The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( ti, ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ) is one of the

Oriental Orthodox Churches The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...

with its headquarters in

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

. Its

autocephaly Autocephaly (; from el, αὐτοκεφαλία, meaning "property of being self-headed") is the status of a hierarchical Christian church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. The term is primarily used in Eastern O ...

was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, after Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

History

Origins

''Tewahedo'' ( gez, ተዋሕዶ ''täwaḥədo'') is a Ge'ez word meaning "being made one", cognate to Arabic '' tawhid''. According to the '' Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1917 edition) article on the

Henoticon The ''Henotikon'' ( or in English; Greek ''henōtikón'' "act of union") was a christological document issued by Byzantine emperor Zeno in 482, in an unsuccessful attempt to reconcile the differences between the supporters of the Council of Chalc ...

: around 500 bishops within the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem refused to accept the "two natures" doctrine decreed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, thus separating themselves from the rest of Christianity since that time. This separate Christian communion came to be known as

Oriental Orthodoxy The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...

. The Oriental Orthodox Churches, which today include the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Armenian Apostolic Church, the

Syriac Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus ...

, the

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in Devalokam, near Kottayam, India. The church serve ...

of India, the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...

, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, are referred to as " Non-Chalcedonian". These churches themselves describe their Christology as

miaphysite Miaphysitism is the Christology, Christological doctrine that holds Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, the "Incarnation (Christianity), Incarnate Logos (Christianity), Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one 'nature' (''physis'')." It is a posi ...

, but outsiders often incorrectly describe them as "

monophysite Monophysitism ( or ) or monophysism () is a Christological term derived from the Greek (, "alone, solitary") and (, a word that has many meanings but in this context means "nature"). It is defined as "a doctrine that in the person of the incarn ...

Jesuit interim

Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) wished to attempt the task of conversion, but this did not happen. Instead,

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

sent out as Patriarch of the East Indies, with

Andrés de Oviedo Andrés de Oviedo (1518 - 29 June 1577), also known as Andre da Oviedo, was a Spanish Society of Jesus, Jesuit Christian missionary, missionary and Latin Patriarchate of Ethiopia, Patriarch of Ethiopia. Oviedo was born in Illescas, Toledo. On 19 ...

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 Abune Phillipos (27 September 1901 – 18 September 2002) was the first Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Life He was born in Endadeko, Ighelehames, Akeleguzay, Eritrea and began his religious training at the Debre Bizen Monas ...

, who died in 2002 and was succeeded by

Abune Yacob Abune Yacob (5 July 1924 – 1 December 2003) was the second patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( ti, ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ) is one of the Oriental Orthodox ...

. The reign of

as Patriarch of Eritrea was very brief, as he died not long after his enthronement, and he was succeeded by

Abune Antonios Abune Antonios (; 12 July 1927 – 9 February 2022) was the third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. He was illegally and forcefully deposed by the Eritrean government in 2006, and was placed under house arrest thereafter. Ecc ...

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

, together with the Holy Synod of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and a

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

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 Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Abune Antonios was deposed by the Eritrean Holy Synod supposedly under pressure from the Eritrean government; as of 2006 he is under house arrest. Abuna Antonios was replaced by

Abune Dioskoros Abune Diosqoros (born Diosqoros Hagos Mendefera; 1935 – 21 December 2015) was the fourth Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, appointed in April 2007. Bishop Born in 1935, Dioskoros was consecrated as bishop of the Seraye distri ...

as the fourth Patriarch of the church. Patriarch Abuna Dioskoros died on 21 December 2015.

Qerlos Abune Qerlos (1928 – 2 December 2022) was the fifth Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Traditions

In common with all Eastern Orthodox,

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...

, and Western Orthodox churches; the Catholic Church and the Old Catholic churches of the Union of Utrecht, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church professes belief in the seven sacraments of baptism,

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

, confession, the anointing of the sick, matrimony, and holy orders. It regards the first four as being "necessary for every believer". The church holds the ancient Christian belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

stating that "The consecrated bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ. Jesus Christ is truly, really and substantially present in the consecrated elements. In the Eucharist, we eat the blessed flesh of our Lord and drink His precious blood under the form of bread and wine." 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.

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 Enoch, 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 ''Didascalia Apostolorum'', or just ''Didascalia'', is a Christian legal treatise which belongs to the genre of the Church Orders. It presents itself as being written by the Twelve Apostles at the time of the Council of Jerusalem; however, schola ...

;

Similarities to Judaism

Like the Ethiopian Church, the Eritrean Church places a heavier emphasis on

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

teachings than one might find in Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Protestant churches, and its followers adhere to certain practices that one finds in

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

or Conservative Judaism. Like some

Eastern Christians Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...

, Eritrean Christians traditionally follow dietary rules that are similar to Jewish

Kashrut (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

, specifically with regard to how an animal is slaughtered. Similarly, the consumption of pork is prohibited, but unlike

Rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

Kashrut,

Ethiopian cuisine Ethiopian cuisine ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ምግብ "Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā məgəb") characteristically consists of vegetable and often very spicy meat dishes. This is usually in the form of ''wat,'' a thick stew, served on top of ''injera'' ( ...

allows the mixing of dairy products with meat. Women are prohibited from entering Eritrean church temples during menses; they are also expected to cover their hair with a large scarf (or a ''shash'') and while they are in church, as described in 1 Corinthians, chapter 11. As in Orthodox

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

s, men and women are seated separately in Eritrean church temples, men are seated on the left and women are seated on the right (while they are facing the altar). Eritrean Orthodox worshippers remove their shoes when they enter church temples, in accordance with

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * Ex ...

3:5 (in which

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

, while he was viewing the burning bush, was commanded to remove his shoes while he was standing on holy ground). Furthermore, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is Sabbatarian, observing the

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

on Saturday, in addition to observing the Lord's Day on Sunday, but in commemoration of the Resurrection of Christ, more emphasis is placed upon Sunday. The Eritrean Orthodox Church requires male circumcision, a practice which is nearly universally prevalent among Orthodox men in Eritrea, Eritrean Orthodox circumcise their sons "anywhere from the first week of life to the first few years of life."

Patriarchs and bishops of Eritrea

After declaration of

of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church was recognized by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in 1994, the newly established patriarchal seat of Eritrea remained vacant until 1999 when Philipos was elected

and the first patriarch of Eritrea (1999–2001). He was succeeded by

in 2002 and

in 2004. Abune Antonios's objections to government policy toward the church led to a government decision to depose him and place him under house arrest in 2006. In April 2007, the Synod elected a new patriarch,

, 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 Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Jac ...

(2002–2003) #

Antonios Antonios or Antónios is a Greek masculine given name that is a variant of Antonis, as well as a surname. Notable people with this name include the following: Given name *Antonios Antoniadis (born 20th-century), Greek physician * Antonios Antonopo ...

(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 Abune Qerlos (1928 – 2 December 2022) was the fifth Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.Скончался Предстоятель Эритрейской Церкви

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Official website
{{Authority control National churches Members of the World Council of Churches Christian organizations established in the 4th century 4th-century establishments