A History Gift to all Ethiopian People from Fikre Tolossa, Ph.D. "The mother and the great grrandmother of King David were Ethiopians"

በየሐረርወርቅ ጋሻው (የኢትዮጵያወርቅ)

ታሪኩን የማያውቅ እራሱን የማያውቅ እና የወደፊቱንም የማያውቅ ነው።

ይህ ውር እንደሚታወቀው፡ በአሜርካን አገር የጥቁሮች የታሪክ ወር በሚል በእያመቱ ይከበራል። ታዲያ በዚህ ብሎግ እና በፌስ ቡክ ስለ አፍሪካን አሜርክና ያወጣሁ ቢሆኑም የኢትዮጵያ ታሪክ ደግሞ የኢትዮጵያ እና የሕዝብዋ ወይም የራስዋ ብቻ ሳይሆን እንደሚታወቀው የመላው አፍሪአካ ተወላጆች በባርነትም ተስርቀው በአሜሪካን እና በካረቢያን፡ በኢንዶኔዢያ እና በሜክሲኮ እና በአለም ውስጥ የሚገኙት ሁሉ እና ቀጥሎም የአለም ስልጣኔ ከሆኑት አምስት አሃጉራት እና በስጡ ከሚገኙት አገሮች አንድዋ ስለሆነች ታሪክዋ የአለምም ጭምር ነው። ለዚህ ነው ከዚህ በታች ሲተረጎም የተደበቀው እና ያልተነገረው የጂውሽ ሕዝብ እና ኢትዮጵያውያን በሚል በእንግሊዘኛ የተጻፈውን አስገራሚ ታሪካዊ  መጽሃፍ በታሪክ አባትነታቸው በታወቁት በዶክተር ፍቅሬ ቶሎሳ የቀረበልንን የታሪክ ምግብ ለዚህ ወር ከሌሎች መጽሃፎች ሁሉ የመረጥኩት።

     ብዙ ጊዜ እንደሚታወቀው አገራችንን ለመቆራረጥ በውጪ ጠላት በመደገፍ እራሱ የኢትዮጵያ ገበሬ እና ሕዝቡ ሰራዊቱ ጭምር በላቡ ያስተማራቸው ወንድሞቻችን የዚህ ጎሳ የዛ ጎሳ ነጻ አውጪ ነን ለነጻነትህ ቆሜአለሁ እያሉት በውጪ ጠላት ኢትዮጵያን ለመቆራረጥ እና አፍሪካን ለመቆጣጠር ከፋፍሉ ለሚደረገው ትልቅ መሳሪያ በመሆን ጠላት የሚጽፈውን የታሪክ ማጥፊያ መጽሃፍ ጸሃፊ በመምሰል ስማቸው የአንድነት መበተኛ መጸሃፍ ላይ ዶክተር እከሌ አቶ እከሌ ወዘተ በሚል እየተጻፈ ስኑን አየን። አሁንም እየጸፉ ነው። እነሱ በአሮፓ፡ በአሜሪካ፡ በካናዳ እና በተለያየ ቦታ በአረብ አገር ጭምር ኢትዮጵያን ለማፍረስ ተቀጣሪዎች በመሆናቸው ብዙ ገንዘብ ስለሚከፈላቸው እየተንደላቀቁ በአገር ቤትም መንግስት ይዘው በወገን ደም ሲበለጽጉ እና ልጆቻቸውን ሲያሳድጉ ሲያስተምሩ በፈረንጅ አገር፡  ታሪኩ እየተበወዘ እና እየተዋሸለት ግራ ያጋቡት  ኢትዮጵያዊ ግን የሃቅ እና የወገን ያልህ! እያለ ሃቀኛ የታሪክ አስተማሪ የወገን ፍቅር እረሃብ ሲያዛጋ ብዙ አመታት አስቆጠርዋል።

     ዛሬ ከላይ ጣል ያደረክዋት መንደርደሪያ ወይም አጭር መግቢያ ብዙ ለመጻፍ ሳይሆን የአገር ታሪካን ከርሳሞቹ አንቁዋሸው እና ዋሽተው ሲጽፉ ከላይ እንዳስቀመጥኩት በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ኢትዮጵያን እና ታሪክዋን ለሕዝብ የሚመግብ የሃቅ ታሪካችን ጸሃፊ እግዚአብሄር እንዳልነፈገን ለማሳየት እና ይሄም መጸሃፍ በሃስት ለተወናበደው ወጣት ሁሉ በእየአገሩ በኢዮጵያ፡ በሌላውም የአፍሪካ አገሮች፡ በአረብ አገሮች፡ በአውሮፓ፡ በአሚሪካን እና በካናዳ በጃፓን ኢዮጵያዊ ወጣት ባለበት ሁሉ ቤተሰብም እራሱን አስተምሮ ስለአኩሪ ታሪኩ ለልጆቹም የሚያስተምርበት የታሪክ ማህደር በጣም ከብዙ መጸሃፎች የተለየ ታሪክ ያዘለ ስለሆነ እና ከዚህም የበለጠ የታሪካችን ጠላቶች ለሆኑ መቁዋቁዋሚያ ትልቅ የታሪክ ምስክር መድሃኒት ሆኖ አግኝቼዋለሁ። ብዙ ሰዎች በሬዲዮ በፓልቶክ እና በቴሌቪዢን በኢንተርኔት ላይ ሁሉ ስለ ኢትዮጵያ አንድነት እና ታሪክ የሚናገሩ የሚያናግሩ ይሄንን መጸሃፍ ሊኖራቸው ይገባል ብዬ አምናለሁ። 

