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Introduction: The Faith and The Fracture
For two millennia, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) has been more than a mere religious institution; it is the bedrock of Ethiopian civilization, the custodian of a unique apostolic tradition, and the unwavering chronicler of the nation’s soul. It gave birth to the Ge’ez script, inspired the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, and forged a national identity that withstood centuries of external pressures. The Church’s history is inextricably linked with that of the Ethiopian state, a symbiotic relationship often described as a sacred covenant between the throne and the altar. This covenant, however, has been systematically and violently broken over the last fifty years.
This article presents a solemn chronicle of a protracted persecution, a multi-generational campaign waged against one of the world’s oldest Christian communions. The assault has not been a random series of isolated incidents but a deliberate, evolving strategy implemented by successive regimes, each employing different tactics but sharing a common goal: to neutralize, control, and ultimately break the influential power of the EOTC, which they perceive as the primary obstacle to their ideological and political projects. The suffering of the faithful—the massacres, the displacement, the burned sanctuaries—represents a profound national trauma, a targeted effort to sever Ethiopia from its historical and spiritual roots.
This extensive analysis aims to achieve several critical objectives: In the first section ,the analysis aimed to provide a detailed, chronological account of the persecution of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church across three distinct political eras: the Marxist Derg regime (1974-1991), the ethnic federalist EPRDF/TPLF regime (1991-2018), and the current government under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (2018-present) ,In the second part , the article discuss the ideological and political motivations driving each regime’s campaign against the Church, examining how the methods of persecution shifted from outright atheistic suppression to ethnic Balkanization and, most recently, to state-sponsored ethnic cleansing and final section the article Highlight State Complicity and International Silence. under this section the article discuss the paramount role of state sponsorship and complicity in the violence, particularly in the current era, and to critique the profound and deafening silence of the international community in the face of escalating atrocities.This article serves as both a historical record and an urgent call to action, arguing that the fate of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is inseparable from the fate of Ethiopia itself.
Part I: The Theological and Historical Bedrock
To understand the magnitude of the persecution, one must first appreciate the profundity of the EOTC’s role. Established in the 4th century AD, it is one of the oldest Christian bodies in the world. Its Tewahedo (meaning “unified”) Christology, which emphasizes the single, unified nature of Christ, distinguishes it from both Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions. The Church preserved the ancient Ge’ez language, a liturgical tongue that connects modern worshippers to the earliest Christian communities. It was the state religion for centuries, and the Emperor, as “Defender of the Faith,” ruled in a close partnership with the Patriarch.
The Church was the source of law, education, and art. Its extensive network of monasteries and churches, such as the iconic eleven churches of Lalibela hewn from solid rock in the 12th century, stand as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, testaments to a faith that literally shaped the landscape. This deep historical entanglement means that an attack on the EOTC is not merely an attack on a religion; it is an attack on Ethiopian history, culture, and national consciousness itself.
Part II: The Era of Atheistic Annihilation – The Derg (1974-1991)
The overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 by a communist military junta known as the Derg, under Mengistu Haile Mariam, marked a catastrophic turning point. The Derg’s ideology was fervently Marxist-Leninist, viewing religion as a superstitious instrument of the feudal ruling class, an “opiate” that needed to be eradicated to make way for the scientific socialist state.
Objectives and Methods of the Derg’s Persecution:
· Ideological Warfare: The primary objective was the deconstruction of the Church’s societal influence. State propaganda relentlessly portrayed the clergy as lazy, parasitic collaborators of the feudal monarchy, enemies of the peasant and worker revolutions.
· Systematic Disestablishment and Seizure: The Derg moved swiftly to sever the Church’s ties to the state. It confiscated the vast landholdings of the Church, which were its primary economic foundation, crippling its ability to fund its clergy, run schools, and conduct charity. This was a deliberate act of economic strangulation.
· Physical Liquidation of the Clergy: The most brutal aspect of the Derg’s campaign was the direct targeting of the clergy. Priests, monks, deacons, and high-ranking bishops were arrested, tortured, and executed in large numbers. They were accused of being counter-revolutionaries. Seminaries were closed, creating a “lost generation” of clergy and threatening the Church’s long-term survival.
· Closure and Desecration of Holy Sites: Countless ancient churches and monasteries were forcibly closed, their properties nationalized and converted into government offices, warehouses, or community halls. Priceless manuscripts, icons, and liturgical objects were destroyed or looted, resulting in an irreparable cultural loss.
