor Ezana to Christianity, causing him to be baptised. Ezana sent Frumentius to Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
to ask the Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
, St. Athanasius, to appoint a bishop for Axum. Athanasius appointed Frumentius himself, who returned to Axum as Bishop with the name of Abune Selama. For fifteen centuries afterward, the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria always named a Copt
Copt
The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....
(an Egyptian) to be Abuna
Abuna
Also see Leaders of ChristianityAbun is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as well as of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church...
or Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ethiopian Church.
Jesuit interim
Little else is known of church history down to the period of JesuitSociety of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
influence, which broke the connection with Egypt. Union with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria continued after Arab conquests in Egypt.
Abu Saleh records in the 12th century that the patriarch sent letters twice a year to the kings of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
, until Al Hakim stopped the practice. Cyril, 67th patriarch, sent Severus as bishop, with orders to put down the practice of polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
and to enforce observance of canonical consecration for all churches. These examples show the close relations of the two churches concurrent with the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Early in the 16th century the church was brought under the influence of a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
mission.
In 1439, in the reign of Zara Yaqob
Zara Yaqob
Zar'a Ya`qob or Zera Yacob was of Ethiopia , and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
, a religious discussion between Abba Giorgis and a French visitor had led to the dispatch of an embassy from Ethiopia to the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
; but the initiative in the Catholic missions to Ethiopia was taken, not by the Holy See, but by the church in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, as an incident in the struggle with the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
and Sultanate of Adal
Adal
- Places :*Ådal, valley and former municipality in Buskerud county, Norway*Illerup Ådal, archeological site in Denmark*Adal Sultanate, former sultanate and geographic region in Northeast Africa**Adal , breed of sheep from Ethiopia**F. C...
for the command of the trade route to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
by the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
.
In 1507 Matthew (or Matheus) an Armenian, had been sent as Ethiopian envoy to Portugal to ask aid against Adal
Adal
- Places :*Ådal, valley and former municipality in Buskerud county, Norway*Illerup Ådal, archeological site in Denmark*Adal Sultanate, former sultanate and geographic region in Northeast Africa**Adal , breed of sheep from Ethiopia**F. C...
. In 1520 an embassy under Dom Rodrigo de Lima landed in Ethiopia (by which time Adal
Adal
- Places :*Ådal, valley and former municipality in Buskerud county, Norway*Illerup Ådal, archeological site in Denmark*Adal Sultanate, former sultanate and geographic region in Northeast Africa**Adal , breed of sheep from Ethiopia**F. C...
had been remobilized under Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi
Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi "the Conqueror" was an Imam and General of Adal who invaded Ethiopia and defeated several Ethiopian emperors, wreaking much damage on that kingdom...
). An account of the Portuguese mission, which remained for several years, was written by the chaplain, Francisco Álvares
Francisco Álvares
Francisco Álvares was a Portuguese missionary and explorer. In 1515 he traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Portuguese embassy to emperor Lebna Dengel accompanied by returning Ethiopian ambassador Matheus. The embassy arrived only in 1520 to Ethiopia where he joined long sought Portuguese envoy...
.
Later, Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
Ignatius Loyola wished to essay the task of conversion, but this did not happen. Instead, the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
sent out Joao Nunez Barreto as Patriarch of the East Indies, with Andre de Oviedo as bishop; and from Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
envoys (followed by Oviedo) went to Ethiopia. After repeated failures, some measure of success was achieved under Emperor Susenyos
Susenyos of Ethiopia
Susenyos was of Ethiopia...
, but not until 1624 did the Emperor make a formal declaration of communion with the then pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
, Urban VIII. Susenyos made Catholicism the official state religion but was met with heavy resistance and, in 1632 had to abdicate in favour of his son, Fasilides
Fasilides of Ethiopia
Fasilides was of Ethiopia, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty...
, who promptly returned Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity as the official religion of the country. He then expelled the Jesuits in 1633, and in 1665 Fasilides ordered all Jesuit books (the Books of the Franks) be burned.
Recent years
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
was granted autocephaly
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
by Pope Joseph II of Alexandria
Pope Joseph II of Alexandria
Pope Joseph II of Alexandria, known in Coptic as Yusab II was the Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...
, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in 1950. At that time Eritrea was regarded as a province of Ethiopia, so the Coptic Church in Eritrea was simply a division of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
.