     መጸሃፉ የኢትዮጵያን እና  የሕዝብዋን ታሪክ ከእግዚአብሄር ጋር በተያያዘ ከአብረሃም እና ከመልከጻዲቅ ማለትም ሞርመኖች አሜሪካን አገር እንደ አራያቸው አድርገው የሚያምኑበት የሚከተሉት እና ልጁን ኢትዮጵን ሳይቀር የሚገልጽም ይገኝበታል። በተጨማሪም የንጉስ ዳዊት እናት እና የሴት ቅድሚያአያት ኢትዮጵያውያን ናቸው በሚልም ተቀምጥዋል።

መጸሃፉ ገጹ ሃምሳ ሁለት ሲሆን ሌሎቹ ጸሃፊዎች ቢጽፉት ከአራት መቶ ገጽ የሚያንስ አይሆንም። ትልቅ መጸሃፍ የሚወጣው ነው ማለ ይቻላል ነግር ግን ዶክተሩ ከላይ እንዳስቀመጥኩት ወደ ሁዋላ ሳይሆን ወደ ፊት የሚያስቡ በመሆናቸው ቁምነገሩን እንጂ ተከታዮች አላስፈላጊ የተለመደ ሃተታ አላስቀመጡም። መጽሃፍዋ በሴት ቦርሳ ውስጥ ተይዛ በማንኛውም ጊዜ የምትነበብ ነች። ለወንዱም በኪሱ ሊይዘው የሚችል መጸሃፍ ነው። እንግዲህ ይሄንን ያህል ከገልጸኩላችሁ በሁዋላ የበኩሌን እዚህ ላይ እየደመደምኩኝ ከዚህ በታች ባለው ኢሜል ማለት መጽሃፉ ላይ ባገኘሁት በመጻፍ ዶክተር ፍቅሬን በቀጥታ በኤሜል በማግኝት መጽሃፉን ልታገኙ ትችላላችሁ። ftolossa@aol.com

     ስለ ዶክተር ፍቅሬ ቶሎሳ እና ለኢትዮጵያ እና ለሕዝቡ እስካሁን ላደረጉት አስተዋጽዎ በቅርብ በዚሁ ብሎግ ስለምጽፍ ተከታተሉ።

 

 

 

 



MAKE POVERTY THE TARGET OF POLITICAL STRUGGLE

 

By Mankelklot Haile Selassie (PhD)

February 21, 2013
 

Poverty is ceaselessly hovering over the society with crippling effect on its motivation, on its physical activities, on its mental creativeness and dashing its hope. The intention of this article is to bring to the attention of the Ethiopian Diaspora the poverty situation of the Ethiopian society, particularly of the 85% of the population. It is to call upon the Ethiopian Diaspora to be one of the determining factors in eradicating poverty once for all. I have already touched upon the opposition political organizations in the Diaspora mostly in my last three articles. This time, the specific focus would be: a) on the Ethiopian community at large, democratic and progressive activists, that is, the elite and the intellectual individuals included, b) on the social media, that is, the radio and television programs, and the Ethiopian websites included. Hereafter, unless specified, Diaspora refers to these two sectors of the community combined. However, I intend to revisit “Working from Inside,” which was one of the sub-topics in my latest article, “Meles Zenawi was the System.” “Working from inside,” is the binding thread by linking all my four articles including this one. The core of my argument is, since the absence of Meles Zenawi from the leadership, for good, created chaos and crisis, then, it is incumbent upon the opposition forces, that is, the Ethiopian community itemized “a” to “c” above, to take advantage of this Mother Nature given opportunity.
 

1. The Poverty Situation
 

We owe the people of Ethiopia to make poverty the driving force and the focus of the present and the future political struggle. I call upon the Diaspora to make a pledge, no matter what, always, to live and breath the 85% of the population who is miserably suffering from this abject poverty. Specifically targeting this sector of the society, with the intention of eradicating the poverty that is killing its spirit and motivation, will have a reverberating economic effect on the rest of the society.

 

 

In case our organic linkage is getting loose and unattached from Ethiopian society, due to our physical absence from the day to day living conditions we have been witnessing first hand, while we were in Ethiopia, the overwhelming majority of the Ethiopian society are still walking bare-footed; are still wearing clothes with multiple patches, factor in the misery that would be brought about by cold weather with this kind of existence; doing daily chores literally hungry, a routine phenomenon in Ethiopia, a situation that will expose them to a variety of health hazards. Imagine a farming family with 3, 4, or 5 or more children not knowing what their source of food to be the next day; are still using donkeys for transportation means; are still using primitive farming tools (digir, mofur, qenber); add to these the lack of descent shelter that has become a hopelessly given up, common, living phenomenon. Here, one can imagine the sufferings they go through when cold and rainy season come. Mind you, all these are taking place in Ethiopia in the midst of un-topped and plenty human and natural resources. Mother Nature will not forgive us, particularly those generations by whose sweat and blood we have reached the level we are in today.

