449:. Many Ethiopian priests were attracted to his sanctity and his teaching, thus giving rise to what became in 1930 the Ethiopic Catholic Church, when, in view of its continual growth, an ordinariate for the Ethiopic Rite faithful of Eritrea, entrusted to an Eritrean bishop, was established. Eritrea, an Italian possession since 1894, already had a separate ecclesiastical jurisdiction, headed by an Italian titular bishop, for Latin-rite Catholics, mainly Italians.
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said that over 3,000 Christians were being held prisoner in
Eritrea, and alleged a December 2009 mass arrest of 30 mostly elderly women who were praying together in a house. According to the Barnabas Fund, in April 2010 a 28-year-old student died after she was held in a metal shipping container for 2
534:
Church. Torture is used against independent
Protestants in Eritrea causing more than 2000 Christians being subject to arrest in 2006. The U.S. State Department names it a Country of Particular Concern due to its violation of religious liberty. It has been reported that entire families are thrown into
497:
erected the new
Eparchy of Segheneity. The Ethiopic Catholic Metropolitan Church now consists of seven sees, three in Ethiopia and four in Eritrea. There are also Latin-Rite jurisdictions in the south of Ethiopia, none of them raised to the rank of diocese. Eight are apostolic vicariates, headed by a
377:
was informed that following several sessions of the church's Holy Synod, he had been formally deposed. In a written response that was widely published the
Patriarch rejected the grounds of his dismissal, questioned the legitimacy of the synod, and excommunicated two signatories to the 13 January
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The Latin Church had become established in the south of
Ethiopia in areas that had not been Christian and that were incorporated into the modern country only at the end of the nineteenth century. The Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1936 gave rise to an increase in the number of Latin Church
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of the Church of
Eritrea although it objected to the method in which the Coptic Church went about granting it. Eritrea's first two Patriarchs were originally Archbishops of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the first Patriarch,
390:
was deposed by the
Eritrean Holy Synod. Many believe that Abune Antonios was wrongly deposed and still consider him Patriarch. Many Eritrean Orthodox followers disagree with the Eritrean government making decisions in religious matters.
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was established, and the ordinariate for
Eritrea was elevated to the rank of exarchate. Ten years later, on 9 April 1961, an Ethiopic metropolia (ecclesiastical province) was established, with Addis Ababa as the metropolitan see and
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329:, although the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, along with the Coptic Orthodox Church have not recognized the deposition of the third Patriarch of Eritrea, and the enthronement of the fourth Patriarch.
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of
Ethiopia in 1622 and who was expelled from the country in 1636, these contacts, which had seemed destined for success, led instead to the complete closure of Ethiopia to further contact with Rome.
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did visit Addis Ababa during joint efforts by the two
Churches to explore a possible resolution to a border conflict that had broken out between the two countries in 1998. The two churches, remain in
481:, were established in Eritrea, and the Latin Church apostolic vicariate was abolished. Eritrea thus became the only country where all Catholics, whatever their personal liturgical rite, belong to an
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168:, the various estimates place Christianity (all denominations) as the religion of between 47% and 63% of the population of Eritrea. Eritrean Christians are primarily followers of
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In 2023, the country was scored 1 out of 4 for religious freedom. This was seen as an improvement, as several religious prisoners had been released in the previous months.
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meant that the Ethiopic Rite clergy had to take responsibility for larger areas than before. Accordingly, in 1951, the Ethiopic Rite Apostolic Exarchate of
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as the state religion in the 4th century and Christianity is the oldest world religion practiced in the country. One of oldest monasteries in the country
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dates back to the 4th century, it is one of the oldest monasteries in Africa and the world. Christians in Eritrea constitute to three main groups; the
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The Kingdom of Aksum, which overlapped with what is now Eritrea, was the first African Christian country in the world having officially adopted
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in 1950. At that time Eritrea was regarded as a province of Ethiopia, so the Coptic Church in Eritrea was simply a division of the
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letter, including Yoftahe Dimetros, whom the Patriarch identified as being responsible for the church's recent upheavals.
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was elected on 5 March 2004, and enthroned as the third Patriarch of Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Eritrea on 2004-04-24.
