Saturday, February 27, 2021

Ethiopian Christian Massacred -- Archfather Comments

By Jean DuBois 

FIRENZE-NUOVA ROMA 27 February 2021 (NRom) 

Late last November, many religious pilgrims arrived to the Maryam Dengelet church in Ethiopia for the Orthodox holy festival to mark the day on which many believe that the Ark of the Covenant was brought there from Jerusalem. This feast occurred during a lull in a period of much violence, yet what should have been a joyous and sacred occasion itself turned to bloodshed.

During the Orthodox liturgy, a unit of Eritrean soldiers opened fire on the church, killing many. Even those who are fleeing from the church came under fire. Then soldiers went door to door and killed and attacked many more in their homes. Even mourning the dead was banned by the soldiers under penalty of immediate summary execution.

Today, on almost the three month anniversary of the attack, the Archfather made a statement reflecting on the violence. His Holy Eminence stated that it is inconceivable that any just government could carry out or permit such an attack. The pontiff also called upon all such violence against the Christian people around the world to be stopped immediately. The audio recording of the statement is below.