　

　

So, friends, putting aside even the contemplation of science and technology, engineering and math, this is the down to earth situation of Ethiopian people. Addis Ababa is not Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, the center where meticulously orchestrated conspiracies to assert ones political and economic interests are planned and implemented, does not represent the 85% of the population. Addis Ababa is the seat of killer, robber and corrupt regime. Addis Ababa, with its glittery skyscrapers, ring roads, and cars of different makes and models, is a foreign city to the 85% briefly described above. This rationalization can be generalized to the people of Tigry whose capital city is Mekele. According to BBC News, there are about 100,000 street children living both above the street and underground, that is, living in tunnels, sewers, and drainage holes in Addis Ababa. The BBC News further confirms that one of the reasons for such high number of street children are poverty and hunger mainly that affected the 85% of the population.

 

 

Therefore, this entrenched poverty is not an abstract phenomenon. It is real and measurable. It is living and breathing all over Ethiopia. It is like a thick fog hovering over Ethiopia, that one can cut it with a knife, if you will. Poverty in Ethiopia, perhaps we don’t feel it, is increasing in size almost day by day. A baby born today is destined to be poor and is born in the midst of poverty. Therefore, as the babies born increases population increases. As population increases the intensity of the poverty increases. In Ethiopia the intensity of poverty is directly proportional to the size of population increase. Because, there will be more to feed, for there is less food products to share, and there will be more to cloth and more to shelter. When the size of the family of farmers increase the already nutrient depleted land will be incapable of feeding what it used to feed long time a go. In addition, when family size increases the size of the land to be shared by those who would get married and move out to established their own families decreases. The land gets fractionalized. To observe this stark reality picture of poverty is to go to country side and observe the living conditions of the farmers. Incase we have lost the sense of the reality in Ethiopia, today, this is the living conditions of Ethiopian people. So, think about it deeply.

 

 

Here is a very fundamental yet could be controversial argument. I will go ahead and state it anyway. For a society overwhelmed by abject poverty with the lack of basic necessities such as food, shelter and clothing, democracy, the rule of law, do not mean anything. It becomes an abstract phenomenon to those who are in the midst of such misery. If one is hungry one would be required to provide one with food not democracy or the rule of law. If one needs shelter one would be required to provide one with shelter not democracy or the rule of law. If one needs clothing one would be required to provide one with clothing not democracy or the rule of law. It is as simple and as true as that. In my opinion, well identified and well articulated objective, that is, with the poverty of the 85% as the guideline and well in sight, will enable one to determine the speed and the means, that is, the strategies and the tactics of the struggle. The time is not there for sophisticated political rationalization. It is luxury to seat in a warm chair and indulge oneself in a sophisticated political rationalization while people are starving to death with no end insight. So, think about it deeply.

 

 

Therefore, I argue that, this time, the primary and the total focus must be poverty and how to eradicate it. For practical and strategic purposes make democracy and the rule of law secondary issues. If one declared eradication of poverty the primary objective, then, logically, obstacles that hinder to arrive to that objective should be dealt with mercilessly. Why? Because the poverty situation I tried to show the picture does not give time.

 

 

One more time, for the sake of emphasis, for the 85% of the population democracy and the rule of law are secondary issues. Their primary concerns are food, shelter, and clothing, hence the eradication of poverty. I argue that if the primary focus of the struggle is to eradicate poverty, and if the absence of democracy and the absence of the rule of law became hindrance to achieve that objective, then, logically, one would be forced to make these, temporarily, the primary objectives and deal with them immediately and decisively. In this case, human rights, democratic rights, and the rule of law become the instruments for fighting to eradicate poverty. Here, it should be clear that the primary objective of the struggle is not for human rights, democratic rights or the rule of law. The primary objective of the struggle is to eradicate poverty. Period. The rest follows. I argue that there is a difference between the two arguments.

 

2. The Role of the Ethiopian Community at Large

 

 

This time around, the role of the Ethiopian community at large aught to be to specifically focus on the eradication of poverty to alleviate the sufferings of Ethiopian people. Take it as a project, gang up, and make it happen at any cost.

To start with, to make the record straight, so far, the Ethiopian community, democratic and progressive activist individuals included, in their own specific ways, did try their level best, in fact, for a long time, the period that included Mengistu Hailemariam’s and Meles Zenawi’s era, to change the system and empower the Ethiopian people. Therefore, the participation of the Diaspora intellectuals in the political struggle is absolutely unquestionable, particularly by those who were enjoying their life during the Mengistu and Meles‘s rule and by those late comers to the field of the struggle. They have no creditable eminence to criticize the Diaspora intellectuals. Who are the Diaspora intellectuals? Unless one comes up with a different specifically Ethiopianzed definition, they are the intellectuals in the political parties, they are political party sympathizers and supporters who enthusiastically participate in the struggle, they are those who formed and built civic organizations, such as Ethiopian National Congress (ENC). They are those who participated in public meetings and in demonstrations including organizing it. Through these, one can clearly see the depth and the width of the Diaspora intellectuals’ heartfelt political participation. Therefore, one has to be careful when one is criticizing the Diaspora intellectuals.