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attended the official recognition of the newly autocephalous body. However, the Ethiopian Church has recognized the
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as Patriarch of Eritrea was very brief as he died not long after his enthronement, and he was succeeded by
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voyages of discovery at the end of the fifteenth century opened the way for direct contacts between the
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also appealed his case to the Council of the Monasteries of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and to the
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In the same year, the country was rated as the 4th worst place in the world to be a Christian.
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Christ in Christian Tradition: The Church of Alexandria with Nubia and Ethiopia after 451
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208:(not recognized by government). The Catholic dioceses in Eritrea are the Eparches of
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arrived in the country as Prefect Apostolic of Ethiopia, in charge therefore of a
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and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Due largely to the behaviour of the Portuguese
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jurisdictions, but the expulsion of foreign missionaries at the end of the
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Churches enemies of the state. For this reason, more than 2000 independent
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Eritrea is included in the Episcopal Area of the Horn of Africa of the
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In August 2005, the Patriarch of Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Eritrea,
852:, Reuters, Jeremy Clarke, December 10, 2009, Retrieved June 11, 2011.
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titular bishop; one is an apostolic prefecture, headed by a priest.
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number about 91,232, which represents 2% of the population. The
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554:, though there are no current congregations in the country.
941:. Vol. 2/4. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.
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are multi-religious; Eritrea has two dominant religions:
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are multi-religious. Eritrea has two dominant religions,
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Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project
176:, and less than one percent of the population following
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jurisdiction. In 2003, one more eparchy was created in
394:
955:
850:"Eritrea says not aware of mass arrest of Christians"
931:
881:"Eritrea: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report"
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Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region
46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
325:with each another and with the other Churches of
172:, with a much smaller segment are members of the
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735:[Report on Religious Freedom: Eritrea]
493:of Ethiopia, and on Friday, February 24, 2012,
442:jurisdiction. He preferred instead to use the
1005:
905:"Eritrea is number 6 on the World Watch List"
708:"Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050"
626:. Globalreligiousfutures.org. Archived from
543:years, after being arrested for attending a
518:P'ent'ay (Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelicalism)
200:, the Catholic Church (predominantly of the
673:"Eritrea Population and Health Survey 2010"
507:
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827:"Catholic Dioceses in Ethiopia (by Type)"
733:Rapporto Sulla Libertà Religiosa: Eritrea
682:. August 2013. p. 42. Archived from
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
862:The Episcopal Area of the Horn of Africa
117:
1416:
557:
470:(in Ethiopia) as suffragan eparchies.
336:who died in 2004 and was succeeded by
993:
624:"Religions in Eritrea | PEW-GRF"
232:of Eritrea, declared all independent
384:Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
295:Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
268:Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
44:adding citations to reliable sources
15:
395:Catholicism in Eritrea and Ethiopia
332:The first Patriarch of Eritrea was
297:for Eritrean Orthodox autocephaly.
13:
310:Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
302:Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
272:Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
256:Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
14:
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653:United States Department of State
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308:, and no representative from the
306:Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
250:Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
240:are detained due to their faith.
198:Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
1320:Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
1090:Democratic Republic of the Congo
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126:Church of Our Lady of the Rosary
20:
935:; Hainthaler, Theresia (1996).
897:
873:
855:
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803:"Pontifical Acts - 24 February"
752:from the original on 2020-10-22
540:International Christian Concern
300:Tensions were high between the
285:in 1993, the newly independent
31:needs additional citations for
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530:Church is the only recognised
277:Following the independence of
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745:(Report) (in Italian). 2016.
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348:as 3rd Patriarch of Eritrea.
