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List of abunas of Ethiopia

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Abuna of Ethiopia
Bishopric
oriental
Incumbent:
Mathias
Since 28 February 2013
StyleHis Holiness
Information
First holderSt. Frumentius (Bishop)
Basilios (Patriarch)
Establishedc. 350 (Foundation)
1959 (Autocephaly)
CathedralHoly Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa

This is a list of the abunas of Ethiopia, the spiritual heads of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The Abuna of Ethiopia is known officially as His Holiness Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Archbishop of Axum and Ichege of the See of St. Tekle Haymanot. The current Abuna, Mathias, acceded to this position on 28 February 2013.[1]

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is part of the Oriental Orthodox communion, and it was granted autocephaly by Cyril VI, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, in 1959.

Bishops of Axum

[edit]
Portrait Abuna
(Birth–Death)
Reign Notes
Abune Selama I Kesatay Birhan (St. Frumentius)
(Died c. 383)
c. 350–383 Brought Christianity to the Kingdom of Aksum.[2]
Minas or Elyas[3]
Abreham Late 4th century – early 5th century
Petros
Abba Aftse Late 5th century – early 6th century
Qozmos fl. early 6th century
Euprepius fl. early 6th century
Seat vacant c. 537–562[4]

Metropolitan Archbishops of Axum and of All Ethiopia

[edit]
Portrait Abuna
(Birth–Death)
Reign Notes
Qerellos 620s – mid 7th century
unknown
Yohannes c. 820–840
Yaqob I fl. mid 9th century
Salama Za-'Azeb fl. 9th century
Bartalomewos fl. 10th century
Peter 920s Opposed by Minas and Fiqtor.
Seat vacant c. 940–970s
Daniel fl. late 10th century
Fiqtor fl. 11th century
'Abdun Claimant.
Sawiros 1077–1092
Giyorgis I fl. 1090s
Mikael I fl. early–mid 12th century
Yaqob II
Gabra Krestos
Atnatewos fl. late 12th century
Mikael II 1206–1209 Opposed by Hirun.
Yeshaq c. 1209–1225
Giyorgis II c. 1225
St. Tekle Haymanot c. 13th century According to tradition.
Yohannes (XIII?) fl. 14th century
Yaqob (III?) c. 1337–1344
Seat vacant 1344–1348
Salama II 1348–1388
Seat vacant 1388–1398/9
Bartalomewos 1398/9–1436
Mikael and Gabriel 1438–1458
Seat vacant 1458–1481
Yeshaq 1481–c. 1520
Marqos (VI?) 1481–c. 1530
João Bermudes [pt] c. 1536–c. 1545 Self-proclaimed Ethiopian Orthodox Abuna, and Catholic Patriarch of Ethiopia and Alexandria.
Endyras c. 1545–?
Andrés de Oviedo
(1518–1577)
1557–1577 Catholic bishop.
Marqos (VII?) c. 1565
Krestodolos I c. 1590
Petros (VI?) 1599?–1607 Killed in battle.
Simon
(Died 1624)
1608–1617
Afonso Mendes
(1579–1659)
1622–1632 Catholic Patriarch, supported by Susenyos I and deposed by Fasilides.
Seat vacant 1632–1633
Rezek c. 1634
Marqos (VIII?) c. 1635–1672 Deposed with Krestodolos.
Krestodolos II c. 1640–1672 Deposed with Marqos.
Sinoda 1672–1687
Seat vacant 1687–1689
Marqos (IX ?) 1689–late 17th century
Abba Mikael 1640–1699
Marqos X 1694–1716
Seat vacant 1716–1718
Krestodolos III c. 1718–1745
Seat vacant 1745–c. 1747
Yohannes XIV c. 1747–1770
Yosab III 1770–1803
Seat vacant 1803–c. 1808
Makarios fl. c. 1808
Seat vacant c. 1808–1816
Qerellos III 1816–1829
Seat vacant 1829–1841
Salama III
(Died 1867)
1841–1867
Seat vacant 1867–1868
Atnatewos II
(Died 1876)
1868–1876 Died of wounds received at the Battle of Gura in the Egyptian–Ethiopian War.
Petros VII
(Died 1918)
1876–1889
Mattheos X
(1843–1926)
1889–1926
Qerellos IV
(c. 1880–1950)
1926–1936 First tenure; deposed following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.
Abraham 1937–1939 Installed during the Italian occupation.
Yohannes XV 1939–1945
Qerellos IV
(c. 1880–1950)
1945–1950 Second tenure; restored.
Basilios
(1891–1970)
1951–1959 Elevated to Patriarch and Catholicos of All Ethiopia.