　

　

Unfortunately, of late though, through time, as fatigue kicked in, perhaps mainly due to the length of the struggle, one can clearly see when the community’s focus is being watered down and compromised. Its emotional attachment to the unity and the well being of the Ethiopian people is being taken advantage of by certain slick and fake political leaders. Through time, as confusing propaganda was being thrown at them their deficiency to focus, to be a critical observer became deeper and more obvious. This lack of focus and at the same time being emotional are well manifested particularly in public meetings where they were being manipulated very easily by certain political leaders.

It is time for the Ethiopian community, democratic and progressive activist individuals included to assume the leadership in the struggle. Where can, and how does, it assert its leadership? The general public can assert its leadership in public meetings and in public demonstrations as well as by being aggressively involving and by being aggressively critical during the participations in the social media; those who write in their articles; and those who speak through their mouth. Political leaders as well as those organized or being organized for political power must be fiercely challenged this time to articulate their objectives in line with the poverty that the Ethiopian society are going through. Remember, our main and specific objective is to eradicate poverty. Here, we are not talking about democracy or human rights, or the rule of law. The general public has to wake up and stop to be easily manipulated and easily deceived. It has the responsibility to control its destiny by controlling its emotions.

Particularly at this political juncture, the Diaspora’s depth of political consciousness can be measured by the influence of two political leaders namely by Dr. Birhanu Nega and Dr. Feseha Eshete, individuals who frequently use podiums and public discussion forums. It is long over due to question the political integrity of these political leaders before it is too late. The influence of these individuals on the Diaspora tells the depth of the Diasporas emotional attachment to the political and economic miseries of the Ethiopian society. As a result it takes in whatever are thrown at it without questioning or without critically looking into it. As a result a culture of submissiveness is being reintroduced in a society that is coming out from this submissive behavior that it inherited from the society that it came from. A culture that must be uprooted, some how, from the Ethiopian society, for it is hurting it.

The Diaspora did not question why these two individuals left Ethiopia in the first place. If these two individuals had the well being of the Ethiopian society at heart, they would have remained inside Ethiopia and fight to the extent of self sacrifice, for the interests and aspirations of the Ethiopian people. Both of them had the potential to do just that. They were not in danger of imprisonment or harassment by the regime because they had favorable relationships with Meles and his regime. For example, Berhanu Nega was one of the leaders, if not the leader, of Kestedamena, a political organization. He could have gone back to it and make it a viable political organization. Where is Kestedamena today? What more would one wants? Kestedamena was a political organization germinated and grown by feeding from the soil, the society, it was planted in. What could have made sense could have been to remain there in the midst of the people and revive Kestedamena. If he had a genuine interest to make a difference by being right there in the midst of Ethiopian people, he could have easily attracted part of the students, part of the labor force, and part of the democratic and progressive individuals as well as part of the bureaucracy, and perhaps built an effective and formidable political organization. Unfortunately for him, after forming a coalision called Kinjit he became the instrument of Meles Zenawi, particularly through Bereket Simon, which was known and openly was told by the leaders of Kinijit. He became the proxy of TPLF. For example, on May 9, 2005 when about 3 million Addis Ababa community came out in support of Kinijit he was no where to be found when wanted to be on the platform facing the demonstrators. This point looks simple but it tells a lot about his deceptive behavior and his mode of activities. Due to his subversive activities, Berhanu Nega came to realize that he would not be trusted by his ex-colleagues any more therefore he had to leave Ethiopia and stay in the United States and promote himself, among the Ethiopia Diaspora whose characteristics I described above. Because of his subversive activities he had while among the Kinijit coalition, a lot of questions are awaiting him to be answered when he goes back to Ethiopia. To dip into the leadership qualities of this individual and get a sample of it, get the Oct. 20, 2012 interview of the two Ginbot 7-Democracy group leaders. Without going into detail, these two individuals did expose his leadership qualities hence the quality of Ginbot 7.

The other slick politician is Dr. Feseha Eshete. I am pointing out these two individuals because: a) they are having extremely bad influence, deception and fakeness, on the Diaspora, particularly on the young generation, to the extent of playing on its emotional attachment to the Ethiopian society at home, b) to let them know that they did not get away with it, c) it is becoming very clearer that the acceptance of what they talk about and what they do, reflects the behavior of the Ethiopian Diaspora which tends to swallow what ever these individuals pushed down its throat even after knowing what and where these individuals were before they came to the United States of America. The Diaspora has to control its emotion.

