In the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, the One God, Amen.
From the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Statement given by the Holy Synod
March 30, 2022 Following the illegal appointment of bishops in South West Showa Diocese, Haro Balewold Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Holy Synod was held on January 26, 2022. It is to be remembered that church stressed that the action taken in the emergency meeting was an illegal act that violated the dogma, canon and administrative structure of the church and discussed that he made the illegal appointment and revoked all the positions they had in the canonical system of our church from deaconship and separated them from the church membership.
Although the plenary assembly of the Holy Synod made a statement informing that the door of forgiveness of the church is open to those who repent of their actions and return from their mistakes and are ready to return according to the canons according to the church system, but instead of learning from their mistakes and taking advantage of the opportunity of forgiveness, the individuals continued on the illegal path and violated the condemnation of the church. According to the structural organization, the His Holiness the Archbishops were assigned by the Holy Synod to fight against each other in the dioceses where they serve, and the illegal activities that the government has been doing to enforce the law, which is hated by law, and to uphold the institutional superiority of our church. The parishioners, district churches, and local churches were forcibly broken into and the institutions were looted. During this illegal act, the church’s constitution will not be violated, our synod will not be broken, and our canon will not be violated. Special workers, especially the faithful and ministering priests of Shashemene and the surrounding area, have been subjected to death, physical and moral injury, imprisonment and abuse.
As a result of this, the Holy Synod decided that God, who has all the authority to overcome the problem and the test, in order for God our God to remove the test that has come with his merciful eyes, in Nineveh for 3 days, all the believers of the church should wear sackcloth and turn to God in prayer and oath, in a situation that has never happened in the history of our church, even her children, let alone the believers herself. Mother Holy Church also wore a black sack which is a symbol of mourning and expressed her grief at the national and international level.
The door of our government, which was closed for discussion, has been opened for discussion because the tears and prayers of the mother church and her children’s devotees have been accepted by God. Although the magnitude of the damage we have suffered has lost its place in our country’s government media, the international media and our church’s media institutions have made the problem known to the international community, and all other churches, the World Church Union, the Eastern Orthodox Church and other CIB associations have condemned the act and expressed their solidarity with our mother church. . With this, the Holy Church once again offers its highest thanks to all those who stood by our side during our crisis.
According to the large-scale discussion by the blessed fathers and elders of the country, which was organized by the honorable Prime Minister of the Federation, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the three former fathers on February 16, 2023, reached a consensus on 10 points. They came to the Patriarchal Council and decided on their previous date and have remained until now, and the 20 appointees are subject to the decision according to the agreement on March 23, 2023. According to each of them submitted in writing to the office of the Holy Synod, how the condemnation should be resolved, the council of experts of the church was instructed to make a decision, referring to the canon and scriptures of the church, and presented the decision, which is briefly described as follows.
A. ” ኢይክል ሰብእ ነሢአ ፀጋ ለሊሁ ወኢምንተኒ እመ ኢተውህበ ሎቱ እምሰማይ” ሰው ከእግዚአብሔር ካልተሰጠው በስተቀር እርሱ ራሱ ጸጋን ገንዘብ ማድረግ አይችልም” (John 3, 27) as said in the Holy Gospel, God’s grace is given above through sincerity, humility, patience and prayer, but through disorder and illegal courage. There is no way of God’s grace. I do not live; It wasn’t. There will be no future.
b. Saint Paul, the good apostle who is the light of the church, explained the priesthood very well, saying, “Walbo Zeinese, glory be to his head, Zeenbele Zezeuo, God has chosen Aaron.” (Hebrews 5:4) Because of this, the illegal ecclesiastical practice that is currently being carried out in secret without the decision of the Holy Synod and in the absence of the Holy Patriarch is a serious violation of dogma, as it is considered to take away God’s grace for both the appointee and the appointee.
c. As we have learned from the Holy Word, “You fear the Lord before wisdom – the beginning of wisdom is the fear of God” (Ps. 109, 10, Proverbs 1, 7).
Bow down in fear of God – submit to God in fear (Ps. 2, 11)
The holy church always conveys its message to the end of our breath by saying, Let’s get up in the fear of God. While this is the system of our church, the act that has been done now is not only done with great boldness and illegal way and insulting the dignity of the clergy, but also not learning from the mistake after the condemnation. An illegal act of trespassing has been committed. This act is a violation of dogma as it is an act done after condemnation, knowing God and leaving it aside.
d. In the Book of Deedsqlia, which is one of the books of law that the holy apostles decided, in paragraph 1, sub-paragraph 2, “We commanded that the church should be set up according to the pattern of the church in the heavens, and in the sub-paragraph 3, “Wenhenne ngesstikmu me minber quille le le ahadu ahadu mnekum” Lord Jesus Christ – We advise you that each one of you should live steadfastly in the mission to which he was called by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a divine word that teaches us that one should not ordain or appoint in an illegal way that was not given or allowed outside of the canon and church, except one who lives steadfastly in the grace and mission given by the canon and the church.
