by Habtom Yohannes | ελληνικά | Русский What initially seemed an internal conflict between the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EtOTC) and an Oromo breakaway synod of 28 bishops, has developed into an open clash between the Ethiopian government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the EtOTC. The current struggle is actually…
Continue readingRussia’s “Scramble for Africa” and Its Church
The Geopolitical Perspective
by Cyril Hovorun | български | ქართული | ελληνικά | Română | Русский | Српски On December 29, 2021, the Holy Synod of the Moscow Patriarchate decided to establish a Russian exarchate for the entire African continent. The exarchate is to consist of two dioceses: one for northern and one for southern Africa. The title…
Continue readingA Charismatic Coptic Priest: Abouna Makary Younan (1934-2022)
by Febe Armanios On January 11, renowned Coptic Orthodox priest Abouna Makary Younan (1934-2022) died in Cairo of complications from COVID-19. His death quickly followed that of his wife Mama Souna, who suffered from the same illness and passed away on January 7. Based in the old Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of St. Mark in Cairo’s…
Continue readingDomestic Violence, Faith, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence
by Romina Istratii As the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign takes off, it is an opportune time to revisit the role of faith and theology in addressing domestic violence. The relationship between faith/spirituality and domestic violence is not a simple one, but it is definitely one that should be understood with the…
Continue readingThe Tigray Crisis and the Possibility of an Autocephalous Tigray Orthodox Tewahdo Church
by Habtom Yohannes | български | ქართული | ελληνικά | Română | Русский | Српски The ongoing war in Tigray, the cradle of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Christianity, might lead into yet another split of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EtOTC), this time into an Amhara-based Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church and a Tigray-based Orthodox Tewahdo Church,…
Continue readingThe Crisis in Tigray: Orthodox Christians’ Hope and Demise
by Alexandra Sellassie Antohin | български | ქართული | ελληνικά | Română | Русский | Српски Since the eruption of hostilities in November 2020 between federal and regional forces in Tigray, Ethiopia’s northern state bordering Eritrea, two major dimensions of the crisis have been at odds with each other. There is the armed conflict and…
Continue readingNot a Cross to Bear
Domestic Violence, Coptic Christianity, and the Need for Accountable Theology
by Mariz Tadros On the 18th of May, 2019 G., a Coptic female nurse living in Sydney, Australia was suffocated by a plastic bag and stabbed seven times as she was leaving the hospital after completing her night shift. The murderer was her husband. Insider information suggested that on the 16th of May, a high-ranking…
Continue readingAn Ecumenism of Blood: Boko Haram and the Christian Martyrs of Nigeria
by Ezekiel Olagoke Over the last thirty years, Nigeria has been plagued with numerous terrorist upheavals that have sometimes bordered on the apocalypse, of which Boko Haram is one. While key attention has been paid to the killing of Christians in the Middle east and other parts of the world, very few works have examined…
Continue readingThe Predicament of Egypt’s Copts
The December 11th bombing of the St. Paul and St. Peter Church in Cairo, which abuts the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church, St. Mark’s Cathedral, resulted in 25 deaths and over 50 injuries. The attack on el-Boutrosiyya, as the church locally known, was later claimed by the Islamic State’s affiliate in mainland Egypt, signaling…
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