ETHIOPIA: CHURCH RIFT HIGHLIGHTS INTERNAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ADDIS ABABA 000451 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR AF/E LONDON, PARIS, ROME FOR AFRICA WATCHER E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL KREL ET ER SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA: CHURCH RIFT HIGHLIGHTS INTERNAL POLITICAL DIFFERENCES Classified By: POL/ECON Counselor Kevin Sullivan Reasons: 1.4 (B)and(D). ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A recent decision by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) in Addis Ababa to revoke the titles of former Patriarch Abuna Merkorios and four of his top bishops is the latest act in a widening feud between the church in Ethiopia and the "EOC in exile," based in the US. A long history of conflict was aggravated by the 2005 elections in Ethiopia and subsequent violence. The two EOC's are widely thought of as extensions of ethnic political structures ) the US EOC of the mostly Amhara (and former Derg) opposition and the Addis Ababa EOC of the ruling, Tigrayan-dominated EPRDF. The post election violence and perceived lack of action on the part of the Addis Ababa EOC was detrimental to the latter's following in the US -- worsened by a subsequent public offensive launched by the US EOC against Addis Ababa EOC and the EPRDF. The Addis Ababa EOC made attempts to win back support in the US, and the US EOC sought to counter and protect their gains, leading to the current boil-over of hostility between the two. Unless there is an immediate cool down and approach toward reconciliation, the damage suffered may become irreparable. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On February 6, Poloff and senior political FSN met with Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) officials Abuna Timotewos, Dean of the Trinity College (the EOC's school for top church officials),and Abuna Germina, the EOC's foreign relations officer to discuss reports of a deepening rift within the EOC. Both bishops are members of the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa and are long-serving, senior members of the EOC. On February 7 Poloff met with Bayabel Mulatu, a respected Ethiopian banker who is well-connected to the Synod and Patriarchs in both Ethiopia and in the US. -------------- DERG POLITICIZES EOC PATRIARCH -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Abunas Timotewos and Gerima explained that the creation of dueling EOCs dates back to 1988, during the final years of the former Derg Regime in Ethiopia. When the third Patriarch of the EOC, Abuna Tekle Haymanot, died in 1988, the Holy Synod of the EOC met to select a new Patriarch. Derg officials put heavy pressure on Synod members to elect a Patriarch more accommodating to the political leadership, unlike the uncooperative Tekle, and specifically proposed Abuna Merkorios. Merkorios was quickly elected as the fourth Patriarch of the EOC. While Merkorios served as patriarch (1988-1991),he did double duty as a member of Parliament, unheard of for church officials. (NOTE: Before Merkorios was selected as Patriarch, he was loyally serving as archbishop in Gondar when senior Derg official Melaku Tefara -- nicknamed The Butcher of Gondar for his role in the Red Terror (and recently sentenced to death under genocide charges) -- was administrator of the region. END NOTE) ¶4. (SBU) After the TPLF ousted the Derg in 1991, Merkorios, according to the official version, declared to the Synod that he was too sick to continue to serve as Patriarch and resigned, the first time a Patriarch had ever done so. The Holy Synod then elected the fifth Patriarch, the current Abuna Paulos. Paulos, a Tigrayan (as are many of the current EOC elite),was serving as a bishop in exile in the US, after having been imprisoned for 8 years under the Derg regime. Merkorios, together with four top bishops, immediately fled the country after the election of Paulos. They later issued statements saying that they had been threatened by the incoming TPLF government to step down from leadership of the EOC. ¶5. (SBU) Merkorios and his allied bishops subsequently established an "EOC in exile" in the US. The EOC in Addis condemned this, saying that there is only one church and that, according to church laws, a parallel structure could not be set up. Merkorios argued that he was still the official Patriarch of the EOC, as he had abdicated under pressure, and furthermore canon law did not permit enthronement of a new Patriarch while the former was alive. In 1995 the EOC in Ethiopia countered by excommunicating the 4 bishops, and consecrating 4 new ones (and adapting the same church-given names) in Addis Ababa. At that time, however, the EOC in Addis Ababa did not officially rescind the title of Patriarch from Merkorios. In 1996 Merkorios established a new Holy Synod and related church structures in the US. ADDIS ABAB 00000451 002 OF 003 ¶6. (C) From 1996 to the May 2005 parliamentary elections in Ethiopia, the EOCs in the US and Ethiopia seldom went public with criticism of each other. In fact, Embassy contact Bayabel Mulatu said that unofficial contact through intermediaries was regular. Quiet criticism nevertheless remained, with the EOC in Addis Ababa claiming the new Holy Synod was illegitamate, and the EOC in the US condemning the EOC in Addis Ababa as an extension of the EPRDF government. -------------- -------------- 2005 ELECTIONS POLARIZE