A Global Campaign
An unprecedented existential threat now confronts our Church and her faithful. Even so, our Church continues to trust in the power of prayer for peace and love in the midst of trial. It was in this spirit that I released a video message for the Ethiopian New Year calling for repentance and reconciliation (የአዲስ አመት የንሳሃ እና የእርቅ ጥሪ).
That message spoke of peaceful reconciliation, knowing full well that our gestures of love, and our forbearance in the face of unimaginable atrocities, have not brought us peace. We will continue to seek peace, reconciliation, and love. But we can no longer accept bloodshed, persecution, or injustice against our people and our Church. በቃ!
Sacred Scripture calls us to rise in faith and courage. The Prophet Isaiah reminds us that faith does not demand silence before injustice, but commands us to seek justice (Isaiah 1:17). The Apostle Peter likewise exhorts us not to fear those who threaten us, but to stand ready to give account of the hope that is within us(1 Peter 3:14–15).
Our response must be neither vengeance nor surrender. It must be a continued call for peace and reconciliation, alongside spirited resistance rooted in prayer, truth, and courage — a faithful and resolute defense of the dignity, freedom, and survival of our Church and her people.
International Conference
Reporting & Analysis
Yonas Biru, PhD
On the night of May 31, 2026, in East Arsi, armed men went house to house killing Orthodox Christians, and burned the Church of St. Gabriel — which had stood for 101 years — to the ground. It was not an isolated incident.
The question is not whether Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia are being targeted for their faith; that is documented. The real question concerns the source and transmission mechanism of the ideology driving it.
Yonas Biru, PhD
Ethnic politics in Ethiopia is taking a new form, increasingly cloaked in religious creed. The killing of Christians and the burning of churches have grown sharply since former OLF operatives took the levers of Ethiopian Islamic Affairs.
Muslims and Christians who fail to see it do so at their own peril. No one will emerge from it a victor.
What's happening
Human-rights bodies have documented targeted attacks on Orthodox Christian communities in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission documented a pattern of attacks in Oromia’s Arsi Zone in its March 2026 reporting, including killings, displacement, and the destruction of homes and churches. The U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom reporting has recorded violence affecting Orthodox Christians, and the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide has flagged risk factors for atrocity crimes in Ethiopia.
Sources: Ethiopian Human Rights Commission; U.S. Department of State, International Religious Freedom reporting; UN Office on Genocide Prevention.