Following the independence of Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
from Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
in 1993, the newly independent Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
n government appealed to Pope Shenouda III of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria for Eritrean Orthodox autocephaly.
Tensions were high between the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and no representative from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
attended the official recognition of the newly autocephalous body. However, the Ethiopian Church has recognized the Autocephalous status of the Church of Eritrea although it objected to the method in which the Coptic Church went about granting it. Eritrea's first two Patriarchs were originally Archbishops of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the first Patriarch, Abune Phillipos
Abune Phillipos
Abune Phillipos was the first Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was born Tewoldeberhan and began his religious training at the Debre Bizen Monastery at the age of eleven....
did visit Addis Ababa during joint efforts by the two Churches to explore a possible resolution to a border conflict that had broken out between the two countries in 1998. The two churches, remain in full communion
Full communion
In Christian ecclesiology, full communion is a relationship between church organizations or groups that mutually recognize their sharing the essential doctrines....
with each other and with the other Churches of Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
, although the Ethiopian Church, along with the Coptic Orthodox Church have not recognized the deposition of the third Patriarch of Eritrea, and the enthronement of the fourth Patriarch, Abune Dioskoros
Abune Dioskoros
Abune Dioskoros is the Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, appointed in April 2007with the unanimous approval of the Holy Synod....
.
The first Patriarch of Eritrea was Abune Phillipos
Abune Phillipos
Abune Phillipos was the first Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was born Tewoldeberhan and began his religious training at the Debre Bizen Monastery at the age of eleven....
who died in 2004 and was succeeded by Abune Yacob
Abune Yacob
Abune Yacob was the second Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church....
. The reign of Abune Yacob
Abune Yacob
Abune Yacob was the second Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church....
as Patriarch of Eritrea was very brief as he died not long after his enthronement, and he was succeeded by Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government, and is currently under house arrest.He was replaced as Patriarch by Abune Dioskoros in May 2007....
as 3rd Patriarch of Eritrea.
Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government, and is currently under house arrest.He was replaced as Patriarch by Abune Dioskoros in May 2007....
was elected on 5 March 2004, and enthroned as the third Patriarch of Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Eritrea on 24 April 2004. Pope Shenouda III
Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria is the 117th Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria...
presided at the ceremony in Asmara
Asmara
Asmara is the capital city and largest settlement in Eritrea, home to a population of around 579,000 people...
, together with the Holy Synod of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and a Coptic Orthodox Church delegation.
In August 2005, the Patriarch of Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Eritrea, Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government, and is currently under house arrest.He was replaced as Patriarch by Abune Dioskoros in May 2007....
, was confined to a strictly ceremonial role. In a letter dated 13 January 2006, Patriarch Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government, and is currently under house arrest.He was replaced as Patriarch by Abune Dioskoros in May 2007....
was informed that following several sessions of the church's Holy Synod, he had been formally deposed. In a written response that was widely published the Patriarch rejected the grounds of his dismissal, questioned the legitimacy of the synod, and excommunicated two signatories to the 13 January 2006 letter, including Yoftahe Dimetros, whom the Patriarch identified as being responsible for the church's recent upheavals. Patriarch Antonios
Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government, and is currently under house arrest.He was replaced as Patriarch by Abune Dioskoros in May 2007....
also appealed his case to the Council of the Monasteries of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios
Abune Antonios was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government, and is currently under house arrest.He was replaced as Patriarch by Abune Dioskoros in May 2007....
was deposed by the Eritrean Holy Synod supposedly under pressure from the Eritrean government; as of 2008 he is under house arrest. Many believe that Abune Antonios was wrongly deposed and still consider him Patriarch. Many Eritrean Orthodox followers disagree with the Eritrean government making decisions in religious matters.
Sacramental beliefs
In common with all Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox churches, the Catholic Church and the Old Catholic churches of the Union of UtrechtUnion of Utrecht
The Union of Utrecht was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain....
, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church professes belief in the seven sacraments of baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
, confirmation, eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
, confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
, the anointing of the sick
Anointing of the Sick
Anointing of the Sick, known also by other names, is distinguished from other forms of religious anointing or "unction" in that it is intended, as its name indicates, for the benefit of a sick person...
, matrimony or holy orders
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
. It regards the first four as being "necessary for every believer"
As is the tradition of the East, non-episcopal clergy may be married at the time of ordination, which is reserved for adult males. In order to clearly demonstrate that a bishop is a member of a synod, there must be at least three bishops taking part in any episcopal ordination.
