Abune Mathias was born on Teklemariam Asrat; 5 January 1941 and is the sixth and current Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church since 2013.
10 Facts About Abune Mathias
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In early 1980, Abune Mathias became the first leader of the church to issue a denunciation of the rule of the communist Derg.
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Abune Mathias pronounced an anathema against Mengistu Haile Mariam and the members of the regime, and then went into exile.
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Abune Mathias eventually settled in Washington, DC, where he presided over an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church made up of exiles who had fled the Ethiopian revolution, and continued to broadcast messages against the Derg regime on Voice of America.
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In 1992, Abune Mathias returned to Ethiopia following the fall of the Derg and of Patriarch Abuna Merkorios to retake his seat in the Holy Synod.
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Later, the Archdiocese was divided and Abune Mathias Mattias served as Archbishop of the United States, when Canada became a separate archdiocese.
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In 2009, the Archdiocese of the United States was divided again into three new Archdioceses, and Abune Mathias was asked to return to take up his former Archdiocese of Jerusalem.
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Abune Mathias became the 6th Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the election held on 28 February 2013 where he received 500 of the 806 votes cast by a college of electors representing various sections of the Church.
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On 22 January 2023, Abune Sawrios, a member of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Holy Synod attempted to overthrow Abune Mathias via emerging as "Patriarchate of Oromia", along with a secret group of bishops.
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Abune Mathias called the government to implement security and measures to address the issues.