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Mr. Yemane Gebreab: Hands off the Eritrean Orthodox Church! by Fr. Athanasius Ghebre-Ab Cincinnati, Ohio

Mr. Yemane Gebreab: Hands off the Eritrean Orthodox Church! by Fr. Athanasius Ghebre-Ab Cincinnati, Ohio             Mr. Yemane Gebreab, a high official of the ruling party in Eritrea and who often speaks on the government’s behalf, is touring three

Mr. Yemane Gebreab:
Hands off the Eritrean Orthodox Church!
by Fr. Athanasius Ghebre-Ab
Cincinnati, Ohio

            Mr. Yemane Gebreab, a high official of the ruling party in Eritrea and who often speaks on the government’s behalf, is touring three US cities – Seattle, Atlanta and Washington DC. As was seen in the meeting he held for party members in Seattle on Saturday, May 18, 2013, his main target again is none other than the Eritrean Orthodox Church. It is to be recalled that the Eritrean Orthodox Churches and the priests in these cities were subjected to virulent attacks by the government of Eritrea through radio messages orchestrated from its embassy in Washington DC back in 2007.
Mr. Yemane’s message to his party members in Seattle was simple. It goes something like this: Eritrea has now won its independence. The Orthodox Church has also become “independent.” Therefore, it does not need to have any relationship with the Coptic Orthodox Church. Mr. Yemane goes on to announce the governments most egregious restrictions over doctrinal and worship matters by declaring that the Eritrean Orthodox Church, which has remained under the government’s complete control, no longer recognizes a tabot from Egypt. The tabot is a facsimile of the arc of the covenant without which an Orthodox Church cannot be consecrated. This is now the Eritrean government’s promulgation (policy) on the tabot, as clearly enunciated by Mr. Yamane.
Does the government of Eritrea’s tabot policy also make all the tabots in the Orthodox Church’s in Eritrea change their tabots. I am not sure he realizes that nearly 90% of the Orthodox Churches in Eritrea have tabots consecrated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church prior to the country’s independence. Pray tell, Mr. Yamane, are all these tabots to be considered illegal based on the new tabot policy of the Eritrean government?
What is sad for Orthodox Christians in Eritrea is that this is not the first time that non-Orthodox officials of the ruling party have so brazenly appointed themselves as spokespersons for the Eritrean Orthodox Church and intruded in its ecclesiastical affairs. Mr. Yemane, it should be noted, is a convert in his youth to a small evangelical church (Faith Mission), now declared illegal by the government he represents. Mr. Ali Abdu, the former information minister who has recently defected, Mr Tsehaye Fasil, a Lutheran and who until recent times served the government at the Embassy in Washington DC, Ms. Sophia Tesfamariam, a Roman Catholic, and Dr. Gideon Asmerom, a Seventh Day Adventist (the latter two being unofficial spokespersons to the government of Eritrea) have all committed similar acts of behaving as if they could, with impunity, speak for the Orthodox Church at one time or another.
Using the logic of “Eritrea-is-now-independent”, is the government now going to force the Orthodox Church to eliminate any mention of the Coptic Church and our historic Alexandrian Church Fathers and saints from our liturgy (qdassie)? Will the ruling regime now proceed to provide the Eritrean Orthodox Church with its own list of saints that are “approved”  by the ruling party? Just as importantly, using the same argument to its logical conclusion, will Mr. Yemane’s government now put the same maniacal intrusion into the Catholic Church’s historic relationship with the Vatican?
The government has already committed the following flagrant abuses against the Orthodox Church: (1) deposed the church’s canonical patriarch, H.H. Abune Antonios, kept him under detention for the past seven years, and placed a false-patriarch on the patriarchal throne (2) Imprisoned numerous clergies of the churches (3) forcibly conscripted priests, monks and deacons  into the army in their thousands, and (4) isolated the Eritrean Orthodox Church from all the Churches that are in communion with it – the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the See of St. Mark.
The government Mr. Yemane represents now takes its abuse of the Eritrean Orthodox Church by forcing it to severe its historic link and identity, as well as its apostolic chain of succession to the See of St. Mark (menbere markos). By doing so, it expects to gut and erase the heart and soul of our Orthodox existence and heritage?
Eritrea’s independence, for which scores of thousands of Orthodox Christians, as did so many from other Eritrean faith communities, have paid the ultimate price is barely twenty years old. During this brief period of existence, Eritrea has known only one president. The Orthodox Church’s heritage and link to the Coptic Church and the See of St. Mark (menbere markos), on the other hand, has had a 1700 year-long-and-deep relations. In fact, until the 1950s, the Coptic and Eritrean/Ethiopian Orthodox people existed under a single Holy Synod. We have had the same 116 patriarchs since St. Mark, our first patriarch.
It is, therefore, with the above in mind that:
I call on all followers of Eritrean Orthodox Church to stand firm and united to resolutely resist the Government of Eritrea’s yet another egregious intrusion into the ecclesiastical affairs of the church. The defense of our faith and church today becomes the duty of every Orthodox.
I call on all the clergy of the Eritrean Orthodox Church to take a bold and united stand and say “Enough!” to the government’s total control and manipulation of the church for its own political ends.
I also call on all friends of the Eritrean Orthodox Church – Eritreans and non-Eritreans – to stand in solidarity with the church in captivity during this trying period.

