Abune Tewophilos
Encyclopedia
Abuna Theophilos, also known as Abune Tewophilos, (1909–1977) was the second Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. He officially succeeded Abuna Basilios
in 1971, having assumed the role of acting patriarch upon Abuna Basilios' death in 1970.
, in Gojjam
. His parents were Ato Jenbere Wube and Woizero Zeritu Adelahu. After serving and studying at the Monastery of Debre Elias and at the Addis Alem St. Mary of Zion Monastery, Meliktu Jenbere received monastic orders at the Monastery of Debre Libanos
in 1937 and received ordination as a priest from Abuna Abraham, Archbishop of Gojjam. In 1942, not long after Emperor Haile Selassie returned from exile, Abba Meliktu was made administrating priest with the title of Memher of the Mekane Selassie ("House of the Trinity") Monastery in Addis Ababa
. Later, with the completion of the Cathedral at this monastery, he was made Dean of this new Holy Trinity Cathedral with the title of Lique Siltanat ("Arch-hierarch").
Then in 1947, Lique Siltanat Abba Meliktu traveled to Cairo with other high clerics to be made bishops by Coptic
Pope Yusab
, the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria
. At the same time that Abuna Basilios
became Ethiopia's first native born Metropolitan Archbishop, Abba Meliktu was anointed as bishop of Harar
with the name Abune Tewophilos. After Abune Basilios was made Patriarch of Ethiopia by the Coptic Pope Kyrillos
, Abune Tewophilos was elevated by the first Patriarch of Ethiopia to Archbishop of Harrar. Between 1951 and 1970, Abune Tewophilos served as regent and deputy for the ailing Patriarch Abune Basilios, and towards the end of this period was performing in the role of acting Patriarch. Upon the death of Abune Basilios in 1970, Abune Tewophilos was elected on April 7, 1971 and enthroned in Addis Ababa
on May 9, 1971 as the second Patriarch of Ethiopia.
and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and began the process of raprochment with the Roman Catholic Church. The Patriarch visited the Holy Land, several Orthodox sees in Eastern Europe, and also toured the new Ethiopian Orthodox parishes in the Caribbean basin and North America.
In 1974, revolution toppled the monarchy
in Ethiopia, and the Marxist-Leninist
Derg
regime replaced Emperor Haile Selassie in government. As a result, the Ethiopian Church lost its standing as the state church, and equality of religions was proclaimed, although the new government professed official atheism
. While at first staying out of politics, the Patriarch became disillusioned with the Derg's professed ideology, and was horrified with the massacre of the 60 ex-officials of the Emperor's government in November 1974. He was refused permission to receive custody of the Emperor's remains when Emperor Haile Selassie was murdered by the new government in August 1975, and was also warned not to conduct public memorial services in his name. The Patriarch is said to have performed a private requiem for the Emperor, with only his own personal staff present in his chapel. The government suspected that the Patriarch was secretly corresponding with the leadership of the monarchist Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU), which had raised an armed rebellion in northern and western Ethiopia.
With the disestablishment of the church and the severing of ties between church and state, the Patriarch believed that he was entitled to make all decisions concerning the church independent of the authorities, and appointed five new bishops without consulting the Derg. Among these bishops was Abuna Paulos, who would eventually become the fifth Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. The Derg used this excuse to seize the Patriarch and place him under arrest in May, 1976. Under orders from the Derg, the Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was ordered to elect a new leader, and Patriarch Abuna Tekle Haymanot
was elected to lead the church. The Coptic Patriarchate in Egypt, however, angrily denounced the imprisonment of Abuna Tewophilos, and refused to recognize the election and enthronment of the new Abuna. The Coptic Church argued that the removal of Abuna Tewophilos was not canonical as it was done by the government and not by the Synod of the Orthodox Church. As a result, ties between the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches were severed. Patriarch Abuna Tewophilos was imprisoned, and was brutally executed a year later. Following the fall of the Derg regime, his remains were disinterred, and reburied in full ceremonial state at the Gofa St. Gabriel church which he himself had built in southern Addis Ababa.
Abuna Basilios
His Holiness Abuna Basilios was the first Ethiopian born Archbishop or Abuna, and later the first Patriarch, of the Ethiopian Church.-Early life :...
in 1971, having assumed the role of acting patriarch upon Abuna Basilios' death in 1970.
Early life
Abune Tewophilos was born as Meliktu Jenbere in the Parish of Debre Elias, district of Debre MarqosDebre Marqos
Debre Marqos is a city and woreda in east-central Ethiopia. Located in the Misraq Gojjam Zone of the Amhara Region, it has a latitude and longitude of , and an elevation of 2,446 meters. The city is named Debre Marqos after its principal church, which was constructed in 1869 and dedicated to St....
, in Gojjam
Gojjam
Gojjam was a kingdom in the north-western part of Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Marqos. This region is distinctive for lying entirely within the bend of the Abbay River from its outflow from Lake Tana to the Sudan...
