Abuna Atnatewos II was the Abuna

Abuna

Also see Leaders of ChristianityAbun is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as well as of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church...

 or head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (1869–1876). He was brought to Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

 by Emperor Yohannes IV

Yohannes IV of Ethiopia

Yohannes IV , born Lij Kassay Mercha Ge'ez, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1872 until his death.-Early life:...

, who raised the $20,000 to pay the Patriarch of Alexandria

Patriarch of Alexandria

The Patriarch of Alexandria is the Archbishop of Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope , and did so earlier than that of the Bishop of Rome...

 Cyril V

Pope Cyril V of Alexandria

Pope Cyril of Alexandria V) was the 112th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...

.

Abuna Atnatewos actively worked against the influence of Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 missionaries; Asseggahen wrote to Antoine d'Abbadie that Atnatewos anathematized the Catholic bishop Massaia

Guglielmo Massaia

Guglielmo Massaia was an Italian Catholic missionary, Capuchin and Cardinal. His baptismal name was Lorenzo; he took Guglielmo as religious name.-Life:...

, and threatened to excommunicate

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

 the inhabitants of Shewa

Shewa

Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...

 were they to associate with him.

The Abuna supported Emperor Yohannes' campaign against the Egyptian attempt to annex Hamasien

Hamasien

Hamasien was the name of an histoical province including and surrounding Asmara, now part of modern Eritrea. The region has been divided and distributed amongst the modern Maekel, Debub, Northern Red Sea, Gash-Barka and Anseba regions....

. It is reported that Abuna Atnatewos was wounded at the Battle of Gura, later dying on 29 June 1876.