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne” – Psalms 97:2

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45 COMMENTS
  • Truly, truly i say to you May 26, 2013

    Nathan for instance when King David comities adultery crime with his general´s wife,and then because killed his General to cover up his first crime, was the Prophet with his God given authority he condemned King David.”Read the story (2nd Samuel chapter 12, if you will) Like wise, Isayas needs not softy priests like the people who thinks only for his survival, but courageous like Nathan, who can tell Isayas, ” The reason you doing crime after crime, murder after murder is not because you thinks for the country, but just to cover up you sin it is. You need to cover up the sin, in the name of “Yemin” and Menka” to that you slaughtered a lot of intellectuals is, in the name of border conflict you causing for 24,000 innocent citizens life is, because you humiliate our nation and you give up our territorials and islands etc to cover up this and countless crime is.

  • Truly, truly i say to you May 26, 2013

    Listen, you rulers of Israel!( Eritrea!) You are supposed to be concerned about justice, yet you hate what is good and love what is evil. You skin my people alive and tear the flesh off their bones. You eat my people up. You strip of their skin, break their bones, and chop them up like meat for the pot. The time is coming when you will cry out of the Lord, but he will not answer you. he will not listen to your prayers, for you have done evil.

    My people are deceived by prophets who promise peace to those who pay them., but threaten war for those who don´t. To these prophets the Lord says, (“Prophets, your day is almost over; the sun is going down on you. Because you mislead my people (Alekum´do Gedion Abay, Sophia Tesfamariam fake Pastors and priestess ?) you will have no more prophetic visions, and you will not be able to predict anything.” those who predict the future will be disgraced by their failure. They will all be humiliated because God does not answer them. But as for me (Truly, truly i say to you,) the Lord fills me with his spirit and power , and gives me a sense of justice and the courage to tell the people of Israel ( Eritrea) what their sins are. Listen to me, you rulers of Israel, (Eritrea,)you that hate justice and turn right in to wrong. You are building God´s city, Jerusalem (Eritrea), on a foundation of murder and injustice. The city rulers govern for bribes, the priests interpret the Law for pay,( the so called church 10% PFDJ 2%) the prophets give their relations for money- and they claim that the Lord is with them. “No harm will come to us.”
    And so, because of you Zion (ERITREA) WILL BE BLOWED LIKE A FIELD, Jerusalem (ASMARA) WILL BECOME OF RUINS, and THE TEMPLE HILL WILL BECOME A FOREST. ( MICAH, 3; 1-12)

