Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports

Phone: +49 4106 804806 · Fax: +49 4106 804807 !Email: [email protected] · http://www.bucer.de/bq.html Released for free complete or partial reproduction A joint platform for the following Bonn organi- zations on the basis of the Evangelical Alliance: Commission for Religious BQ 563 – No. 46/2018 Freedom of the German and the Austrian Evangelical Alliance World Evangelical Alliance Congratulates www.ead.de/akref Culture and Science Publ. Ethiopian on Reconciliation in www.vkwonline.com Department of Theological and State Concerns of World Evangelical Alliance (Bonn, 19.12.2018) The Associate Secretary General of the World Evangelical www.worldevangelicals.org/ Alliance responsible for inter-church relations congratulated Abune pdf/TN-47-1-Jan-2018.pdf Mathias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, on the reconciliation and Giving Hands – reunification of the previously divided church and on the many steps towards International Charity reconciliation in the state, especially www.gebende-haende.de the peace treaty between International Institute for and , and wished him God’s Islamic Studies (IIIS) of the blessing for future development. World Evangelical Alliance Schirrmacher was accompanied by a www.islaminstitute.net six-member delegation of former International Institute for Muslims from neighbouring Muslim Religious Freedom (IIRF) of the World Evangelical countries, whose situation the Alliance (International Patriarch wished to be informed Headquarter, German Branch about. Melake Genet Abba Tübingen, EU-Office Brüssel) Kidane Mariam, whom Schirrmacher www.iirf.eu had previously met in Geneva and in Martin Bucer Seminary Rome, took part in the meeting on (Bonn, Linz, Zürich, Prague, behalf of the Patriarch. Tirana, Istanbul, São Paulo, Delhi) The delegation also visited the www.bucer.org Human Rights Council of the missiotop – Evangelical Ethiopian Parliament and the Forum for Missions, Cultures Chairman of the Evangelical Church and Religions (German Fellowship of Ethiopia(ECFE), Pastor Evangelical Alliance) Tsadiku Abdo. Bishop Schirrmacher www.missiotop.org then spoke to leading theologians of Office of Intrafaith and the ECFE on questions of religious Interfaith Relations of the dialogue. World Evangelical Alliance Theological Commission of (born 1941/42 in (from left) Patriarch Abune Mathias, Bischop Thomas the European Evangelical Sebuha, Northern Ethiopia as Schirrmacher, Bischop Melake Genet Abba Kidane Alliance Teklemariam Asrat) has been Mariam © BQ/Schirrmacher www.europeanea.org Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Theological Commission of Tewahedo Church since 2013. His full the World Evangelical Alliance is “His Holiness Abune Mathias, Sixth Patriarch and of Ethiopia, Ichege www.worldevangelicals.org/tc/ of the Chair of St. Takla Haymanot and of Axum”. Previously he was UN Bonn liaison for inter- Bishop of , from 1992 Archbishop of North America, and later Archbishop of religious concerns of WEA the United States. World Evangelical Alliance – Office Bonn SOS World (Brussels) Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports www.sosworld.be/page- daccueil/ Text & Technology: Titus Vogt (ViSdP) Vorderer Kamp 52a, D-25479 Ellerau Phone: +49 4106 804806 Fax: +49 4106 804807 Email: [email protected] page 1! /!3 Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports

