VIDEO: EPPF’s 10th Anniversary Conference Report | Amharic News (October 26, 2009)

Two Ethiopian religious leaders arrived in Eritrea opposing the prevailing conflict and anarchy within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EOC) that was instigated by the clique headed by Abune Paulos.
Moreover, they took the move in order to save their lives from the acts of conspiracy being weaved by the clique.The two religious leaders are Melake Tsehai Aba Abiy Yohannes who used to serve at the Lideta Church in Addis Ababa, and priest Tibebu Asefaw who used to serve at the Silasie Monastery administered by the Addis Ababa Synod. They pointed out that the politics of the TPLF being pursued by Abune Paulos under the guise of religion is fomenting tribalism, theft and anarchy within the EOC, besides jeopardizing the lives of many senior religious leaders. As a result, a numbers of priests and church staff are abandoning the monasteries and churches to save their lives, they added.

Indicating that Abune Paulos who was not elected through the rules and regulations of the Patriarchate but rather by the TPLF regime in the first place is pursuing a path different from that of spiritual life, the religious leaders explained that bribe and corruption are now rampant in all sections of the EOC from top to bottom. They further disclosed that the picture of Abune Paulos is being displayed in various churches and monasteries more than saints’ images.

The two religious leaders went on to say that the Patriarch is snatching a lot of illicit money, in addition to being escorted by the TPLF regime’s security personnel, thus attesting to the fact that he is totally isolated from the faithful he claims to be providing leadership.

They further noted that continued attempts have been made to dismiss Abune Samuel, Vice Patriarch and Bishop of the Addis Ababa Synod, who is widely acclaimed by members of the Synod, religious leaders and the faithful, simply because he criticized and opposed the Patriarch. Worried by the opposition from Abune Samuel, Abune Paulos resorted to dividing the Addis Ababa Synod into 5 units so that Abune Samuel would be left in control of a single unit. However, such a move ended in utter failure as it was rejected by members of the Synod, and that this remains to be the root cause of the prevailing conflict, they added.

Moreover, Melake Tsehai Aba Abiy Yohannes and Priest Tibebu Asefaw explained that contrary to the spiritual mission, Abune Paulos often preaches the public to be cautious about the “Amharas” which practice amply demonstrates that he is preoccupied with politics. They elaborated that the Patriarch is also involved in the conspiracies of killing of senior religious leaders in various Ethiopian churches and monasteries. The faithful are also very much annoyed by Abune Paulos’ decision preventing the conduct of prayer service for the late priest Ayalew Tamiru who was a well-known and respected religious figure, they added.

It is to be noted that a number of religious leaders fled the country opposing the corrupt practices within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church headed by Abune Paulos under the sponsorship of the TPLF.