The Time is Right to Unify the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church   

We welcome and support the initiative by the Council of Peace and Unity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to work towards the unification of the Ethiopian Tewahedo church. The controversy surrounding this ancient church in the past 18 years has never been over a difference in church doctrine. It has to do with how power was transferred from one patriarch to another patriarch, both well educated and respected religious leaders. Most of us have chosen to remain silent not because of indifference to the controversy, but because we know very little about how the church conducts its business. We also do not want to take sides and get involved in the business of arguing which is or is not legitimate church leadership.  Now that the climate is good, we should speak up in support of the work of this group (the Council) to bring our church fathers from the Diaspora and Ethiopia around the negotiation table and resolve their differences.  What happened in the early 1990s is now history and nothing should justify sustaining divisions. The leaders of both Diaspora and Ethiopian churches must sacrifice their personal pride to make hard choices that serve the common good.  The bottom-line should be uniting the church and leave a lasting legacy by their generation.

From the Diaspora side, there are issues that give urgency to initiate an effort for church unity. For one thing, as the Ethiopian economy grows, our contacts with Ethiopian institutions have become more and more frequent. These contacts reinforce our Ethiopian identity and the sentiment for a unified church. Second, right now the Diaspora church commands respect and loyalty among the Diaspora masses, considering also that some of the priests were refugees like us. Abune Merkorios and his senior people have laboured hard to build Parishes in many Diaspora communities.  However, all of these fathers are aging and in the absence of strong central authority (in the event of their death or retirement), Diaspora churches could fragment. There are already priests creating �independent� churches in small town across the West and God knows who they are or what they do! Am I the only one who heard a story of an Orthodox Tewahedo priest monk who was later found to be a divorcee and living with a woman? There should be only one church and one church authority in the global Ethiopian society.

There is no question that the Patriarch of Ethiopia Abune Paulos has earned the respect of  religious leaders worldwide. He has done a lot to transform the entire Ethiopian church administrative apparatus including encouraging younger clergies to compare themselves with modern professionals working in state and private sectors.  Yet, time and circumstances dictated how today�s Ethiopian church relates to Diaspora churches and this requires creating a negotiated order in mutually respectful environment. There should be no use of intimidation and threats as means to bring Diaspora churches under the authority of the Synod in Ethiopia. Those delegates coming to negotiate with Diaspora church leaders should be selected carefully to ensure that discussions and negotiations are forward-looking, instead of dwelling on the past. It is also time that the Ethiopian government initiates its own process, such as creating a neutral panel of experts, to look into this matter and search for options acceptable to both parties.

Finally, we hope that Diaspora interest groups would take the initiative created by the Council of Peace and Unity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church positively, and restrain themselves from making negative remarks or taking sides. We all know that the Ethiopian Diaspora clergy consists of intellectuals who adhere to strict discipline and no one in the right mind should think that they would be swayed easily by anything less than the unity of this ancient church and addressing the interests and aspirations of the Diaspora masses.

Getachew Mequanent

Ottawa, Canada

August 21, 2010