  • idris May 26, 2013

    The current Ethiopian government is the first to recognize the independence of eritera. How on earth can it be be an enemy of eritera then? At that time, had Ethiopia kept silent without giving any feedback to the result of the illegal referendum, no country would have given recognition to eritera. And as a result, the case of eritera would have been the same as that of somaliland (which stayed unreconized for the past 22 years). Thanks to the government of Ethiopia, eritera has stood as a country now.
    but morons think that the current government of Ethiopia and Ethiopia itself are their enemy. They are DIA brainwashed stupids

    • belay nega May 27, 2013

      idris

      President ESAYAS has never labeled Ethiopians as enemy of Eritrea and Eritreans.Rather he is the first person as early as 1970 who said “THE ONLY WAY WE CAN SUCCEED IS TROUGH A FAIR CONTRIBUTION OF ETHIOPIANS”
      As for the recognition of the referendum they had no better choice to get into ARAT KILO.
      But one thing is true, through the war we won DERG not Ethiopian people,and to conduct the referendum we convinced the “ZEBI KISAB ZIDELWO YEHENKES” oriented elites
      That is why the war started effectively by Ethiopian gov as early as 1991, and after they made touch MANO to the government of Eritrea in 1998 officially said “WEAKEN ERITREA IN THE LONG WAR”
      Blaming is quite different from reality,we might not blame them for doing what they supposed to do,but the reality is Ethiopians are the cause of all the problem we suffering from.
      Last but not least the referendum was legal and fair.

      • MightyEmbasoyra May 27, 2013

        Belay,
        You seem to be a genuine believer of Isayas. Even though, I wish you wouldn’t but that is the ideology I respect you to have. So, correct me if I am wrong but I believe, Isayas was not the mastermind of the Eritrean independence. I would say those are/were his former comrades that they now are rotten in the prison of EraEiro.
        Look what’s happening after their arrest. The country is in logarithmic decline after that. I really couldn’t use linear measurement for it because it is not fair.
        What would you say to this theory?

        • belay nega May 28, 2013

          Respectable Mighty

          No matter how he gained it, but Esayas has proved to be the best of the elites,here we go is the master mind.
          Whatever is happening now is not because of the absence of the G15,is the consequence of the hard choice we made in 1961.
          The 30 years arm struggle in which we invested all we had, was about PRIDE [UNA ENDA ABO]
          Our problem is deep rooted and very expensive, whichever direction we choose to travel.

  • Truly, truly i say to you May 26, 2013

    IS HE POLOTICIAN OR PRESIT? IF HE IS REALL PRESIT GO TO PRAY CHURCH,DONT USE OUR RELIGION TO ATTACK POPLOTICIAN. YEMANE IS POPLOTICIAN ,POLOTIAN CAN REPLAY HIM.

    Simmer neber, Please don´t talk nonsense about the topic you don´t know. It might be your own gods doctrine which forbidden a religious person not to involve in politic. After all what does politic mean for you ? Is politic not all things goes about good governance? Is not to give regard about rule of law and justice? indeed it is. This is why according my God Jesus Christ teachings; a true religion is “justice, mercy and honesty” as it is written in (Mathew 23; 23) Because of that these three serious points it should oblige any true religious leaders, even more than any politicians if you will. This is why in my above comment i gave you examples how a religious persons like Prophet Micah and Nathan with their god given highest authority power were condemning their kings when saw doing evil crime. So do you think these and almost all God prophets i believe all was involving in politic, were doing non of their business? Never! The priest Athanasius Ghebre-Ab also not mistaken. I even criticizing religious leaders for not doing enough to condemn Isayas regime is. Sometimes i even ask, are our religious leaders also same like this world people opportunists and fear death, or they living for God´s order, to whom told them not to fear or worry about anything?

    • ahmed saleh May 27, 2013

      Truly
      We came from a society familiar with bunch of traditional religious clerics to make us bewildered and hard to cope when we get approached by theologians . Many of them all over the world are active on social justice struggle .
      For example Dr. Martin Luther king belong to those group .

