From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Thu Aug 27 2009 - 14:59:22 EDT
2 Ethiopian religious leaders arrive in Eritrea opposing the prevailing
conflict and anarchy within the EOC
By Staff
Aug 27, 2009, 21:42
Asmara, 27 August 2009 - Two Ethiopian religious leaders arrived in Eritrea
opposing the prevailing conflict and anarchy within the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahdo Church (EOC) that was instigated by the clique headed by Abune
Paulos.
Moreover, they took the move in order to save their lives from the acts of
conspiracy being weaved by the clique.The two religious leaders are Melake
Tsehai Aba Abiy Yohannes who used to serve at the Lideta Church in Addis
Ababa, and priest Tibebu Asefaw who used to serve at the Silasie Monastery
administered by the Addis Ababa Synod. They pointed out that the politics of
the TPLF being pursued by Abune Paulos under the guise of religion is
fomenting tribalism, theft and anarchy within the EOC, besides jeopardizing
the lives of many senior religious leaders. As a result, a numbers of
priests and church staff are abandoning the monasteries and churches to save
their lives, they added.
Indicating that Abune Paulos who was not elected through the rules and
regulations of the Patriarchate but rather by the TPLF regime in the first
place is pursuing a path different from that of spiritual life, the
religious leaders explained that bribe and corruption are now rampant in all
sections of the EOC from top to bottom. They further disclosed that the
picture of Abune Paulos is being displayed in various churches and
monasteries more than saints' images.
The two religious leaders went on to say that the Patriarch is snatching a
lot of illicit money, in addition to being escorted by the TPLF regime's
security personnel, thus attesting to the fact that he is totally isolated
from the faithful he claims to be providing leadership.
They further noted that continued attempts have been made to dismiss Abune
Samuel, Vice Patriarch and Bishop of the Addis Ababa Synod, who is widely
acclaimed by members of the Synod, religious leaders and the faithful,
simply because he criticized and opposed the Patriarch. Worried by the
opposition from Abune Samuel, Abune Paulos resorted to dividing the Addis
Ababa Synod into 5 units so that Abune Samuel would be left in control of a
single unit. However, such a move ended in utter failure as it was rejected
by members of the Synod, and that this remains to be the root cause of the
prevailing conflict, they added.
Moreover, Melake Tsehai Aba Abiy Yohannes and Priest Tibebu Asefaw explained
that contrary to the spiritual mission, Abune Paulos often preaches the
public to be cautious about the "Amharas" which practice amply demonstrates
that he is preoccupied with politics. They elaborated that the Patriarch is
also involved in the conspiracies of killing of senior religious leaders in
various Ethiopian churches and monasteries. The faithful are also very much
annoyed by Abune Paulos' decision preventing the conduct of prayer service
for the late priest Ayalew Tamiru who was a well-known and respected
religious figure, they added.
It is to be noted that a number of religious leaders fled the country
opposing the corrupt practices within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church headed
by Abune Paulos under the sponsorship of the TPLF.
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