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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed oversaw the reunification of two wings of one of the oldest Christian churches in the world, said Friday his high-ranking badistant
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church Tewahedo s & rsquo; Is separated in 1991 from a new patriarch. after the Revolutionary Democratic Front of the Ethiopian People (EPRDF) withdrew the military junta Derg from power.
Dissidents founded a US-based separatist church under the exiled ex-patriarch, after senior church officials claimed that the role is held for life.
The discussions between the two synods have been going on for years. Abiy, a new reformist prime minister, is credited with accelerating the peace process, which culminated on Thursday in his first visit to the United States.
Abiy oversaw a reunification ceremony in Washington, attended by priests in black and red robes, After major mediation efforts, Prime Minister Abiy witnessed the reunification of the two synods of the Orthodox Church Ethiopian in Washington, where the two synods are united in a single synod after 27 years of rule, said his chief of staff Fitsum. Arega wrote on Twitter
Further details of the reunification and how it would work in practice were not immediately available.
Dating back to the 4th century, the Orthodox Church is the largest in Ethiopia, gathering 38 million people, according to
The country is also home to a Muslim minority and a growing Protestant population that includes the First Minister.
"Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed said that one can think of Ethiopia without taking note of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Tewahedo, which, according to him, is both grandiose and sacred, said Fana Broadcasting Corporate, a state-affiliated organization
adding: "The Unification and Reconciliation Committee expressed its deepest gratitude to Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed for his important efforts during the process of reconciliation. "
Since taking office in April, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has given priority to the reconciliation between dissidents and the EPRDF, which holds power unopposed since Age 27.
He released many jailed dissidents from Ethiopian jails earlier this week he called for "multiparty democracy", an amazing shift for the EPRDF which has been in power since 1991 and has also open doors of historical reconciliation with neighboring Eritrea
The visit to the United States should be a kind of charm offensive for Abiy
. Arrived in Washington, Reuben E Brigety II, former US Ambbadador to the African Union Headquarters in Ethiopia, tweeted a photo showing the Prime Minister smiling and holding hands with a lonely protester who greeted him in front of the Ethiopian embbady.
Visiting diaspora communities in Los Angeles and in the state of Minnesota, the Ethiopian government said, "Destroy barriers and build bridges!"
Hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians live in the United States, including many journalists and politicians. fell with the EPRDF.
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