Ethiopian PM Weighs In On Deepening Crisis In Orthodox Church

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on leaders of the Church to resolve their differences through dialogue and discussion. He also defended his government’s track record of helping the Church in the face of growing criticisms, including by the Ezema party, of roles being played by the ruling party to divide the church by helping the breakaway Archbishops.

The PM’s remark came amid growing criticisms that his government is siding with the breakaway archbishops and security forces are detaining and pressuring religious leaders who are against the breakaway archbishops. In a video posted to his Facebook page, Abiy said that religious institutions should cleanse their insides from “politics, thievery and racism”, which he said were contrary to the principles and values of religious. But the trend has been repeatedly witnessed in the Ethiopian case, he said, leaving a trail of “breaking up history, hindering development, and damaging social coexistence.”

However, the Holy Synod of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) released a statement refuting the prime minister’s position, the way he understood the problem and the invalidity of his recommendation to resolve the problem.

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