Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Orthodox Tewahedo Bible | |
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Theology | Miaphysitism |
Polity | Episcopal |
Primate | Vacant |
Region | Eritrea and Eritrean diaspora |
Headquarters | Enda Mariam Cathedral, Asmara, Eritrea |
Founder | The Apostle and Evangelist Mark in 42 AD Alexandria, Saint Frumentius in 328 AD Axum (according to the Eritrean Orthodox tradition), Abune Phillipos in 1993 AD Asmara (modern) |
Independence | From the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in 1991 |
Members | 3,030,000[1] |
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Part of Oriental Orthodoxy |
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The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Tigrinya: ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ[2]) is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, after Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Thus, the Eritrean Church accords a primacy of honor to the Coptic Church.[3][4][5]
Sources differ on the percentage of Christians in the Eritrean population, with most figures being close to one-half,
History
Origins
Tewahedo (
.According to the
Jesuit interim
Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) wished to attempt the task of conversion, but this did not happen. Instead, Pope Paul III sent out João Nunes Barreto as Patriarch of the East Indies, with Andrés de Oviedo as bishop; and from Goa envoys (followed by Oviedo) went to Ethiopia.
Autocephaly after independence of Eritrea
The first independent Patriarch of Eritrea was Abune Phillipos, who died in 2002 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, Abune Antonios, the Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, 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
Abuna Antonios was replaced by Abune Dioskoros as the fourth Patriarch of the church. Patriarch Abuna Dioskoros died on 21 December 2015. Qerlos became the fifth patriarch of the church in June 2021.[14][15]
Traditions
In common with all
The church holds the ancient Christian belief in the
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.[17]
Liturgical language
The traditional
Biblical canon
The Tewahedo Church Biblical Canon contains 81 books, including almost all of those which are accepted by other Orthodox and Oriental Christians; the exception is the Books of the Maccabees, at least some of which are accepted in the Eastern Orthodox and other Oriental Orthodox churches, but not in the Tewahedo churches (the books of Meqabyan, which are accepted instead, have an etymologically connected name, but rather different content). The Eritrean Orthodox canon and the Ethiopian Orthodox canon are identical.
- The Narrower Canon also contains Jubilees, and three books of the Meqabyan;
- 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;
Similarities to Judaism
Like the
Eritrean Orthodox worshippers remove their shoes when they enter church temples,
Patriarchs and bishops of Eritrea
After declaration of
In April 2007, the Synod elected a new patriarch, Abune Dioskoros, who was the incumbent Patriarch of Eritrea until his death on 21 December 2015, although his reign was disputed by followers of Abune Antonios who endorse the latter as the continuing legitimate Patriarch of the church.
List of abunas
Vacant from 1994 to 1999, and from December 2015 to June 2021.
- Phillipos (1999–2001)
- Yacob (2002–2003)
- Antonios (2004–2006) – Deposed by the Eritrean government and by the so-called "synod" against the canon of the Church but still regarded as the legitimate Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
- Dioskoros (2007–2015) – Replaced Abune Antonios by a vote of confidence from the national body of the church in Eritrea.
- Qerlos (13 May 2021 – 2 December 2022)[25]
See also
- Religion in Eritrea
- Christianity in Eritrea
- Biblical law in Christianity
- Christian observances of Jewish holidays
- Christianity and Judaism
- Eastern Christianity
- Eastern Orthodox Christianity
- Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
- List of calendar of saints in the Orthodox Tewahedo
- Oriental Orthodox Christianity
References
- ^ "2011 Christian Population as Percentages of Total Population by Country". Global Christianity. Pew Research Center. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ "ወግዓዊት ዌብ ሳይት ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ኤርትራ – ቀዳሚ ገጽ". www.lisantewahdo.org. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ "Eritrean Orthodox Church (Oriental Orthodox) Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-59884-232-6.
- ISBN 978-1-59884-204-3.
- ^ a b "Eritrea".
- ^ a b The ARDA website, retrieved 2023-08-03
- ^ a b http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/2050/percent/all/ Archived 2017-10-26 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL]
- ^ "Catholic Encyclopedia: Henoticon". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
- ^ Winkler 1997, p. 33-40.
- ^ Brock 2016, p. 45-52.
- ^ "Eritrea Imposes New Controls on Orthodox Church". Compass Direct News. 2006. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
- ^ "Orthodox patriarch of Eritrea sacked". 2006-02-01. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-02-05.
- ^ "Abune Qerlos Elected as 5th Patriarch". Ministry of Information of Eritrea. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ "Official Consecration of His Reverend Abune Qerlos, 5th Patriarch of Eritrea". Ministry of Information of Eritrea. 13 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
- ^ a b "prairienet.org/~dxmoges/eotc.htm". Archived from the original on 2008-09-21. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ "prairienet.org/~dxmoges/basic.htm". Archived from the original on 2008-09-07. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ISBN 978-1-5026-5578-3.
- ISBN 978-90-04-11695-5.
- ^ a b Hable Selassie, Sergew (1997). The Church of Ethiopia – A panorama of History and Spiritual Life. Addis Abeba, Ethiopia: Berhanena Selam. p. 66.
- ISBN 9780852296332. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
- ^ "Circumcision". Columbia Encyclopedia. Columbia University Press. 2011.
- ISBN 9780195176322., Ethiopian, and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, male circumcision remains prevalent in many regions of the world, particularly in Africa, South and East Asia, Oceania, and Anglosphere countries.
Uniformly practiced by Jews, Muslims, and the members of the Coptic
- ISBN 9780313336959.
Unlike other Christian churches, Coptic Christians, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, and Eritrean Orthodox Christians practice male circumcision because their churches require it, and as a result, they circumcise their sons anywhere from the first week of life to the first few years of life.
- ^ "Скончался Предстоятель Эритрейской Церкви: новость ОВЦС". Отдел внешних церковных связей. Московского Патриархата.
Sources
- Binns, John (2016). The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History. Tauris. ISBN 978-1784536954.
- ISBN 9788815261687.
- ISBN 9780881410563.
- Winkler, Dietmar W. (1997). "Miaphysitism: A New Term for Use in the History of Dogma and in Ecumenical Theology". The Harp. 10 (3): 33–40.