Coming back to Dr. Feseha, imagine, this individual was inside Ethiopia for about seventeen (17) years, into Meles Zenawi’s rule. This guy who appears to be hyper political activist and a very concerned individual for those inside Ethiopia, what a contradiction, from here in the United States of America, and a seemingly dedicated political leader, what was he doing then, when he was inside Ethiopia? He was in cahoots with Meles and his regime and making money. He cannot deny this fact. If he had burning desire and the honesty, which he superficially is trying to show it here in the United States of America, to change the political system and improve the living conditions of Ethiopian people, he would have done it or have started to do it while he was there in Ethiopia among the Ethiopian people as the other opposition political organizations were doing it then and still doing it now.

This individual who did not show any concern regarding the political and economic misery of Ethiopia society while he was inside Ethiopia, now, here in America, he had the audacity to mercilessly vilify this emotionally submissive, perhaps an inherent culture of Ethiopian society, Diaspora in one of his latest article, “kedar qomo lewTin meTebeq yehillm injera,”roughly translated, “It is a Dream to Expect Change by Standing on the Side Line.” He completely ignored how the Diaspora was trying its level best, by applying different tactics to expose the regime, while he was enjoying his life in Addis Ababa. He became arrogant and disrespectful because no body amongst the Diaspora questioned his track record. As usual this docile community, as the same docile community accepted Dr. Berhanu Nega knowing well his track record, accepted Dr. Feseha without questioning his track record. This is a brutal individual who bought and literally killed the Ethiopian Youth National Movement. He did not stop there. He then built his Ethiopian National Transitional Council on its grave.

As long as the Diaspora does not change its easily maneuverable emotional behavior and become agile in listening, and, be critical when reading articles and commentaries, its needed supportive effort will have no measurable and long lasting impact. Unintentionally, all of what it is doing unintentionally, become hypocritical actions. Therefore, it is time for the Diaspora community at large, the democratic and progressive activist individuals included to wake up and assume the leadership collectively in the manner I discussed above. It is possible.

3. The Role of Social Media

If I am not mistaken, from the outset, one can boldly say, that, the formation of social media, particularly the television programs, the radio programs, and the Ethiopian websites, is to directly or indirectly participate in the political activities, thereby, to shoulder the burden of the political and economic struggle being fought inside Ethiopia against the regime. In the process, it is also incumbent upon them, this is critically important, that, they operate their programs not only to vent their heartfelt concerns, it is also to arm their constituencies with solid, well researched and well articulated information so that their constituencies in turn would have confidence in themselves to take bold actions when and if necessary. Well armed community with solid, well researched and well articulated information will participate in public meetings, demonstrations, and other required political activities enthusiastically. So, the Ethiopian social media has this very important life line role to play.

But, unfortunately, through time, perhaps due to the influence of money, hence the propensity to fulfill the demand of the sources of the money, the sharing of the burden by being on the side of the people is no more 100%. Issues and concerns are not critically articulated. Issues and concerns under discussion were not well researched. The lack of the research on the part of the media clearly shows when follow up question were asked, or, even by the lack of the follow up question itself. I will provide specific cases from each sector of the social media as examples, without naming the media and the individuals involved, to show the lack of critical articulations and critical focus. In some cases it appears to be a deliberate deception. Issues were not taken very critically and reached to the bottom of it to provide the constituencies complete and unbiased information and let the audience take their own judgments. In the final analysis, this type of performance would lead one to a conclusion to be intentionally or unintentionally sabotaging the struggle hence the interests and the aspirations of Ethiopian people.

I will provide specific examples, as I said, without identifying the names of the media and the individuals involved and let you be the judge. Here are the cases:

Case # One:

I was listening to a radio interview of Ginbot 7 leader. One of the listeners raised the issue of the division among Ginbot 7 organization. During the response by the Ginbot 7 guy, the host of the radio program did not try to inject a very detailed and descriptive interview that took place long before this interview, by the two individuals of Ginbot 7-D. It should have been the responsibility of the host to let his listeners know and understand everything about the raised issue. This shows the lack of research or a deliberate omission of facts. Either case, it is an intellectual dishonesty. The manner the host directed the questioning appeared simply to buildup the organization, instead of being a conduit of fair, valid, reliable, and educational information that would have benefited the community listening to his radio program. It should have been the responsibility of the host of this radio program to do a detailed research beforehand, that is to read everything that was written and said about Ginbot 7. It did not appear the host did that. In fact, one can conclude the host misguided the listeners.

Case # Two:

This one has to do with the television program. In the program called YeHager Lij, a prominent and an astute political leader was being interviewed. In the process a lot of structure based political issues were touched. The host did not utilize the good opportunities he had to provide solid information to his audience. The first example is, when his guest mentioned that HIBRET did assess the May 15, 2005 election, the immediate follow up question should have been, “what was the result of the assessment”? He did not do that. In fact, when the host invited this prominent political leader he should have researched about the activities that took place around this individual. He could have come to a wealth of information. The guest could have been an important source of information that the audience could have learnt a lot from. For example it was not an assessment, as the guest indicated. It was a full blown proposal, against which I have written an article at the time, submitted to Meles Zenawi, to share power according to the seats they(HIBRET) won. The proposal was rejected by Meles. Regarding the disagreement between the opposition groups inside Ethiopia and those outside Ethiopia, that was raised during the interview, was very fundamental. What took place was not the way it was explained. Without going into specificity, the disagreement between the group inside Ethiopia and those outside of Ethiopia were, a) on how to proceed with the election itself and b) what steps to take after the election. It was a very fundamental disagreement. The host of the program did not do his homework very well. Had he done his homework earlier, the interview, let us call it the discussion, would have been very interesting, informative, and lively. Here, the main point is to provide constructive criticism which I limited myself to only one.