  • Yemane Johar May 26, 2013

    This outstanding and timely piece of information must be translated in Tigrigna, a language the majority of Eritreans comprehend! Thanks for raising our awareness. We need it!

  • ida May 27, 2013

    You see what happens when uneducated people lead a country? They don’t separate the church from the state.

  • Truly, truly i say to you May 27, 2013

    Ida, for your better understanding a temple or a church doesn´t mean a building it self. According Lord Jesus Christ when says “Tear down this temple, and in three days i will build it again? and then the pharisees, and Jewish authorities because don´t understand and confused asked Jesus this, “Are you going to build it again in three days?” It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple. But the Temple Jesus was speaking about was his body. In other word he was talking them i am immortal God, you will see me when i raised up after three days was talking them. (John 2; 19-21) This is why we say God is immortal and we celebrating ” resurrection .” This is why Holy Apostle Paul also says us,”Surly you know that you are God´s temple and that God´s spirit lives in you! So if anyone destroys God´s temple, God will destroy him. For God´s temple is holy, and you yourself are his temple. (1st Corinthians 3; 16-17) This is why our hero Ali Said Hijay sacrificed (may his soul rest in peace and God take him to his kingdom!), because didn´t like to tolerate when Isays continuously destroying a lot of innocent temples (if you like lives.) We have not to flee from the truth in the name of “don´t mix religion from politic” This idea it might work in civilized democratic society in place where you see law and order, but not in our society where you can not see right and justice! Understand?

    • ida May 28, 2013

      Truly, what I am talking about is, government should not control the church. I know that we are the temple.

  • kazen May 28, 2013

    To Dear respective Eritrean reader
    Please we have to write and took what is truth, just the fact inorder to reconsicle with your mind. Do you believe that any single Eritrean indicates any satisfies under the of new leadership Eritrean governance. Just you could imagine starting from the day one of independence 1991 in Asmara.No more any knowledge how to handle any human being they just make revenge the fighters against the city dwellers.
    This is mainly due to lack of capacity of leadership-they were not ready and provide training to all fighters how could to administer the public. they had some experience with the opportunities of managerial problem of Dergue to made only on war. Public administration and war have different approaches. and some time the fighters were not trained with urban management and public at large. In order to administer people we need to know the history of our self and others history in detail. We are also expected to respect the rule of law specially human right. No one know basic pillar of governance. That is way most Eritrean was confused on the meaning of independence in comparison with the previous governance under Ethiopia. In all dimensions life of Eritrean under the administration of Ethiopia was best. More ever, If you make comparison with the previous colonies life is worst under the fake independence PFGHD days more than any one else whether Turkish, Britain and Italy. The worst life is on the colony with our indigenous people PFDJ. So please we have to speak,write and read the truth. Are we getting such rabish life during the former Ethiopian life. we were respected and engaged on the standard offices, sensitive and profitable business in the whole towns of Ethiopia . At that time no one Ethiopian were rich than Eritrean. The People and the governor of Ethiopia were giving high respection to Eritrean.We know all of this and it was the recent phenomena. How can we forget this life in every office of Bank, tel ,electricity, airlines, high level truck drivers and owners and managerial activities, hotel and services were all most all belongs to Eritrean those who was living in Ethiopia. So please donot make fake history for the sake of GOD if we are making laying the food what we had and transported to Eritrean could be disturb.
    Campo Asmara, Campo dekmhare, piase, tekelhaymanot, etc all belongs to——-
    God Bless Eritrea
    Yours Kazen Zbeleza

  • ida May 28, 2013

    The gov. Of Eritrea has no respect for anyone. They show no respect to elders, no respect to church leaders, no respect to anyone. It is time we the people take our power back. No more absolute power to Isaias!

  • Truly, truly i say to you May 28, 2013

    Thanks ida for elaborating! and apologize me for i understood you wrongly.

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