e. Saint Peter, the chief apostle, said in the book of Deuteronomy, paragraph 20, “Let the bishop or priest or deacon be ordained in the name of the Lord.” Mr. Zesemohi Woitmeter for the ecclesiastical ministry of Zlufu; If a bishop or a priest or a deacon holds an appointment outside the canonical church, he should be annulled, and the one who appoints him should be annulled and expelled from the order of priesthood until the end. Do not involve him in anything, as I did Peter the witch Limon (Sino.Zehawa.Part 3 verse 20). By saying and others constitution church
The Plenary Assembly of the Holy Synod received and discussed the recommendation made by the Council of Scholars with reference to the canon and the church.
Therefore, based on the above canon and constitution of the church, and the death, physical and moral injury, imprisonment and abuse of the church and its members, the condemnation should not be raised and it is an illegal act that is required by law. In view of the great damage that has been done, if the problem cannot be solved in a generous and compassionate manner, if the current suffering and problems continue, taking into consideration the great danger it will cause to the unity and apostolic mission of the church, as well as the peaceful mission of the believers and its servants, and now, in the presence of the honorable Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, and subsequently, the Hon. According to the 10 points of agreement reached during the discussion attended by Mr. Shimels Abdisa, the President of the Oromia National Regional Government, the Holy Synod passed the following decisions after extensive discussion.
1. February 16, 2023 Under the leadership of His Excellency the Prime Minister of Efederi, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, all the 3 former Popes who have remained steadfast in their feast days, namely His Holiness Abune Sawiros, His Holiness Abune Eostatheos, and His Holiness Abune Zenamarkos, came to the Patriarchate on January 26, 2023. The condemnation passed by the plenary session of the Holy Synod is effective today, March 30, 2023. It’s been up since.
2. All the 3 Popes who were condemned, from today, March 30, 2023. Since then, the Holy Synod has decided that they should be called by their former titles and names, namely His Holiness Abune Sawiros Archbishop, His Holiness Abune Eustatheos, and His Holiness Zenamarkos, and continue their work in their assigned responsibilities.
3. The 20 former monks who accepted the invitation and submitted their written request to the Holy Synod office on January 26, 2023, according to the agreement reached in the discussion attended by the honorable Prime Minister. The condemnation passed by the decision of the plenary session of the Holy Synod is effective today, March 30, 2023. It’s been up since. The Holy Synod once again urged the remaining 5 to use the available time to return to their churches.
4. The Holy Synod decided that the 20 former monks who were condemned should serve in their ranks from deacon to senior priest and be called by their names according to the canonical church.
5. The Holy Synod decided that the 20 former monks should be assigned to their previous positions according to the agreement reached regarding the assignment of work.
6. For the honor and glory of our church, we are working night and day to help the victims of death, physical and moral harm, imprisonment, abuse, and persecution of the parishioners, youth, priests, and officials from the diocese to the local area, and to solve the problem according to law and to respect the rights and interests of the church. The Holy Synod has decided that the professional services provided by the Association of Lawyers will always be remembered with deep sorrow and prayer and will be recorded in the church’s historical records and used as a lesson for the next generation.
7. The Holy Synod strongly urges you, the fathers of the church who have been condemned, to serve the entire Christian community and your mother church, whose honor has been violated, with a spirit of humility that can be praised and to refrain from such illegal behavior again.
8. On behalf of the church, in order to remove the challenge that has befallen our church and protect the rights and honor of the church, to the three blessed abbots, the blessed Abune Nathaniel, the blessed Abune Jermias and the blessed Abune Raphael, who contributed greatly by participating in the discussion forum led by the honorable Prime Minister and the elders of the country, as well as in the court of justice. The Association of Lawyers who worked hard to file a case and the media institutions that worked extensively in spreading the problem to the whole world, the Holy Synod is very thankful for the unforgettable service you have given to history.
9. Although it was promised that all the arrested individuals would be released according to the discussion and agreement made with the Honorable Federal Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and the Honorable Ato Shimelish Abdisa, the President of the Oromia National Regional Government, but as many people are still in prison, the government will release all of them as promised. The Holy Synod strongly urges the release of prisoners.
10. Due to the crisis, the bishops, diocesan and district church workers, who have been assigned to work in the church structure from the diocese to the local churches and have been displaced due to the crisis, to continue their assigned work without any security risk, so that the government bodies at all levels, starting from the federal government, should fulfill their responsibilities. Synod concerns.
March 30, 2022
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
EOTC TV