Case # 3:

This case deals with an Ethiopian website. I sent one of my articles to one of the websites. I usually send to a number of them, but, almost all of them, except few, do not post my articles. I found this editor very unusual. That is why I am using it as one of the examples. It turned out that the editor of the website did not like my article. He did not post it. As usual my articles are thought provoking and calls a spade a spade, but, based and guided by the interests of Ethiopian people. Period. I say what I believe. What people think or say about what I say does not bother me a bit. What surprised me, about the editor of this website was that, while rejecting my article he posted the death of actress Elizabeth Tailor and her life history. I asked him why he, perhaps wrote it, posted the actresses life history but rejected my article? He lied that he did not receive my article. But I have received an automatic confirmation that it was received. I did not follow it up. I left there. My criticism about individual political leaders or organizations shouldn’t have been the reason to reject my article. To be fair he could have written at the bottom a disclaimer. Unfortunately, I don’t think he is capable of making that kind of a gutsy move. Because that would have shown confidence in oneself.

Due to the nature of the profession, these media people are the natural eyes, ears, and brain of the Ethiopian people. When they do interviews and do commentaries, or become the conduits of information, it should be guided by those eyes, ears, and brain that belong to the Ethiopian people. It should not be based on and guided by the interests of specific political organizations or specific individual. They should look at the opposition political organizations through the eyes, the ears, and the brains, if you will, of the Ethiopian society. Their very existence is to represent the Ethiopian people not the political organizations or specific leaders of political organizations. If not, they would not be in a position to present issues and concerns of the society fairly with long term and measurable impact. It should be through the Ethiopian people that they enter the zone of the political organizations and of course their leaders. The Ethiopian people is between them and the political organizations. They have to walk through the people to reach the political organizations and their leaders.

In my opinion, in principle, they have to have a neutral position. Their neutrality is not to be between the opposition forces and the regime. They are expected to be completely against the regime and completely on the side of the opposition forces. Therefore, their neutrality is between and amongst the opposition forces. They have the obligation not to be influenced by any specific individuals or specific political leaders and organizations in general. Their obligation is to protect and defend the political and economic interests and aspirations of the people of Ethiopia, at any cost. They are expected to listen to, to hear from, the opposition forces through the ears of Ethiopian people. However, if the television and the radio programs are owned and operated by specific political originations that is a different story. Still, even those ones, are accountable for the information they disseminate and the political analysis they provide. It has to be in rhythm with the political activities of the opposition forces inside Ethiopia. For it is the opposition forces inside Ethiopia who are the ones, the immediate physical feelers of the heart beat and of the poverty of Ethiopian people. They are there. Not somewhere across the continents outside of Ethiopia. I think this phenomenon has to sink in very well.

4. Revisiting “Working from Inside” --for the Record

I have discussed this subtopic in my earlier article in detail. Still, I strongly argue that, the right and the timely slogan for the Diaspora must be WORKING FROM INSIDE. Here, my intention is to encourage, one more time, the opposition political organizations, the civic organizations, the progressive and democratic independent individuals, and, the community at large, to unreservedly and full-heartedly participate in the eradication of poverty. The eradication of poverty improves the mental capacity of thinking and rationalization, and their physical strength thereby liberating their potential to take over the economic development itself. Therefore, to objectively impact the economic development and therefore the improvement of their physical strength and their mental capacity, it is a must for one to be in the midst of the society itself. To be effective, there cannot be an alternative to this.

Working from inside refers to those who are organized structurally. The function of the rest of the community at large, the progressives and democratic intellectuals included, is to put pressure on those who are organized structurally including the civic organizations to go back to Ethiopia and be in the midst of Ethiopian people and get involved. The community at large should emphatically tell to those structurally organized bodies not to short circuit the process what Mother Nature provided.

The current, chaos and crisis plagued, political situation forcibly dictates negotiation. We are not living in the 19^th or 20^th century. We are living in the 21^st century. Therefore it is required of us to decide and act accordingly. My suggestion for negotiation is not to encourage or push for sharing power. At this political juncture to share power requires some kind of emotional compatibility which does not exist. My suggestion for negotiation is simply to have space and the right to do political activities anywhere inside Ethiopia. It is up to the structurally organized organizations to develop the techniques and the mechanisms as to how to achieve this right. In my earlier article I suggested to involve the governmental and nongovernmental international organizations in this very important process. International organizations can play a very important role in this regard. It is never too late to initiate it. If not, then, the inevitable phenomenon called irrelevancy will start to kick in. I think, in the Ethiopian political struggle where particularly the Diaspora sector is seen as a factor the question of relevancy or non-relevancy are important factors to reflect upon very seriously. It is important to ask oneself questions such as am I relevant right now? Or, would I be relevant after a given period of time? These questions must be answered properly. These questions are for structurally organized opposition forces particularly in the Diaspora.

