Ethiopia church tries to head off potential Tigray split

The Holy Synod, the top decision-making body of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, is trying to head off a possible split in the community with followers in the northern state of Tigray.

At the root of the problem is the church’s reaction to the two-year civil war, mostly fought in Tigray, that ended last November. The conflict led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and sparked a humanitarian crisis.

Criticism had been directed towards the church from bishops, priests and believers in Tigray for not condemning the war.

The bishops of Tigray announced in March that they wanted to separate from the Holy Synod.

On Sunday, they plan to ordain 10 new bishops in the region.

The Holy Synod has asked the federal and regional governments to halt this process citing a violation of the church constitution.

This request was made in a statement issued on Thursday after a two-day emergency session held by the Holy Synod.

It criticised the Tigray bishops and scholars for disregarding the established organisational structure and bypassing peaceful dialogue.

Last week, the Holy Synod issued an apology to the people of Tigray in connection with the civil war – but it does not appear to have been enough.

As part of the reconciliation efforts, a delegation of bishops, led by the Patriarch Abune Matthias, recently travelled to the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, to engage in discussions with the leaders of the regional government and the church.

However, the meeting with the regional church fathers did not take place.

Source: BBC