| Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church | |
|---|---|
| ናይ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ኤርትራ Bet'ə K'rstian Tewahədo Ertra | |
 Enda Mariam Cathedral inAsmara, the seat of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church | |
| Abbreviation | EOTC |
| Classification | Oriental Orthodox |
| Orientation | Orthodox Tewahedo |
| Scripture | Orthodox Tewahedo Bible |
| Theology | Oriental Orthodox theology |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Primate | Basilos |
| Region | Eritrea andEritrean diaspora |
| Language | Geʽez,Tigrinya |
| Headquarters | Enda Mariam Cathedral,Asmara,Eritrea |
| Founder | The Apostle and Evangelist Mark in 42 ADAlexandria, SaintFrumentius in 328 ADAxum (according to the Eritrean Orthodox tradition), Abune Phillipos in 1993 ADAsmara (modern) |
| Independence | From theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in 1991 |
| Members | 3 million[1] |
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TheEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Tigrinya:ናይ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ኤርትራ,romanized: beta krstyan tawahdo ertra[2]) is one of theOriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters inAsmara,Eritrea. It was givenautocephaly byShenouda III of Alexandria,pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, after Eritrea gained its independence fromEthiopia in 1993. Thus, the Eritrean Church accords a primacy of honor to the Coptic Church.[3][4][5]
Sources differ on the percentage of Christians in the Eritrean population, with most figures being close to one-half,[6][7] although some sources report slightly more than 60%.[8] Almost 90% of Eritrean Christians are followers ofOriental Orthodoxy.[7] The rest of the population is almost entirely Muslim.[6][8]
Tewahedo (Ge'ez:ተዋሕዶtäwaḥədo) is a Geʽez word meaning "being made one".
According to theCatholic Encyclopedia (1917 edition) article on theHenoticon: around 500 AD bishops within thePatriarchates ofAlexandria,Antioch andJerusalem refused to accept the "two natures" doctrine decreed by theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451, thus separating themselves from the rest of Christianity since that time.[9] This separate Christian communion came to be known asOriental Orthodoxy. The Oriental Orthodox Churches, which today include theCoptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, theArmenian Apostolic Church, theSyriac Orthodox Church, theMalankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India, theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, are referred to as "Non-Chalcedonian". These churches themselves describe theirChristology asmiaphysite, but outsiders often describe them asmonophysite.[10][11]
Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) wished to attempt the task of conversion, but this did not happen. Instead,Pope Paul III sent outJoão Nunes Barreto [pt] as Patriarch of the East Indies, withAndrés de Oviedo as bishop; and fromGoa envoys (followed by Oviedo) went to Ethiopia.
The first independent Patriarch of Eritrea wasAbune Phillipos, who died in 2002 and was succeeded byAbune Yacob. The reign ofAbune Yacob as Patriarch of Eritrea was very brief, as he died not long after his enthronement, and he was succeeded byAbune Antonios as 3rd Patriarch of Eritrea. Abune Antonios was elected on 5 March 2004, and enthroned as the third Patriarch of Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Eritrea on 24 April 2004.Pope Shenouda III presided at the ceremony inAsmara, together with the Holy Synod of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and aCoptic Orthodox Church delegation.