. His parents were Ato Jenbere Wube and Woizero Zeritu Adelahu. After serving and studying at the Monastery of Debre Elias and at the Addis Alem St. Mary of Zion Monastery, Meliktu Jenbere received monastic orders at the Monastery of Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos is a monastery in Ethiopia, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the Oromia Region. Founded in the thirteenth century by Saint Tekle Haymanot, the monastery's chief abbot, called the Ichege, was the second most powerful official in the Ethiopian Church after the Abuna.The monastery...
in 1937 and received ordination as a priest from Abuna Abraham, Archbishop of Gojjam. In 1942, not long after Emperor Haile Selassie returned from exile, Abba Meliktu was made administrating priest with the title of Memher of the Mekane Selassie ("House of the Trinity") Monastery in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
. Later, with the completion of the Cathedral at this monastery, he was made Dean of this new Holy Trinity Cathedral with the title of Lique Siltanat ("Arch-hierarch").
Then in 1947, Lique Siltanat Abba Meliktu traveled to Cairo with other high clerics to be made bishops by Coptic
Coptic Christianity
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the official name for the largest Christian church in Egypt and the Middle East. The Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of churches, which has been a distinct church body since the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, when it took a different...
Pope Yusab
Pope Joseph II of Alexandria
Pope Joseph II of Alexandria, known in Coptic as Yusab II was the Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...
, the Coptic 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...
. At the same time that Abuna Basilios
Abuna Basilios
His Holiness Abuna Basilios was the first Ethiopian born Archbishop or Abuna, and later the first Patriarch, of the Ethiopian Church.-Early life :...
became Ethiopia's first native born Metropolitan Archbishop, Abba Meliktu was anointed as bishop of Harar
Harar
Harar is an eastern city in Ethiopia, and the capital of the modern Harari ethno-political division of Ethiopia...
with the name Abune Tewophilos. After Abune Basilios was made Patriarch of Ethiopia by the Coptic Pope Kyrillos
Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria
Father Mina became Pope of Alexandria on 10 May 1959 . In accordance with the old Coptic church tradition, Pope Cyril VI was the only monk in the 20th century to be chosen for papacy without having being a bishop /Metropolitan first...
, Abune Tewophilos was elevated by the first Patriarch of Ethiopia to Archbishop of Harrar. Between 1951 and 1970, Abune Tewophilos served as regent and deputy for the ailing Patriarch Abune Basilios, and towards the end of this period was performing in the role of acting Patriarch. Upon the death of Abune Basilios in 1970, Abune Tewophilos was elected on April 7, 1971 and enthroned in Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia...
on May 9, 1971 as the second Patriarch of Ethiopia.
Second Patriarch of Ethiopia
Abune Tewophilos presided over a period of administrative reform in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Attempts were made to bring the church into the 20th century by introducing modern educational methods both in the theological schools and in the churches themselves. The Patriarch encouraged ecumenical ties with other OrientalOriental Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and began the process of raprochment with the Roman Catholic Church. The Patriarch visited the Holy Land, several Orthodox sees in Eastern Europe, and also toured the new Ethiopian Orthodox parishes in the Caribbean basin and North America.
In 1974, revolution toppled the monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
in Ethiopia, and the Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
Derg
Derg
The Derg or Dergue was a Communist military junta that came to power in Ethiopia following the ousting of Haile Selassie I. Derg, which means "committee" or "council" in Ge'ez, is the short name of the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police, and Territorial Army, a committee of...
regime replaced Emperor Haile Selassie in government. As a result, the Ethiopian Church lost its standing as the state church, and equality of religions was proclaimed, although the new government professed official atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. While at first staying out of politics, the Patriarch became disillusioned with the Derg's professed ideology, and was horrified with the massacre of the 60 ex-officials of the Emperor's government in November 1974. He was refused permission to receive custody of the Emperor's remains when Emperor Haile Selassie was murdered by the new government in August 1975, and was also warned not to conduct public memorial services in his name. The Patriarch is said to have performed a private requiem for the Emperor, with only his own personal staff present in his chapel. The government suspected that the Patriarch was secretly corresponding with the leadership of the monarchist Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU), which had raised an armed rebellion in northern and western Ethiopia.
With the disestablishment of the church and the severing of ties between church and state, the Patriarch believed that he was entitled to make all decisions concerning the church independent of the authorities, and appointed five new bishops without consulting the Derg. Among these bishops was Abuna Paulos, who would eventually become the fifth Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. The Derg used this excuse to seize the Patriarch and place him under arrest in May, 1976. Under orders from the Derg, the Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was ordered to elect a new leader, and Patriarch Abuna Tekle Haymanot
Abune Takla Haymanot
Abuna Takla Haymanot or Abune Takla Haymanot was the third Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. He was enthroned following the forcible removal from the Patriarchal throne of the previous Patriarch, Abuna Theophilos by the Marxist Derg regime in 1977...
was elected to lead the church. The Coptic Patriarchate in Egypt, however, angrily denounced the imprisonment of Abuna Tewophilos, and refused to recognize the election and enthronment of the new Abuna. The Coptic Church argued that the removal of Abuna Tewophilos was not canonical as it was done by the government and not by the Synod of the Orthodox Church. As a result, ties between the Coptic and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches were severed. Patriarch Abuna Tewophilos was imprisoned, and was brutally executed a year later. Following the fall of the Derg regime, his remains were disinterred, and reburied in full ceremonial state at the Gofa St. Gabriel church which he himself had built in southern Addis Ababa.