FOLLOWERS, EMBOLDEN EXILED EOC -------------- -------------- ¶7. (SBU) With the establishment of the "EOC in exile," three distinct groups of followers developed in the US: 1) those that supported the EOC in Addis Ababa; 2) those that supported the exiled EOC; and 3) those who remained neutral. Not surprisingly, political and church affiliation closely correlated (i.e. pro-EPRDF, anti-EPRDF, and neutral). Despite the fact that the religious teachings of each faction are identical, Ethiopian churchgoers in the US generally attend churches according to political affiliation of the priests. ¶8. (C) After the May 2005 elections, when the EOC in Addis Ababa failed to protect followers or condemn the crackdown on opposition-oriented church members, the US-based EOC leaders became increasingly harsh and more public with their criticism. The exiled EOC leaders reportedly believed that the EPRDF was going to fall, and therefore saw an opportunity to return to Addis Ababa to reclaim control of the church worldwide. As part of their offensive, they stepped up public criticism of the Addis EOC, accusing it of being a puppet of the TPLF and of allowing followers to be killed by federal police. -------------- BATTLE TO CONTROL US FOLLOWERS -------------- ¶9. (C) Following the elections, EOC followers in the US stQed shifting allegiance in large numbers away from the Addis EOC, greatly diminishing the size of the US-based group that had backed the Addis Ababa EOC. In August 2006, in a move perceived to be an attempt to win back supporters in the US, the EOC in Addis Ababa brought 3 very prominent "neutral" bishops to Ethiopia, consecrated them as archbishops, and sent them back to the US. Upon return, followers shunned them for taking sides. One bishop, who was the leader of the large St. Michael's church in Washington DC, had his first service upon return to the US boycotted by former followers. ¶10. (C) On January 21 and 28, 2007, in a retaliatory move, the US EOC consecrated 13 new bishops (9 in Washington DC and 4 in Toronto),who are slated to assume leadership of major EOC churches around the US. The Addis Ababa EOC took swift action, issuing a press statement on February 3 stating that the US EOC had no authority to make such appointments and, as punishment, stripped the former patriarch and the four bishops that followed him in exile of their titles and called for EOC believers worldwide to distance themselves from the leaders in the U.S. and not to attend their services. As Bayabel pointed out to Poloff, "Revoking a religious title is not like removing someone from political office. Their titles are for life and this has never been done. This is huge." The US EOC fired back in a recent VOA interview, stating their disagreement with the Addis Ababa EOC's administration, going so far as to say that the Addis Ababa EOC is "smeared with blood." -------------- STILL HOPE FOR RECONCILIATION? -------------- ¶11. (C) The leadership of each EOC has publicly stated that reconciliation is possible, but that the other group must "repent" first. There are many people, both in Addis Ababa and the US, that are working to bring to two sides back together. Indeed, in the weeks that followed the US EOC's nomination of the 13 bishops and prior to the Addis EOC excommunicating the leadership of the US EOC, word leaked about the Addis Ababa EOC's planned move. In an effort to prevent furthering of the conflict, a group 20 prominent Ethiopians (including Olympian Haile Gebrselassie) together ADDIS ABAB 00000451 003 OF 003 with church elders, pleaded with the Addis Ababa EOC Synod to reconsider. The Addis Ababa EOC heeded these requests and dispatched a contingent of high-level bishops to the US to negotiate with the Patriarch and archbishops. However, the US EOC refused to receive them, and as a result, the Addis Ababa EOC went forward with their plans to strip them of their titles. ¶12. (C) Bayabel told Poloff that he sees the EOC "in a situation unlike anything that has happened in the last 2,000 years." Though influential insiders continue to work with both sides (PM Meles held a meeting with the Addis Ababa EOC Synod on February 6),Bayabel believes that the rift will get worse before it gets better. Indeed, the US EOC subsequently issued a statement officially stripping the Addis Ababa EOC Patriarch, Abuna Paulos, of his title and excommunicating him from the church. Thus, each side has rescinded any official recognition of the other as church representatives. ¶13. (C) Post learned that the Addis Ababa EOC plans to ask for Embassy/USG help "force the US EOC to give up using the name Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church" (the official name of the EOC),as well as to deport several top US EOC officials. Post will emphasize to the Patriarch and Synod in Addis Ababa that such actions are illegal and will only serve to cause further damage. -------------- -------------- COMMENT: PATRIARCHS TAKING POLITICAL AND ETHNIC SIDES -------------- -------------- ¶14. (C) The rift in the EOC -- along ethnic lines -- parallels the tense political aftermath of the 2005 elections. The Patriarch of the Addis Ababa EOC is deeply disliked for not protecting his flock during the violence and arrests after the elections. He has done little to reach out to his constituencies. Complicating the Patriarch's task is the vocal US diaspora, which is using the split to criticize PM Meles and his government. WILGUS