Nigussu Legesse, a World Council of Churches executive who helped reconcile the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's rival synods, returned to Addis Ababa in 2019 to lead a consortium of more than 400 aid groups.
Holy Trinity Cathedral in Addis Ababa, November 2007 (A. Davey / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0) [file photo]
After more than 10 years as the WCC's programme executive and convener for Africa, Legesse became executive director of the Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Associations. Its members include more than 100 international NGOs such as Oxfam, Care, Save the Children and World Vision, he told the WCC.
The Orthodox church split into two synods in 1991, after the change of government forced Patriarch Abune Merkorios into exile in the United States. The schism ended in July 2018, when the church recognized one Holy Synod and two patriarchs; the WCC said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed played a vital role in the reconciliation.
Legesse said civil society groups could now work on advocacy, human rights, peacebuilding and conflict resolution, “which was not allowed until about a year ago,” after the law governing charities was changed. The consortium had begun training members to monitor the election then scheduled for May 2020.
Christianity reached Ethiopia around 330 AD, and Christians make up about 63 percent of the population, the WCC said. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is a founding member of the WCC and the largest of the Oriental Orthodox churches.
Sources: World Council of Churches, World Council of Churches: schism healed, Africanews