 

 

One can talk and talk about the lies, the ineffectiveness, the weakness, and the stodginess of Hailemarim, continuously, for the coming ten years without affecting the political struggle an iota. That is, without even scratching the surface of the poverty of the society. It is committing a crime against the society at least not to try possible alternatives. There is a measurable difference between the regime that existed during Meles’s era and of the current regime. I think it is valid to take the current regime as a different regime because it is a cracked regime. It is a regime immersed in chaos and crisis. All these took place after the death of Meles Zenawi who was the system himself and holding it together . Hence, one should be able to discern the existence of chaos and crisis now, inside the regime that caused the crack. If one rationalized deeply, and simultaneously armed with determination to jump at the existing viable opportunity to do something worthwhile, while the situation is fertile, the existing “chaos” would open that opportunity. Stop talking about Desalegne, foolishly, and start talking as to how to go back to Ethiopia, take advantage of this chaotic political situation and start working from there. Here, one very important point to note is that negotiation demands compromise. To articulate the nature of the compromise and the conditions to compromise would be the responsibility of the opposition forces particularly in the Diaspora. The situation of the opposition forces inside Ethiopia is totally different.
 

The fourth and the last follow up suggestion is, please note that the first one was negotiation, the second one was compromise, the third one was working from inside, to setup a specific target. And that specific target aught to be to participate in the coming general election. One of the major reasons for participating in the coming general election is to methodically dislodge or completely water down the influence of the TPLF leadership. Think about it very seriously. We have to note that it is a wounded leadership. At the same time it is holding the key positions particularly in national security segments of the administration. Therefore, it is wise not to move very wildly against this wounded animal and expose the country to sabotage and to national security crisis.

　

　

The TPLF leadership is like a wounded and cornered wild animal. Imagine a wounded hyena. As the wounded hyena will do anything and everything to defend itself so does the TPLF leadership when and if its existence is challenged (cornered) wildly. To methodically devise the transition period is critically important. While in the process, to hold the TPLF leadership within the circle of the negotiation and compromise is to create a much better and safer environment to maneuver rather than trying to keep them outside of the circle. Be smart and think about it deeply.

 

 

As I have strongly advocated in my latest articles, the main objective is for the political organizations and the other sectors of the Diaspora community to hold power by any means necessary, and ultimately if push came to shove, at any cost. Participate specifically in the coming general election and hold power. At this time of the political situation there should not be any alternatives. If one got the chance to work from inside, a position that would be attained through negotiation and compromise, the chance of dislodging the TPLF leadership would be very high. Don’t forget the May 15, 2005 election. If Meles Zenawi did not exist during the time of May 15, 2005 election, today, we could have witnessed a different political landscape.

5. Finally the Question of Armed Struggle

One of the objectives of the armed struggle is to wear down its enemy, and, finally force it to relinquish its power or force it to negotiate. After so many years, the Ethiopian armed struggle is no where there, nor, it has the ability to even begin to wear out its enemy. I strongly suggest to forget about this turned nonsense armed struggle. It is becoming a black hole. To consider armed struggle as an alternative is simply wasting time, resource, and energy. In addition it is diverting the focus needed. The existing armed struggle, so far, did not prove its relevancy. For example, it has never stood by the sides of the victims whose lands were either sold to the foreigners or simply given away as in the case of Sudan, in the areas of their influence, that is, in the areas where they are capable of moving from place to place among the peasants . What did they do when the Monastery of Waldba and the peasants around it were ruthlessly mistreated by the local representatives of the regime? They did nothing. If they had the astuteness and the gut they could have stood by the side of the victims. They could have armed them to rebel and stand for their rights. I think we should all agree on this commonsense argument, that states, where opposition political organizations, as well as activists within the community at large exist, armed struggle would not be necessary. It is out of place. It is simply creating unnecessary financial resource and energy consuming veiled competition between the leaders of the armed struggle, and the opposition political leaders that are actively involved amongst the society that is being affected. This declaration applies to the liberation fronts too. Because, already, there are nationalities oriented well established political parties that are representing the nationalities in question within the opposition forces. Therefore, henceforth, armed struggle as an alternative to peaceful struggle that comprises, a) election, b) uprising, and c) coup, aught to be nullified and rejected as the means of political struggle. I have written about armed struggle’s potential irrelevancy and ineffectiveness a number of years ago. I think I am proven right.

　

The Ethiopian Muslims have shown Woyane for a year now that it is their role to establish Independent Muslim Council, is there a lesson to learn ?

Letter on Dr. Getachew Haile's piece 
Dear Dr. Getachew Haile,

 

I just read your recent piece on the "unity of our church". Yes we are all the followers of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo in the Diaspora or back home. The difference among churches in the diaspora is  a result of ethnic politics for the last 21 years. There are those who are actively opposing Woyane ethnic politics, others pro Woyane and the so called neutrals also known as "Yegemerkute Bete Tselot".

