7th March, 2013
Abune Mathias has been enthroned as the sixth patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the African nation.
The ceremony took place in the nation’s capital, Addis Ababa, last Sunday, six months after the death of the previous patriarch Abune Paulos I. The 71-year-old Abune Mathias had previously served as the archbishop of the church in Jerusalem.
Rev Dr Olav Fyske Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, congratulated the patriarch on his enthronement and said he perceived in the new patrirach "someone profoundly committed to being a leader of the church for the present and the future".
“We are grateful that your ecumenical vision, deeply grounded in the Orthodox theology and spirituality, can inspire, encourage and strengthen all people of good will in Ethiopia and throughout the world for a peaceful and harmonious coexistence,” Rev Dr Tveit said.
There are estimated to be 40 million Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia.
– DAVID ADAMS