244:Oriental Orthodoxy in Eritrea
473:In 1995, two new eparchies,
358:presided at the ceremony in
264:Pope Joseph II of Alexandria
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867:February 6, 2013, at the
742:Aid to the Church in Need
552:Anglican Diocese of Egypt
55:"Christianity in Eritrea"
1075:Central African Republic
580:Christianity in Ethiopia
514:Protestantism in Eritrea
508:Protestantism in Eritrea
401:Eritrean Catholic Church
202:Eritrean Catholic Church
1424:Christianity in Eritrea
1021:Christianity in Africa
289:government appealed to
364:Coptic Orthodox Church
132:
1235:São Tomé and Príncipe
1095:Republic of the Congo
156:as a country and the
138:as a country and the
121:
528:Evangelical Lutheran
314:autocephalous status
40:improve this article
1310:States with limited
909:www.opendoorsuk.org
600:"National Profiles"
575:Religion in Eritrea
558:Freedom of religion
380:Patriarch Antonios
327:Oriental Orthodoxy
206:Evangelical Church
170:Oriental Orthodoxy
158:Eritrean community
140:Eritrean community
133:
1411:
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1337:other territories
1110:Equatorial Guinea
933:Grillmeier, Aloys
831:www.gcatholic.org
495:Pope Benedict XVI
466:(in Eritrea) and
436:Justin de Jacobis
356:Pope Shenouda III
291:Pope Shenouda III
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434:In 1839, Saint
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319:Abune Phillipos
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375:Abune Antonios
371:Abune Antonios
352:Abune Antonios
346:Abune Antonios
323:full communion
266:, head of the
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51:Find sources:
45:
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29:This article
27:
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18:
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1385:Saint Helena
1356:
1260:South Africa
1250:Sierra Leone
1114:
1055:Burkina Faso
972:Christianity
937:
912:. Retrieved
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888:. Retrieved
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778:the original
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714:. 2015-04-02
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684:the original
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628:the original
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440:Latin Church
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258:was granted
253:
190:Christianity
187:
162:Christianity
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144:Christianity
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96:January 2024
93:
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62:
50:
38:Please help
33:verification
30:
1312:recognition
1265:South Sudan
1155:Ivory Coast
807:www.news.va
459:Addis Ababa
342:Abune Yacob
338:Abune Yacob
260:autocephaly
238:Protestants
224:. In 2002,
204:), and the
1367:(Portugal)
1325:Somaliland
1245:Seychelles
1210:Mozambique
1195:Mauritania
1180:Madagascar
1135:The Gambia
1070:Cape Verde
914:2024-01-30
890:2024-01-30
836:2017-09-18
812:2017-09-18
756:2020-10-22
718:2021-10-12
693:2021-12-30
658:2022-11-05
634:2022-03-14
609:2022-10-17
586:References
545:Protestant
532:Protestant
413:Portuguese
234:Protestant
194:Debre Sina
66:newspapers
1200:Mauritius
787:18 August
771:"Eritrea"
649:"Eritrea"
538:In 2009,
429:Patriarch
230:president
222:Segeneiti
1418:Category
1391: /
1387: /
1380:(France)
1374: /
1352: /
1348: /
1300:Zimbabwe
1275:Tanzania
1125:Ethiopia
1120:Eswatini
1100:Djibouti
1065:Cameroon
1050:Botswana
865:Archived
747:Archived
569:See also
444:Ethiopic
304:and the
287:Eritrean
283:Ethiopia
178:P'ent'ay
1376:Réunion
1372:Mayotte
1363:Madeira
1358:(Spain)
1354:Melilla
1285:Tunisia
1255:Somalia
1240:Senegal
1225:Nigeria
1215:Namibia
1205:Morocco
1170:Liberia
1165:Lesotho
1115:Eritrea
1085:Comoros
1060:Burundi
1035:Algeria
984:Eritrea
958:Portals
926:Sources
524:Eritrea
489:in the
487:Endibir
475:Barentu
468:Adigrat
293:of the
279:Eritrea
214:Barentu
184:History
154:Eritrea
136:Eritrea
80:scholar
1395:
1378:
1365:
1295:Zambia
1290:Uganda
1230:Rwanda
1185:Malawi
1145:Guinea
1040:Angola
945:
680:UNICEF
535:jail.
464:Asmara
360:Asmara
228:, the
210:Asmara
130:Asmara
82:
75:
68:
61:
53:
1350:Ceuta
1270:Sudan
1220:Niger
1175:Libya
1160:Kenya
1140:Ghana
1130:Gabon
1105:Egypt
1045:Benin
781:(PDF)
774:(PDF)
750:(PDF)
737:(PDF)
687:(PDF)
676:(PDF)
502:Ge'ez
479:Keren
423:whom
281:from
218:Keren
166:Islam
148:Islam
87:JSTOR
73:books
1280:Togo
1190:Mali
1080:Chad
943:ISBN
789:2018
516:and
477:and
411:The
254:The
220:and
164:and
146:and
59:news
262:by
150:.
128:in
42:by
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907:.
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710:.
678:.
651:.
602:.
386:.
274:.
216:,
212:,
1013:e
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