Divisions Unto Divisions

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Orthodox Tewahedo Church officials met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed over the weekend, defusing tensions temporarily over a developing schism within the religious institution that has prompted deadly clashes and social media restrictions in the country over the past few weeks, Africanews reported.

Following the meeting, Church officials called off Sunday’s planned mass protests.

Church officials and congregants are concerned over the creation of a breakaway synod by Orthodox Church bishops in the Oromia region – the country’s most populous – which they say is threatening the stability of the country just a few months after a peace agreement between the federal government and the Tigrayans that is attempting to bring peace to the country again.

The row began when three dissenting clerics accused the main church of ethnic discrimination and a lack of diversity. They said the Orthodox Church has been dominated culturally by other ethnic groups – claims rejected by the church’s patriarchate – and demanded that services in Oromia be held in the Oromo language.

The main church moved to excommunicate the three bishops for creating the breakaway synod. Soon after, violent clashes between supporters and opponents of the schism killed at least 30 people.

Abiy – an Oromo who belongs to the Pentecostal Church – initially instructed his cabinet to stay out of the matter and banned demonstrations by both sides. Authorities also restricted social media and messaging platforms ahead of protests, the BBC wrote.

The Orthodox Church accused the government of taking sides – and possibly even orchestrating the schism – and vowed to carry on with its protests, despite the ban.

But after Abiy’s weekend meeting with Patriarch Abune Mathias to ease tensions, the main church said it would postpone the demonstrations “because of the government’s agreement and decision to solve the problem immediately, within the deadline set by the church.”

Meanwhile, the Orthodox clergy has often complained of persecution, including church burnings a few years ago, and relations with the government have been strained in the past, particularly during the Tigray conflict.

About 43 percent of Ethiopia’s 113 million people belong to the Orthodox Church, about 22 percent to Protestant denominations and one-third are Muslim.

Analysts noted that the patriarch – a Tigrayan – has not been on good terms with the government since he began to speak out about the civil war in the northern Tigray region.