Pope Francis Asks For Prayer For Persecuted Christians In Ethiopia
Pope Francis Sunday asked for prayer for persecuted Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia, who have been targeted in ongoing ethnic clashes that have left 78 people dead.
“I am saddened by the violence of which Christians of the Tewahedo Orthodox Church of Ethiopia are victims,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address Nov. 3.
“I express my closeness to this beloved church and her patriarch, dear brother Abune Mathias, and I ask you to pray for all the victims of violence in that land,” he said.
Since violent protests broke out in Ethiopia’s Oromia region Oct. 23, more than 400 people have been arrested and 78 have died, according to the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The Orthodox Christian community has been a target of violence in Oromia. A church official told AFP Africa that 52 Orthodox Ethiopians, including two church officials, have been killed in the violence since the protests began in October.
A hand grenade was thrown in a churchyard in Tsadiku Gebrekristos, and the homes and businesses of Christians were set on fire, according to local Ethiopian Borkena news.
The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Abune Mathias delivered a speech Oct. 28 calling for peace and grieving the dead.
“I carry a cross in my hand, not a gun. My children, I am tearfully praying to our God about your suffering. I am also continuing to plead with the government,” Mathias said, according to local Ethiopian media.
“Today I am deeply grieved. I have the urge to weep like a child … In the hopes day to day for improvement, we have been asking the government to put a stop to it. However we have seen nothing change,” the patriarch said.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the 100th Noble Peace Prize in October for leading peacekeeping efforts to end the 20-year conflict with neighboring Eritrea. Violent protests began within Ethiopia less than 2 weeks after.
The protests were sparked by an allegation by political activist Jawar Mohammed that the Ethiopian government had attempted to arrest him.
The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church met with Ethiopian government officials to Oct. 26 to call for peace and dialogue in the face of the violence. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church also called for three days of prayer and fasting for peace.
“God is with us,” Orthodox priest Markos Gebre-Egziabher said at a memorial service Oct. 26 for Christians killed in Addis Ababa, according to AFP.
“If they come with machetes, we will go with crosses,” Father Markos said.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. These Churches reject the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers were historically considered monophysites – those who believe Christ has only one nature – by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox.
Pope Francis met with Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarch Abune Mathias in Feb. 2016, and expressed his condolences for the Ethiopian Christians executed by Islamic State militants in Libya in April 2015.
In an emotional speech Oct. 28, Patriarch Mathias told his persecuted community in Ethiopia:
“While I was preaching to you about peace, those that do not know peace have deprived you of peace. My children, do not hold a grudge on me. Do not think I am silent to your plight. I always weep for you. Lord, send your Judgement, or come down to us.”
„An Ethiopian Christian Immigrant? Not that kind of people Hussein wanted us to have in this country. He did everything he could to bring MS-13, Muslims and ISIS terrorists.„
„More Ethiopian Christians Less Somalian Muslims„
„Ethiopia is a very special place. i only hope to visit there„
„Send Back Ilhan Omar And Let’s Get More Mahalets into This Country.„
„Soooooo special. This woman is precious. I loved everything she said.„
„What a wonderful young lady. Watched the whole thing, brought tears to my eyes.„
„That lady is so beautiful and well spoken! Warms my heart…„
„The keywords of course, Beautiful and Christian!„
As young black leaders gathered Friday in the White House for the Young Black Leadership Summit, one voice split the room asking for a moment to pray for President Donald Trump.
Turning Point USA’s Benny Johnson shared video of what happened when the president brought the young woman to the podium. Mahalet, once an abandoned, impoverished orphan from Ethiopia, earned smiles and cheers from the president and the gathered crowd.
“I’m not really good with prayers or anything like that but I just want to say thank you, Mr. President, and I know we have a political warfare right now, but I strongly believe that it is a spiritual one as well,” Mahalet said to cheers from the crowd.
“And I want to make sure that I mean, I know that Americans are gonna wake up and we’re gonna get back to looking to God instead of social media and we’re gonna look back to Jesus because Jesus saves and this country was founded upon the Constitution, was built on Godly principles and we’re gonna fight for that,” she said. “And I just want to encourage you guys to pray every day for this nation.”
“Dear God, I’m not really good at this,” Mahalet laughed. “But I just want to say thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to be in the White House. Thank you for giving us a great leader like Trump, Mr. Donald Trump, and I would like to thank you for waking up our nation.”
She continued, asking God for protection both for the nation and for the president, adding, “God, I believe that you gave him to us and I believe that he’s gonna accomplish so much more. I know you have more for us.”
“Jesus I ask you to protect us and walk with us and in Jesus’ name the enemy tries to attack us every single day,” Mahalet concluded. “He tries to discourage us but he has no room. He has no room, no more, and that’s all I have to say.”
The mass led by Egyptian Bishop Ava Morkos of Shoubra El Kheima came following an invitation sent by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Coptic clergy of Egypt earlier in March.
The mass was held in a house of a Copt in Saudi Arabia, where Coptic families gathered to participate and celebrate the religious occasion. The bishop brought with him required items from Cairo especially for the mass.
Holding the mass is considered by many as the first step that paves the way for more freedoms for Christians in a country where non-Muslims are not allowed to practice their faith openly.
This comes at a time that is believed to be critical for Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince, who is facing accusations of involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.
As part of his efforts to achieve more “reforms” in the conservative Kingdom, MBS had allowed women to start driving after a 30-year ban. He also launched a governmental committee that is responsible for holding concerts and entertainment activities in the Kingdom.
