List of abunas of Ethiopia

Abuna of Ethiopia
Abuna of Ethiopia
Bishopric
oriental
	Ethiopian Cross
	Incumbent:; Merkorios (Co-Patriarch); Mathias (Co-Patriarch); Since May 1988; Since 28 February 2013
Style	His Holiness
Information
First holder	St. Frumentius (Bishop); Basilios (Patriarch)
Established	c. 305 (Foundation); 1959 (Autocephaly)
Cathedral	Holy Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa
Website
	eotc-patriarch.org

This is a list of the abunas of Ethiopia, the spiritual heads of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The Abuna is known officially as Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Archbishop of Axum and Ichege of the See of Saint Taklehaimanot. Abune Merkorios acceded to this position in May 1988, while Abune Mathias acceded on 28 February 2013. Currently, both men are serving as Co-Patriarchs, following an agreement made on 27 July 2018.^[1]^[2]

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is part of the Oriental Orthodox communion, and it was granted autocephaly by Cyril VI, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, in 1959.

Bishops of Axum[]

Abune Selama I Kesatay Birhan (St. Frumentius) (c. 305–mid 4th century)
Minas or Elyas^[3]
(late 4th century–early 5th century)
(late 5th century–early 6th century)
(fl. early 6th century)
(fl. early 6th century)

vacant (c. 537–562)^[4]

Metropolitan Archbishops of Axum and of All Ethiopia[]

Salama III, Abuna from 1841 to 1867.

Mattheos X, Abuna from 1889 to 1926.

(620s–mid 7th century)

unknown

(c. 820–840)
(fl. mid 9th century)
(fl. 9th century)
(fl. 10th century)
(920s), opposed by Minas and Fiqtor

vacant (c. 940–970s)

(fl. late 10th century)
(fl. 11th century)
, claimant
(1077–1092)
(fl. 1090s)
(fl. early–mid 12th century)
(fl. late 12th century)
(1206–1209), opposed by Hirun
(c. 1209–1225)
(c. 1225)
Saint Tekle Haymanot (c. 13th century), according to tradition
(XIII?) (fl. 14th century)
(III?) (c. 1337–1344)

vacant (1344–1348)

Salama II (1348–1388)
(1398/9–1436)
and (1438–1458)

vacant (1458–1481)

(1481– c. 1520)
(VI?) (1481– c. 1530)
(c. 1536–c. 1545), self-proclaimed Ethiopian Orthodox Abuna, and Catholic Patriarch of Ethiopia and Alexandria
(c. 1545–?)
Andrés de Oviedo (1557–1577), Catholic bishop
(VII?) (c. 1565)
(c. 1590)
(VI?) (1599?–1606), killed in battle
(1607–1622), died 1624
Afonso Mendes (1622–1632), Catholic Patriarch, supported by Susenyos I and deposed by Fasilides

vacant (1632–1633)

(c. 1634)
(VIII?) (c. 1635–1672), deposed with Krestodolos
(c. 1640–1672), deposed with Marqos
(1672–1687)

vacant (1687–1689)

(IX ?) (1689–late 17th century)
Abba Mikael (1640–1699)
(1694–1716)

vacant (1716–1718)

(c. 1718–1745)

vacant (1745–c. 1747)

(c. 1747–1770)
(1770–1803)

vacant (1803–c. 1808)

(fl. c. 1808)

vacant (c. 1808–1816)

Kyrillos (Qerellos) III (1816–1829)

vacant (1829–1841)

Salama III (1841–1867)

vacant (1867–1868)

Atnatewos II (1868–1876), died of wounds received at the Battle of Gura
(1876–1889), died 1918
Mattheos X (1889–1926)
Qerellos IV (1926–1936), deposed following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War
Abraham (1937–1939)
(1939–1945)

Qerellos IV (1945–1950), restored

Basilios (1951–1959)

On 13 July 1948, the Coptic Orthodox and Ethiopian churches reached an agreement that led to the elevation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church to the rank of an Autonomous Church; allowing the Archbishop of All Ethiopia to consecrate on his own bishops and metropolitans for the Ethiopian Church and to form a local Holy Synod. The Archbishop, however, is consecrated by the Pope of Alexandria along with the members of the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