The Ethiopian Church, A joint platform for the following Bonn organi- with 40 to 50 million zations on the basis of the members, is by far the Evangelical Alliance: largest of the seven Commission for Religious ancient Oriental churches, Freedom of the German and which until the 1960s the Austrian Evangelical were mistakenly called Alliance “monophysites” and www.ead.de/akref considered heretics by the Culture and Science Publ. Western and Eastern www.vkwonline.com churches, while today one Department of Theological speaks of “miaphysites” Concerns of World and assumes a Evangelical Alliance fundamentally common www.worldevangelicals.org/ . Until 1950 the pdf/TN-47-1-Jan-2018.pdf Ethiopian church was Giving Hands – under the control of the Thomas Schirrmacher in audience with His Holiness Patriarch Abune International Charity now smaller Coptic Mathias © BQ/Schirrmacher www.gebende-haende.de church. Since then the International Institute for church is “autocephalous”, i.e. it elects its own patriarch. In 1993 and 1998 Islamic Studies (IIIS) of the respectively the Eritrean Orthodox Church with its 2 million members was released World Evangelical Alliance www.islaminstitute.net from the supervision of the Ethiopian Church and since then also elects its own patriarch. In the time of the communist rule a foreign church split off with its own International Institute for patriarch, this division was overcome now, the patriarch abroad returns to his Religious Freedom (IIRF) of the World Evangelical homeland in the status of an emeritus patriarch. Alliance (International The Evangelical Church Fellowship of Ethiopia (ECFE) originated in the time of Headquarter, German Branch Tübingen, EU-Office Brüssel) persecution. After the communist transfer of power in 1976 nine churches allied to www.iirf.eu form the ECFE. Prison and torture were everyday life for the leadership. In 1990 an office was opened, and the ECFE was recognized by the Ministry of Justice Martin Bucer Seminary (Bonn, Linz, Zürich, Prague, immediately after the end of the communist regime in 1991. Currently, about 18% of Tirana, Istanbul, São Paulo, the country’s population, 13 million Christians, belong to the ECFE in 29,805 local Delhi) congregations of 22 churches. The ECFE is a full member of the World Evangelical www.bucer.org Alliance. missiotop – Evangelical Forum for Missions, Cultures and Religions (German Evangelical Alliance) www.missiotop.org Downloads and Links: Office of Intrafaith and • Photo 1: (from left) Patriarch Abune Mathias, Bischop Thomas Schirrmacher Interfaith Relations of the and Bischop Melake Genet Abba Kidane Mariam © BQ/Schirrmacher World Evangelical Alliance • Photo 2: Thomas Schirrmacher in conversation with the president of the Theological Commission of the European Evangelical Evangelical Church Fellowship of Ethiopia (ECFE), Pastor Tsadiku Abdo © BQ/ Alliance Schirrmacher www.europeanea.org • Photo 3: Thomas Schirrmacher in audience with His Holiness Patriarch Abune Theological Commission of Mathias © BQ/Schirrmacher the World Evangelical Alliance www.worldevangelicals.org/tc/ • Photo 4: His Holiness Patriarch Abune Mathias receives books of the WEA from UN Bonn liaison for inter- Thomas Schirrmacher © BQ/Schirrmacher religious concerns of WEA • Photo 5: His Holiness Patriarch Abune Mathias and Bischop Thomas World Evangelical Alliance – Schirrmacher © BQ/Schirrmacher Office Bonn SOS World (Brussels) Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports www.sosworld.be/page- daccueil/ Text & Technology: Titus Vogt (ViSdP) Vorderer Kamp 52a, D-25479 Ellerau Phone: +49 4106 804806 Fax: +49 4106 804807 Email: [email protected] page 2! /!3 Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports

• Photo 6: The president of the Evangelical Church Fellowship of Ethiopia (ECFE) A joint platform for the following Bonn organi- © BQ/Schirrmacher zations on the basis of the • Photo 7: Thomas Schirrmacher talks to theologians of the Evangelical Church Evangelical Alliance: Fellowship of Ethiopia (ECFE) about questions of interreligious dialogue © BQ/ Commission for Religious Schirrmacher Freedom of the German and the Austrian Evangelical • Website of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Tewahedo: Alliance https://www.ethiopianorthodox.org www.ead.de/akref • Wikipedia entry about the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Tewahedo: Culture and Science Publ. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Orthodox_Tewahedo_Church www.vkwonline.com Department of Theological • The Ethiopian Church in Germany: Concerns of World http://www.aethiopisch-orthodoxe-kirche-deutschland.de Evangelical Alliance www.worldevangelicals.org/ • The Evangelical Church Fellowship of Ethiopia (ECFE): pdf/TN-47-1-Jan-2018.pdf http://www.ecfethiopia.org Giving Hands – International Charity www.gebende-haende.de International Institute for Islamic Studies (IIIS) of the World Evangelical Alliance www.islaminstitute.net International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) of the World Evangelical Alliance (International Headquarter, German Branch Tübingen, EU-Office Brüssel) www.iirf.eu Martin Bucer Seminary (Bonn, Linz, Zürich, Prague, Tirana, Istanbul, São Paulo, Delhi) www.bucer.org missiotop – Evangelical Forum for Missions, Cultures and Religions (German Evangelical Alliance) www.missiotop.org Office of Intrafaith and Interfaith Relations of the World Evangelical Alliance Theological Commission of the European Evangelical Alliance www.europeanea.org Theological Commission of the World Evangelical Alliance www.worldevangelicals.org/tc/ UN Bonn liaison for inter- religious concerns of WEA World Evangelical Alliance – This text is licensed under the Creative Commons license (by-nc-sa). Office Bonn SOS World (Brussels) Bonner Querschnitte Bonn Profiles – Press Reports www.sosworld.be/page- daccueil/ Text & Technology: Titus Vogt (ViSdP) Vorderer Kamp 52a, D-25479 Ellerau Phone: +49 4106 804806 Fax: +49 4106 804807 Email: [email protected] page 3! /!3