The Derg’s war was one of blunt, atheistic instrumentality. It sought to replace the kingdom of God with the dictatorship of the proletariat, and in the process, it inflicted deep wounds on the body of the Church, driving faith into the private, hidden realms of life.
Part III: The Era of Ethnic Balkanization – The EPRDF/TPLF (1991-2018)
The fall of the Derg in 1991 was met with initial jubilation by the EOTC, which hoped for a restoration of its rights and properties. However, the new ruling coalition, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), dominated by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), presented a new, more insidious threat. While the new constitution nominally guaranteed religious freedom, the TPLF’s political project was based on “ethnic federalism,” a system that reorganized the country into ethnic-based regions.
Objectives and Methods of the EPRDF’s Persecution:
· The Church as a Unifying Threat: The EOTC, with its pan-Ethiopian identity and historical role as a national unifier, was seen as a direct threat to the TPLF’s ethnic-centric narrative. An institution that preached a common identity transcending tribal lines was anathema to a regime that derived its power from managing and exacerbating ethnic divisions.
· Persecution by Proxy and Bureaucratic Hindrance: The EPRDF rarely engaged in the Derg’s style of open, atheistic persecution. Instead, its methods were more sophisticated and deniable. The state security apparatus often stood by or responded with deliberate slowness when Orthodox Christians were attacked by groups in regions like Oromia, the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), and Benishangul-Gumuz. This created a pervasive climate of impunity for the perpetrators.
· Fomenting Internal Schism: A key strategy was to divide the Church from within. The regime was widely accused of actively sponsoring and promoting schismatic, ethnically-based movements. The most prominent example is the pressure and support for the creation of an “Oromo Orthodox Synod,” a move designed to split the Church along ethnic lines and dilute its centralized, Amhara-associated authority. This was a classic “divide and rule” tactic applied to a religious institution.
· Political and Economic Marginalization: The Church was systematically sidelined from public life. Its leadership was monitored and intimidated, and its ability to comment on national issues was curtailed. The return of its confiscated properties was slow, incomplete, and often tied to political concessions.
Under the EPRDF, the persecution was structural and psychological. It was a “cold” war aimed at fragmenting the Church’s unity and eroding its national stature, making it just one more siloed entity in an ethnically partitioned state.
Part IV: The Era of State-Sponsored Carnage – The Abiy Ahmed Regime (2018-Present)
The ascent of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018, initially hailed as a reformist dawn, has paradoxically unleashed the most violent and intense period of persecution in the Church’s modern history. The early promises of “medemer” (synergy) and unity have been drowned out by the cries of the massacred and the crackle of burning churches. The persecution has become overt, brazen, and overwhelmingly state-sponsored.
Objectives and Methods of the Current Persecution:
The core objective under Abiy Ahmed appears to be the final resolution of the “national question” by forcibly altering the demographic and religious map of key regions, effectively completing the ethnic cleansing of Orthodox Christian populations who are often, though not exclusively, ethnically Amhara.
· Direct State Involvement in Massacres: Survivor testimonies, satellite imagery, and human rights reports have consistently implicated regional special forces (notably the Oromia Special Forces) and federal military units (ENDF) in direct attacks on civilian populations. The massacres in Oromia (in places like Gimbi, Kiramu, Arsi and various towns in North Shewa), the Silte Zone, the Sidama Zone, and the SNNPR follow a chillingly similar pattern: armed, uniformed men surround a village, separate Orthodox Christians, and execute them. The use of language like “neftegna” (a derogatory term for Amhara) during these attacks confirms the intersection of ethnic and religious targeting.
· Systematic Burning and Desecration of Churches: Hundreds of churches have been systematically burned to the ground. This is not collateral damage but a deliberate tactic of symbolic annihilation. The destruction of a church is the destruction of the community’s spiritual and social heart. In the Somali Region and Harar, ancient Orthodox communities that have existed for centuries have been targeted for eradication, their churches demolished and believers forcibly displaced in a clear campaign of religious cleansing.
· Orchestrated Displacement: The primary goal of this violence is mass displacement. By creating an environment of unimaginable terror, the perpetrators force Orthodox Christian populations to flee their ancestral lands. This creates a permanent demographic shift, vacating resource-rich and strategically important territories. The millions of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) living in squalid camps are a living testament to this strategy.