Patriarchs and Catholicoi of All Ethiopia[]

No.	Abuna (Birth–Death)	Reign	Notes
1	Basilios (1891–1970)	1959–1970	Reigned during the 1960 Ethiopian coup d'état attempt and the 1965 Conference of Addis Ababa Born in Mada Mikael as Gebre Giyorgis Wolde Tsadik
2	Theophilos (1910–1979)	1971–1976	Deposed by the Derg^[5] and executed by strangling in 1979^[6] Born in Debre Elias as Meliktu Jenbere
3	Takla Haymanot (1918–1988)	1976–1988	Born in Begemder as Melaku Wolde Mikael
4	Merkorios (born 1938)	1988–present	Deposed by the EPRDF, which claimed that he abdicated; Headed the [fr] from 1991 to 2018^[7] Born in Begemder as Ze-Libanos Fanta
5	Paulos (1936–2012)	1992–2012	Reign disputed by followers of Abune Merkorios Born in Adwa as Gebremedhin Woldeyohannes
6	Mathias (born 1941) ^[8]	2013–present	Reign disputed by followers of Abune Merkorios until 2018^[1]^[7] Born in Agame as Teklemariam Asrat

In 1959, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria granted autocephaly to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and elevated the Archbishop to the Patriarchal dignity and was enthroned with the title of: Patriarch and Re'ese Liqane Papasat Echege (Catholicos) of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The title of Ichege (Supreme Abbot) of the See of St. Tekle Haymanot of Debre Libanos was subsumed into the Patriarchate. The title of Ichege was revived and the title of Archbishop of Axum was added to the Patriarchal titles in 2005, as Axum was the seat of Ethiopia's first Bishop, St. Frumentius, and thus the oldest see in the church.

Timeline[]

References[]

^ ^a ^b Kibriye, Solomon (27 July 2018). "Ethiopian Orthodox Unity Declaration Document in English". Orthodoxy Cognate Page. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
^ Dickinson, Augustine (31 July 2018). "Decades-Old Schism in the Ethiopian Church Mended". Ethiopicist Blog. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
^ Minas according to the , while Elyas according to the source of Carlo Conti Rossini in Acta Yared et Pantalewon. Sergew Hable Selassie, Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1270. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: United Printers, p.116
^ Due to the exiling of Patriarch Theodosius I and his replacement with the Chalcedonian Patriarch Paul, according to an Arabic source. Sergew, Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History, p.142.
^ "Patriarch Is Deposed By Ethiopian Regime". The New York Times. 19 February 1976. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
^ Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. 2 February 2012. p. 7. ISBN 9780195382075.
^ ^a ^b "Ethiopia's exiled patriarch Bishop Merkorios returns". BBC. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
^ "His Holiness Abune Mathias elected as sixth Patriach (sic) of Ethiopian Orthodox Church". The Sheba Post. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.

Sources[]

Modern Primates of Ethiopia (1694–present)

[Document-1] Kibriye, Solomon (27 July 2018). "Ethiopian Orthodox Unity Declaration Document in English". Orthodoxy Cognate Page. Retrieved 8 August 2018.

[DickinsonSchismMended-2] Dickinson, Augustine (31 July 2018). "Decades-Old Schism in the Ethiopian Church Mended". Ethiopicist Blog. Retrieved 8 August 2018.

[3] Minas according to the , while Elyas according to the source of Carlo Conti Rossini in Acta Yared et Pantalewon. Sergew Hable Selassie, Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History to 1270. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: United Printers, p.116

[4] Due to the exiling of Patriarch Theodosius I and his replacement with the Chalcedonian Patriarch Paul, according to an Arabic source. Sergew, Ancient and Medieval Ethiopian History, p.142.

[5] "Patriarch Is Deposed By Ethiopian Regime". The New York Times. 19 February 1976. Retrieved 11 June 2021.

[6] Dictionary of African Biography. OUP USA. 2 February 2012. p. 7. ISBN 9780195382075.

[BBC-7] "Ethiopia's exiled patriarch Bishop Merkorios returns". BBC. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.

[Sheba-8] "His Holiness Abune Mathias elected as sixth Patriach (sic) of Ethiopian Orthodox Church". The Sheba Post. 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 8 March 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]