The
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is part of the
Oriental Orthodox communion, and it was granted
autocephaly by
Shenouda III,
Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church
The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ, translit=Papa; ar, البابا, translit=al-Bābā), also known as the Bishop of Alexandria, is the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, with ancient Christian roots in Egypt. The ...
, in 1994 — a year after
Eritrea gained its independence from
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
. Shenouda III ordained five Eritrean high-ranking clergy as Bishops of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church on 19 June 1994 in
Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral
St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral is a Coptic church located in the Abbassia District in Cairo, Egypt. The cathedral is the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope. It was built during the time when Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria was Pope of the Co ...
in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
. This would allow the formation of a local
Holy Synod
In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod. For instance, the Holy Synod is a ruling body of the Georgian Orthodox C ...
for Eritrea. Shenouda III also agreed that a newly elected Patriarch would be able to consecrate on his own new bishops and metropolitans for the Eritrean Church. The Patriarch of Eritrea also carries the title of
Abuna in line with the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
After declaration of
autocephaly of the church in 1994, the position of Patriarch of Eritrea remained vacant until 1999 when
Phillipos became the first Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Patriarchs of Eritrea
Timeline
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Period = from:1999 till:2025
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from:1999 till:2001 color:PT text:" Phillipos (1999–2001)"
from:2002 till:2003 color:PT text:"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. Ja ...
(2002–2003)"
from:2004 till:2006 color:PT text:" Antonios (2004–2006)"
from:2007 till:2015 color:PT text:" Dioskoros (2007–2015)"
from:2021 till:2022 color:PT text:" Qerlos (2021–2022)"
barset:skip
See also
*
Coptic Christianity
Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are ...
*
List of abunas of Ethiopia
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abunas Of Eritrea
Lists of Eritrean people
Eritrea
Eritrea