On 13 July 1948, the Coptic Orthodox and Ethiopian churches reached an agreement that led to the elevation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to the rank of an Autonomous Church; allowing the Archbishop of All Ethiopia to consecrate on his own bishops and metropolitans for the Ethiopian Church and to form a local Holy Synod. The Archbishop, however, is consecrated by the Pope of Alexandria along with the members of the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Patriarchs and Catholicoi of All Ethiopia

[edit]
No. Portrait Abuna
(Birth–Death)
Reign Notes
1 Basilios
(1891–1970)
1959–1970 Reigned during the 1960 Ethiopian coup attempt and the
1965 Conference of Addis Ababa.
Born in Mada Mikael as Gebre Giyorgis Wolde Tsadik
2 Theophilos
(1910–1979)
1971–1976 Confirmed by the Emperor after his election.[5]
Deposed and arrested by the Derg;[6][7] executed by strangling in 1979.[8]
Born in Debre Elias as Meliktu Jenbere
3 Takla Haymanot
(1918–1988)
1976–1988 Met Pope John Paul II in 1981, in the first such meeting in modern times.[9]
Born in Begemder as Melaku Wolde Mikael
4 Merkorios
(1938–2022)
1988–2022 Deposed by the EPRDF, which claimed that he willingly abdicated.
Headed the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Exile from 1991 to 2018.[10]
Entered into dual patriarch arrangement alongside Abune Mathias from 2018 to 2022.
Born in Begemder as Ze-Libanos Fanta
5 Paulos
(1936–2012)
1992–2012 Reign disputed by followers of Abune Merkorios.
Born in Adwa as Gebremedhin Woldeyohannes
6 Mathias
(born 1941)
[11]
2013–present Reign disputed by followers of Abune Merkorios until 2018.[12][13][10]
Entered into dual patriarch arrangement alongside Abune Merkorios from 2018 to 2022.
Born in Agame as Teklemariam Asrat

In 1959, the Coptic Orthodox Church granted autocephaly to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and elevated the Archbishop to the Patriarchal dignity and was enthroned with the title of: Patriarch and Re'ese Liqane Papasat Echege (Catholicos) of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The title of Ichege (Supreme Abbot) of the See of St. Tekle Haymanot of Debre Libanos was subsumed into the Patriarchate. The title of Ichege was revived and the title of Archbishop of Axum was added to the Patriarchal titles in 2005, as Axum was the seat of Ethiopia's first Bishop, St. Frumentius, and thus the oldest see in the church.

Timeline

[edit]
Abune MathiasAbune PaulosAbune MerkoriosAbuna Takla HaymanotAbuna TheophilosAbuna Basilios

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Abune Mathias elected as the 6th Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Church". Ethioabay. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  2. ^ Adejumobi, Saheed A. (2007). The History of Ethiopia. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-313-32273-0.
  3. ^ Minas according to the Gadla Afse, while Elyas according to the source of Carlo Conti Rossini in Acta Yared et Pantalewon. Sergew Hable Selassie, Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1270. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: United Printers, p. 116
  4. ^ Due to the exiling of Patriarch Theodosius I and his replacement with the Chalcedonian Patriarch Paul, according to an Arabic source. Sergew, Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History, p. 142.
  5. ^ "New Patriarch of Ethiopia Is Approved by Emperor". The New York Times. 13 April 1971. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Patriarch Is Deposed By Ethiopian Regime". The New York Times. 19 February 1976. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Ethiopian Church Ex‐Head Is Reported Under Arrest". The New York Times. 2 March 1976. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  8. ^ Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. 2 February 2012. p. 7. ISBN 9780195382075.
  9. ^ "Around the World; Pope Meets Patriarch Of Ethiopian Church". The New York Times. Reuters. 18 October 1981. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Ethiopia's exiled patriarch Bishop Merkorios returns". BBC. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  11. ^ "His Holiness Abune Mathias elected as sixth Patriach (sic) of Ethiopian Orthodox Church". The Sheba Post. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  12. ^ Kibriye, Solomon (27 July 2018). "Ethiopian Orthodox Unity Declaration Document in English". Orthodoxy Cognate Page. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  13. ^ Dickinson, Augustine (31 July 2018). "Decades-Old Schism in the Ethiopian Church Mended". Ethiopicist Blog. Retrieved 8 August 2018.

Sources

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