March 20, 2023 12:42 pm

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

Ethiopia is now emerging from two years of a brutal conflict in the north, during which all parties committed atrocities.  With the November 2, 2022 cessation of hostilities agreement (COHA) in place, the fighting has stopped, human rights abuses in northern Ethiopia are significantly down, Eritrean forces are leaving, and the Ethiopian government is taking the first step towards transitional justice.  However, the suffering that was wrought upon civilians in northern Ethiopia must be acknowledged.

After careful review of the law and the facts, I have determined that members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF), Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF), Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces, and Amhara forces committed war crimes during the conflict in northern Ethiopia.

Members of the ENDF, EDF, and Amhara forces also committed crimes against humanity, including murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and persecution.

Members of the Amhara forces also committed the crime against humanity of deportation or forcible transfer and committed ethnic cleansing in western Tigray.

Formally recognizing the atrocities committed by all parties is an essential step to achieving a sustainable peace.  Those most responsible for atrocities, including those in positions of command, must be held accountable.

We welcome the commitment that the parties to the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement have made to acknowledge the atrocities committed and their devastating consequences.  We urge all parties to follow through on their commitments to one another and implement a credible, inclusive, and comprehensive transitional justice process.  We additionally call on the Government of Eritrea to ensure comprehensive justice and accountability for those responsible for abuses in Ethiopia.

These steps – acknowledgement, accountability, and reconciliation – are key to breaking the cycle of ethnic and political violence that has gripped Ethiopia and prevented it from reaching its unlimited potential for too long.

The United States will partner with Ethiopia as it implements a credible transitional justice process for the benefit of all victims and affected communities.  We will stand with Ethiopia as it honestly faces the abuses in its past, provides accountability for the harms committed against its citizens, and moves toward a future of lasting peace.

Source: State Department 

March 18, 2023 9:25 pm.

Ethiopia was introduced to the Christian faith by the Ethiopian eunuch who was baptized by the apostle Philip (Acts 8). The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was founded on a synodal level in 328 AD. The first bishop of the church was Frumentius, a Syrian by birth brought up in Ethiopia in the palace of Axum. He went to Alexandria and returned after being consecrated as bishop by Saint Athanasius. The faithful in Ethiopia call him Abba Salama Kassate Berhan (Father of Peace and Revealer of Light). Nine saints from the Middle East and Asia Minor migrated to Ethiopia 150 years later. They introduced monastic life, translated many religious books from Aramaic and Hebrew into the Geez language, and expounded the One-person, One-nature doctrine of St Cyril. Since the schism of 451, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church shares the same faith with the Coptic, Syrian and Armenian Orthodox Churches and the Syrian Orthodox Church of India (Tewahedo is a word that reflects the Ethiopian understanding of one nature).

The church has suffered greatly from various religious persecutions down the centuries. The reign of Queen Yodit in the 9th century lasted for forty years and caused great damage to the life of the church. The invasion of Mohammed the Left-Handed in the 16th century was even more destructive. Again during the 17th century, the church suffered persecution at the hands of the Jesuit Alphonzo Mendez and his followers. During the fierce five-year struggle against the invasion of Mussolini from 1935 to 1940, several bishops, many priests and thousands of faithful lost their lives. More than 2,000 churches were destroyed and numerous church manuscripts taken away.

Since 1950 the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has been autocephalous. The church has 81 canonical books and 14 anaphoras. The language of the divine service is Geez, the ancient language of Ethiopia. Today, however, portions of the liturgy are also rendered in Amharic. There are seven official fasting periods: (1) all Wednesdays and Fridays (except during the 50 days after Easter); (2) the Lenten fast; (3) the Nenveh fast; (4) the vigils or Gahad of Christmas and Epiphany; (5) the fast of the apostles; (6) the fast of the prophets; (7) the fast of the Assumption.

The supreme authority in matters of church administration and justice - legislative, administrative and judicial - belongs to the holy synod which meets twice a year, under the chairmanship of His Holiness the Patriarch. The diocesan archbishop is the chairman of the diocesan parish council. The national parish council meets once a year in the patriarchate, also under the chairmanship of the patriarch. The church has two kinds of clergy: the regular priests, who administer the sacraments, and the learned lay clerks, who are entrusted with the chant of the church offices and teaching in the schools. There are six clergy training centrs and one theological seminary. The current administrative structure has been most conducive for both the clergy and the laity to meet the vital needs of the whole human being and to work together for the development of the church, both spiritually and socially, through the respective parish councils. The Sunday school programm unit is very active.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church exists in the Sudan and Djibouti, in Jerusalem, Europe and North and South America. Now days over 20 of its bishops serve the church outside Ethiopia.

March 15, 2023 7:39PM

Credible local sources on Friday reported that an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church priest is stoned to death in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Eyewitnesses have confirmed the tragic incident to sources close to the Ethiopian Church. 

Mahibere Kidusan, an church organization recognized by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, media identified the victim as Kesis Abay Melese.

What is known at this point about the circumstances under which he was stoned to death is that he was on his way home after a church mass service.  

He was serving in Horsisa St. Mary church in the area. 

The incident happened near Haile Garment’s locality on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. 

The report further indicated that the devices of individuals who were attempting to take video footage of what appeared to be a mob attack were seized by security forces and the contents were deleted. 

Mahibere Kidusan also said that its sources indicated that there have been threats against those serving in the nearby church. 

The Ethiopian Church has been facing unprecedented attacks under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration over the past five years. To cite the latest incident, on March 2 government security forces fired teargas on members of the church in the premises of the church in the heart of Addis Ababa during a solemn religious procession to commemorate Martyr St. George.  One person was killed and dozens were wounded. 

Addis Ababa or Federal police has not yet remarked about the tragic killing of the priest in the capital Addis  Ababa. 

Apart from a physical attack on churches and servants in the church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church recently faced what appears to be a politically motivated division from within which orchestrated by the prime minister and the Oromia president Shimeles Abdissa, the impacts of which was causing security concerns across the country.