In August 2005, Abune Antonios, the Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, was confined to a strictly ceremonial role. In a letter dated 13 January 2006, Patriarch Abune Antonios was informed that following several sessions of the church's Holy Synod, he had been formally deposed. In a written response that was widely published, the Patriarch rejected the grounds of his dismissal, questioned the legitimacy of the synod, and excommunicated two signatories to the 13 January 2006 letter, including Yoftahe Dimetros, whom the Patriarch identified as being responsible for the church's recent upheavals. Patriarch Antonios also appealed his case to the Council of the Monasteries of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and to theCoptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Abune Antonios was deposed by the Eritrean Holy Synod supposedly under pressure from the Eritrean government; as of 2006 he is under house arrest.[12][13]
Abuna Antonios was replaced byAbune Dioskoros as the fourth Patriarch of the church. Patriarch Abuna Dioskoros died on 21 December 2015.Qerlos became the fifth patriarch of the church in June 2021.[14][15]
In common with allEastern Orthodox,Oriental Orthodox, and Western Orthodox churches; theCatholic Church and theOld Catholic churches of theUnion of Utrecht, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church professes belief in the seven sacraments ofbaptism,confirmation/chrismation,eucharist,confession, theanointing of the sick,matrimony, andholy orders. It regards the first four as being "necessary for every believer".[16]
The church holds the ancient Christian belief in theReal Presence ofChrist in theEucharist stating that "The consecrated bread and wine are the body and blood of Christ. Jesus Christ is truly, really and substantially present in the consecrated elements. In the Eucharist, we eat the blessed flesh of our Lord and drink His precious blood under the form of bread and wine."[16]
As in other Eastern Christian traditions, the bond of marriage is able to be dissolved, but only on the grounds of adultery. To safeguard the practice of the faith, church members are discouraged from marrying people outside of the Orthodox communion. Church members who undergo a purely civil ceremony are not regarded as sacramentally married.[17]
The traditionalliturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church isGeʽez. This was the language of the earlyAksumite Christians of the region. Though Geʽez has no more native speakers, the language is still used for church liturgical functions and festivities. But thesibket or sermons are normally in given in the localTigrinya language. Geʽez is currently being replaced by Tigrinya, as the principal language for church services.[4][18][19]
The Tewahedo Church Biblical Canon contains 81 books, including almost all of those which are accepted by other Orthodox and Oriental Christians; the exception is theBooks of the Maccabees, at least some of which are accepted in the Eastern Orthodox and other Oriental Orthodox churches, but not in the Tewahedo churches (the books of Meqabyan, which are accepted instead, have an etymologically connected name, but rather different content). The Eritrean Orthodox canon and the Ethiopian Orthodox canon are identical.
Like theEthiopian Church, the Eritrean Church places a heavier emphasis on Old Testament teachings than one might find in other churches. Women are prohibited from entering the church temple duringmenses;[20] they are also expected tocover their hair with a large scarf (orshash) while in church, as described in 1 Corinthians, chapter 11. As with Orthodoxsynagogues, men and women sit separately in the Ethiopian church, with men on the left and women on the right (when facing the altar).[21] (Women covering their heads and separation of the sexes in churches officially is common to few other Christian traditions; it is also the rule in some non-Christian religions,Islam andOrthodox Judaism among them).[22]
Before praying, the Eritrean Orthodox wash their hands and face, in order to be clean before and present their best to God;shoes are removed in order to acknowledge that one is offering prayer before a holy God.[23][24] Eritrean Orthodox worshippers remove their shoes when entering a church temple,[21] in accordance withExodus 3:5 (in whichMoses, while viewing theburning bush, was commanded to remove his shoes while standing on holy ground). Furthermore, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church like its Ethiopian counterpart is known to observe theseventh-day Sabbath (Saturday, or the lesser Sabbath), in addition to theLord's Day (Sunday, or the Christian Sabbath),[25] recognizing both to be holy days of joy, prayer, and contemplation, although more emphasis, because of theResurrection of Christ, is laid upon Sunday. While the Tewahedo Churches are known for this practice, it is neither an innovation nor unique to them,[26] deriving from theApostolic Constitutions and theApostolic Canons[27][28] and only became a theological dispute in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in the centuries leading up to the issue being rectified by Ewostatewos.[29] The emperorGelawdewos in hisConfession, anapologia of traditional beliefs and practices explicitly says "we do not honour it as the Jews do... but we so honour it that we celebrate thereon the Eucharist and have love-feasts, even as our Fathers the Apostles have taught us in the Didascalia".[30][31]
It is a common cultural practice for members of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church to undergo malecircumcision and to abstain from meats deemed unclean.[32][33][34][35][36][37][38] This is purely done as a cultural tradition and not out of religious obligation, the liturgy explicitly stating "let us not be circumcised like the Jews. We know that He who had to fulfil the law and the prophets has already come.".[39][40][41][42][43]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(September 2024) |
After declaration ofautocephaly of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church was recognized by theCoptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in 1994, the newly established patriarchal seat of Eritrea remained vacant until 1999 when Philipos was electedAbune Phillipos and the first patriarch of Eritrea (1999–2001). He was succeeded byAbune Yacob in 2002 andAbune Antonios in 2004. Abune Antonios's objections to excommunicating heterodox monks and students in Asmara led to his exile via house arrest and excommunication.
In April 2007, the Synod elected a new patriarch,Abune Dioskoros, who was the Patriarch of Eritrea until his death on 21 December 2015.
