Ethiopia: Tigray Interim Admin Opposes Orthodox Synod’s Decision On New Diocese in Southern Tigray

Addis Abeba — The Tigray Interim Administration has strongly opposed a decision by the Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) to establish a new self-governing diocese for six districts in Southern Tigray that were previously under the Maichew Diocese.

President of the Interim Administration, Lieutenant General Tadesse Worede, described the Synod’s decision to place the districts under the North Wollo Diocese as a “political decision outside of religious function.” He voiced the administration’s stance while addressing the annual Einwari Festival in Axum on 24 August 2025, where he was a guest of honor.

“History will not forget the injustice and harm the church has inflicted upon the people of Tigray, who were the first to embrace and spread the Orthodox faith throughout the country,” Lt. Gen. Tadesse said. He added that the creation of a new diocese “demonstrates that the church’s injustice continues” and is “a clear indication that it is still resolutely working to scatter the people of Tigray.”

He further stressed that “the Tigray Interim Administration takes this opportunity to express its strong opposition to this deceit and conspiracy,” urging religious leaders and faith representatives to “stand firm and fight against this action.” He also called on those tasked with implementing the Synod’s decision to “refrain from this activity.”

As previously reported by Addis Standard, the office of the Tigray Orthodox Tewahedo Church had already rejected the Synod’s resolution, which was passed during its annual assembly held between 14 and 28 May 2025.

The decision affected six districts in the Southern Tigray Zone: Alamata town, Alamata, Korem town, Ofla, Bata and Chercher.

In a statement issued on 1 June 2025, the Tigray Orthodox Church condemned the Synod’s move as “violating the territorial integrity of Tigray,” while denying claims that an agreement had been reached with government bodies. It argued that dioceses are established only when a zone is formally organized by the government, not through Synod resolutions.

It further accused the Synod of pursuing “territorial expansion in a manner that deviates from the law and procedure,” and issued a “spiritual call” for the people of Tigray to resist the decision. It also criticized senior patriarchs of the EOTC for complicity in atrocities committed during the war in Tigray, pointing to the case of Abune Abraham, then Archbishop of Bahir Dar, who it alleged traveled to Asmara with Amhara Prosperity Party leaders to coordinate with the Eritrean government.

The dispute is the latest episode in a long-running rift between the Tigray Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the EOTC Holy Synod in Addis Abeba. On 7 May 2021, archbishops in Tigray declared the establishment of the Tigray Orthodox Church, formally severing ties with the Synod. They cited the Synod’s complacence and silence during the atrocious war in the Tigray region, when priests were killed, monasteries and churches destroyed, and religious heritages looted.

Among the atrocities most frequently recalled is the November 2020 massacre in the historic town of Axum, regarded as the holiest site of the Church, where Eritrean forces killed hundreds of civilians, including children. Although the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and other rights groups documented the killings, the Synod refrained from issuing a condemnation. It also distanced itself from the Patriarch, His Holiness Abune Mathias I, after he publicly denounced the massacre, describing the victims as “people left over the ground like leaves.”

Tigrayan archbishops have also accused senior EOTC clergy of openly supporting, including financially, the Ethiopian military and its allies from Eritrea and Amhara, who are implicated in killings inside churches, looting properties and bombing religious sites.

In February 2022, Abune Merihakirstos, then chairman of the Tigray religious council, declared that the Tigray Orthodox Church would establish its own synod, stressing that ties with Addis Abeba were “broken” and that “we can’t live with those who massacre us.” A year later, on 7 February 2023, three Tigray archbishops reaffirmed in a joint statement that the Tigray Orthodox Tewahedo Church, “born with the blood of the Tigray people”, was non-negotiable and not “up for sale.”

By Addis Standard.