· A Culture of Total Impunity: The Abiy Ahmed government has perfected a rhetoric of denial and deflection. Massacres are routinely blamed on “unidentified armed groups,” “shifta” (bandits), or framed as the result of intractable “communal clashes.” No high-level official or security officer has ever been held accountable for these atrocities. This state-sanctioned impunity is the oxygen that keeps the flames of persecution burning.
Under Abiy Ahmed, the war on the EOTC has evolved from ideological suppression and bureaucratic harassment to a full-blown, physically violent campaign of demographic engineering, with the state not just as a complicit bystander, but as a primary actor.
Part V: The Way Forward – A Path from Ruin to Restoration
The situation is dire, but it is not hopeless. Ending this fifty-year war on the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church requires a concerted, multi-faceted effort from within Ethiopia and from the international community. The following steps are not merely recommendations; they are prerequisites for national survival and healing.
1. International Acknowledgment and Targeted Action:
· Break the Silence: The international community, including the United Nations, the African Union, the United States, and the European Union, must move beyond cautious statements and explicitly name the persecution for what it is: state-sponsored violence and ethnic and religious cleansing. Diplomatic politeness in the face of mass graves is complicity.
· Implement Sanctions: The use of targeted sanctions, such as the Global Magnitsky Act, against specific individuals in the security apparatus and government who are directly responsible for planning, ordering, or executing these attacks is crucial. This should include visa bans and asset freezes.
· Condition Aid and Partnerships: A significant portion of international development and military aid to Ethiopia must be conditioned on verifiable improvements in human rights, the protection of religious minorities, and credible, independent investigations into the massacres.
2. Domestic Legal and Political Reforms:
· End Impunity: The Ethiopian government must, as a first step, acknowledge the scale of the violence. An independent, internationally-backed investigative body must be established to document atrocities, identify perpetrators, and ensure they are prosecuted in a transparent judicial process.
· Constitutional Guarantees: The government must move beyond hollow constitutional rhetoric and take concrete, visible steps to guarantee the right to freedom of religion and the right to live safely anywhere in the country, regardless of one’s faith or ethnicity.
3. The Role of the Church and Civil Society:
· Documentation and Advocacy: The EOTC, in alliance with local and international human rights organizations, must continue its vital work of meticulously documenting every attack, every death, and every destroyed church. This evidence is indispensable for future accountability.
· Intra-Faith and National Dialogue: The Church should champion a national dialogue aimed at reconciliation and healing, while firmly resisting any schismatic or divisive agendas promoted by the state. It must also strengthen its bonds with other religious communities in Ethiopia to present a united front against the politics of hate.
· Support for the Displaced: The Church’s vast, though now strained, charitable network must be supported in its efforts to provide for the millions of IDPs, offering not just material aid but also spiritual and psychological solace.
Conclusion: The Covenant Must Be Restored
The persecution of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is Ethiopia’s slow-burning crisis, a festering wound that has been bleeding the nation for half a century. It is a complex tragedy of ideological fanaticism, political calculation, and raw ethnic chauvinism, all converging on one of Africa’s most ancient and resilient Christian communities. From the atheistic bulldozer of the Derg to the ethnic wedge of the EPRDF and the current state-orchestrated slaughter under Abiy Ahmed, the methods have evolved, but the target has remained constant.
This is not a peripheral issue. The fate of the EOTC is a barometer for the health of the Ethiopian state itself. A nation that turns on its own soul, that desecrates its own heritage and massacres its own faithful, is a nation on a path to self-immolation. The burning churches are not just symbols of a persecuted faith; they are beacons warning of a nation consuming itself.
The restoration of the broken covenant between the Ethiopian state and its ancient Church is not a matter of religious favoritism; it is a matter of national necessity. Justice for the slain, return for the displaced, and restoration for the desecrated are the only foundations upon which a truly peaceful, unified, and prosperous Ethiopia can be built. The world must not look away, for in the smoldering ruins of an Ethiopian church, we see a warning for all of humanity about the consequences of when power declares war on faith, and when a state turns against its own soul. The cross of Ethiopia has been bent and battered, but two millennia of history testify to a resilience that mere mortals, however powerful, will ultimately fail to break.
Editor’s Note : Views in the article do not necessarily reflect the views of borkena.com
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