On December 9, 2024, Archbishop Abune Basilyos was elected as the 6th Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church. His enthronement is scheduled for January 26, 2025, at the Church of Saint Virgin Mary.[44][45]
Vacant from 1994 to 1999, and from December 2015 to June 2021.
Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The king presided, overruled the bishops who were committed to the more usual position that Sunday only was a holy day, and decreed that the Sabbatarian teaching of the northern monks became the position of the church.
Since the first century, Christians made Sunday the Christian Sabbath and kept Saturday as the Jewish Sabbath.
Assemble yourselves together in the church, evening and morning; offer up praises, and sing; and read the Psalms of David, the sixty-second, and moreover the hundred and fortieth. And especially on the Jewish Sabbath, and on the first day of the week, the Christian Sabbath, which is the day of His holy resurrection, offer up praises and thanksgivings and glory to the Lord, who hath created all things by his Son Jesus Christ, whom he sent unto us, who was pleased to suffer according to his will, and was buried in the tomb, and rose again from the dead.
XXXIII. I Peter and Paul do make the following constitutions. Let the slaves work five days; but on the Sabbath day and the Lord's day let them have leisure to go to church for instruction in piety. We have said that the Sabbath is on account of the creation, and the Lord's day of the resurrection. Let slaves rest from their work all the great week, and that which follows it — for the one in memory of the passion, and the other of the resurrection; and there is need they should be instructed who it is that suffered and rose again, and who it is permitted Him to suffer, and raised Him again. Let them have rest from their work on the Ascension, because it was the conclusion of the dispensation by Christ. Let them rest at Pentecost, because of the coming of the Holy Spirit, which was given to those that believed in Christ. Let them rest on the festival of His birth, because on it the unexpected favour was granted to men, that Jesus Christ, the Logos of God, should be born of the Virgin Mary, for the salvation of the world. Let them rest on the festival of Epiphany, because on it a manifestation took place of the divinity of Christ, for the Father bore testimony to Him at the baptism; and the Paraclete, in the form of a dove, pointed out to the bystanders Him to whom testimony was borne. Let them rest on the days of the apostles: for they were appointed your teachers to bring you to Christ, and made you worthy of the Spirit. Let them rest on the day of the first martyr Stephen, and of the other holy martyrs who preferred Christ to their own life.
Uniformly practiced by Jews, Muslims, and the members of Coptic, Ethiopian, and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, male circumcision remains prevalent in many regions of the world, particularly Africa, South and East Asia, Oceania, and Anglosphere countries.
male circumcision is still observed among Ethiopian and Coptic Christians, and circumcision rates are also high today in the Philippines and the US.
male circumcision is still observed among Ethiopian and Coptic Christians, and circumcision rates are also high today in the Philippines and the US.
Coptic Christians, Ethiopian Orthodox, and Eritrean Orthodox churches on the other hand, do observe the ordainment, and circumcise their sons anywhere from the first week of life to the first few years.
Henceforth, let us not be circumcised like the Jews. We know that He who had to fulfil the law and the prophets has already come.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)And concerning circumcision, we are not circumcised as the Jews, because we know the words of Paul the spring of wisdom, who saith, 'Circumcision availeth not, and uncircumcision availeth not, but rather a new creature, which is, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.' And again he saith to the men of Corinth, 'He that hath received circumcision, let him not receive uncircumcision.' All the books of the doctrine of Paul are in our hands, and teach us concerning circumcision and uncircumcision. But the circumcision that is practised amongst us is according to the custom of the country, like the tattooing of the face in Ethiopia and Nubia and the piercing of the ear amongst the Indians. And what we do (we do) not in observance of the Law of Moses, but according to the custom of men.
And concerning the eating of swine's flesh we are not prohibited from it, as the Jews are, by observance of the Law. Him also who eats thereof we do not abhor, and him who eats not thereof we do not compel to eat, as our Father Paul wrote to the Church of Rome, saying, 'Let not him who eateth despise him who eateth not; and, God receiveth all'. The Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, all is clean to the clean, but it is evil for a man to eat with offence. And Matthew the Evangelist saith, 'There is nothing that can defile the man except that which cometh forth from his mouth, but that which is in the belly goeth forth and is contained in the draught, and is cast out and poured forth; and (thus) He maketh all meats clean'.
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