The Church holds fast to the ancient Christian belief in the Real Presence
Real Presence
Real Presence is a term used in various Christian traditions to express belief that in the Eucharist, Jesus Christ is really present in what was previously just bread and wine, and not merely present in symbol, a figure of speech , or by his power .Not all Christian traditions accept this dogma...
of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
in the Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
stating that "The consecrated bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ. Jesus Christ is truly, really and substantially present in the consecrated elements. In the Eucharist we eat the blessed flesh of our Lord and drink His precious blood under the form of bread and wine." Ceremonies are elaborate by western standards.
The practice of reconciliation in the sacrament of penance is regarded as strictly personal, and members of the Church are encouraged to select a confessor (also referred to as a 'soul father') who is well known to them and with whom they are comfortable.
As in other Eastern Christian traditions, the bond of marriage is able to be dissolved, but only on the grounds of adultery. To safeguard the practice of the faith, Church members are discouraged from marrying people outside of the Orthodox communion. Church members who undergo a purely civil ceremony are not regarded as sacramentally married.
Biblical canon
The Tewahedo Church Biblical Canon contains 81 books, all of which are accepted by other Orthodox and Oriental Christians.- The Narrower Canon also contains EnochBook of EnochThe Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
, JubileesJubileesThe Book of Jubilees , sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work, considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches...
, and three books of the MeqabyanMeqabyanI, II, and III Meqabyan are three books in the Ethiopian Orthodox Old Testament Biblical canon....
; - The Broader Canon includes all of the books found in the Narrower Canon, as well as the two Books of the Covenant, Four Books of Sinodos, a Book of Clement, and Didascalia;
There have been no printings of the Broader Canon since the beginning of the Twentieth Century. The Haile Selassie Version of the Bible which was published in 1962, contains the Narrower Canon.
Language
The Divine Liturgy and other religious services of the Eritrean Church are celebrated in the Ge'ez languageGe'ez language
Ge'ez is an ancient South Semitic language that developed in the northern region of Ethiopia and southern Eritrea in the Horn of Africa...
, which has been the language of the Church at least since the arrival of the Nine Saints
Nine Saints
The Nine Saints were a group of missionaries who were important in the initial growth of Christianity in what is now Ethiopia during the late 5th century. Their names were Abba Aftse, Abba Alef, Abba Aragawi, Abba Garima , Abba Guba, Abba Liqanos, Abba Pantelewon, Abba Sehma, and Abba Yem’ata...
(Abba Pantelewon, Abba Gerima (Isaac, or Yeshaq), Abba Aftse, Abba Guba, Abba Alef, Abba Yem’ata, Abba Liqanos, and Abba Sehma), who fled persecution by the Byzantine Emperor
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
after the Council of Chalcedon
Council of Chalcedon
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
(451). The Septuagint version was translated into Ge'ez. Sermons are delivered in the local language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
.
List of Patriarchs of Eritrea, since 1998
Autocephaly of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church recognised in 1994- Vacant (1994-1998)
- His Holiness Abune PhilliposAbune PhilliposAbune Phillipos was the first Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was born Tewoldeberhan and began his religious training at the Debre Bizen Monastery at the age of eleven....
(1998-2001) - His Holiness Abune YacobAbune YacobAbune Yacob was the second Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church....
(2002-2003) - His Holiness Abune AntoniosAbune AntoniosAbune Antonios was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. He was forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government, and is currently under house arrest.He was replaced as Patriarch by Abune Dioskoros in May 2007....
(2004-2007) - put under house arrest since January 2006 - His Holiness Abune DioskorosAbune DioskorosAbune Dioskoros is the Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, appointed in April 2007with the unanimous approval of the Holy Synod....
(April 2007-present) - reign disputed by followers of Abune Antonios who endorse the latter as a continuing legitimate Patriarch
Bishops
Among the members of the Eritrean Holy Synod are also 2 members of the Coptic Holy Synod:- Macarius, Bishop of the Eritrean Church in the USA
- Markos (Mark), Bishop of the Eritrean Orthodox Church in the UK
- The future of Erirean Church.
See also
- Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ChurchThe Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
- Oriental Orthodox Christianity
- List of Orthodox Churches
- Eastern ChristianityEastern ChristianityEastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...