  The death of Aba Gebremedhin was an opportunity missed to reconcile the Diaspora with the mother country church. One thing the anti Woyane diaspora Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo followers will not do is pray with Woyane selected bishops. We did not pray with the late Aba Gebremedhin and will not pray with the coming Woyane Bishop soon to be announced.  In your paper I was expecting to hear the role of believers from our 21 years of diaspora church experience, From interviews I heard on VOA some church leaders in Ethiopia believe that we the followers are "emente" irrelevant. The Ethiopian Muslims have shown Woyane for a year now that it is their role to establish Independent Muslim Council, is there a lesson to learn ? I hope so. How could we be silent when our ancient monasteries are bulldozed by Woyane ? How could be silent when the Waldiba monks are told to leave to their own ethnic home ? Are you indeed sure that "Bete Christanachene Altekefleechem' ? Respectfully,
Tedla Asfaw
New York City

Declaration from the Legal Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Exile . Washington D.C.

 EOTC in Exile ; February 23, 2013

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"ln the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen"
Statement of Declaration from the Legal Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Exile on the Upholding of the Church's Cannon Law and the Return of His Holiness Patriarch Abune Merkorios to the Throne from which He was lllegallv Ousted "Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:71)
At its 34th biannual conference held in November of 2012 in Columbus, Ohio, the Legal Holy Synod-in-Exile passed a resolution affirming that a special session---a follow-up to the latest peace ond reconciliation efforts within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church -- would be held in Los Angeles. Accordingly, the Synod held the meeting on January 7-9, 2013. Following is the Synod's statement of declaratian based on deliberations made at that meeting.
  Introduction
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has remained true to its dogma and practices for centuries. The Church has passed on its legacy from generations to generations, starting first with the evangelism of Eunuch, the treasurer of Queen Candace of Ethiopia, who went to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel, and later through the missionary work of Abba (Bishop) Fremenatos.  Venerated highly by religious scholars and experts throughout the world and regarded as the sources of pride and hope by the Ethiopian Orthodox faithful, the Church has sustained its historic existence for the past two thousand years under the blessings and care of God.  However, we are not oblivious to the fact that this highly revered Church has also gone through the rough tumults of history over the years. During the last 20 years, in particular, the Church experienced the worst of this turbulence, when it was seriously challenged with a fundamental breach of canonical law that subsequently led to a division within the Church and a deep sense of grief among adherents of the faith. The division came from none other than the illegal dethroning of the reigning Patriarch by the regime and replacing him with another. Subsequently, the division further subjected the Church to undue pressure from external forces, while giving way to the looting of its treasures and artifacts, and the improper practices of the faith and of Orthodox dogma. Mindful of this regrettable blemish on the Church, as well as driven by a genuine concern to save it from continuing turbulence, a few true sons of the Church founded the Council of Peace and Unity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The Council resolved to bring the Church back to its normalcy by embarking on a mission that would beget peace and reconciliation between the Holy Synod in Ethiopia and the Legal Holy Synod led by His Holiness Abune Merkorios in North America. Nevertheless, a small group of Archbishops within the Addis Ababa Synod, squashing the voices of the majority membership of that Synod, thwarted the peace and unity mission by announcing a statement that in effect wrecked the chances of bringing about the desired unity of the Church. ln its content, not only was the announcement one unexpected of Orthodox Fathers, but also lacked truth, clarity, and integrity of intent; given these facts, therefore, the Exiled Synod has no choice but to issue this statement of declaration to the adherents of the faith in the interest of disclosing the true circumstances that led to the division of our Church and the ramifications thereof.   A. Concerning the Exile of the Patriarch The statement issued by a small group of archbishops, after silencing the voices of the majority membership of the Addis Ababa Synod under the pressure of the regime's mighty force, made a bogus claim describing His Holiness Patriarch Markorios's alleged voluntary abdication of his throne in these terms: "The heavy load of my work has affected my health condition for quite some time and thus I submit that the Holy Synod take over the helm of authority and lead the church." This false claim, in effect, was a ploy to create confusion among the faithful about the true nature of the Patriarch's removal from the throne. As such, the Orthodox community should be aware of these cardinal facts:

Even if the Patriarch were to declare that "l am ill and wish to abdicate my authority," the decision to quickly force the election of a new Patriarch was done in violation of the canon law governing the Church, as denoted in Article 4, No. 77, which states that "an election cannot be conducted until the full recovery of the Patriarch from his illness."

ln fact, the above referenced Article was put into full effect in the case of our first patriarch, His Holiness Abune Basliose, who was under ailment for about seven years and unable to discharge the duties of the Patriarchate fully. At the time, the great leaders of our Church, strictly adhering to the canon law, elected an Acting Patriarch to lead the Church while the reigning Patriarch was still ill. Eventually, following his death, the Synod elected His Holiness Abune Tewofilos as the second Patriarch of the EOTC in accord with the tradition and practices of the Church.Furthermore, it should be clearly evident to everyone concerned that neither a letter nor a recorded voice exists that conforms tc the purported statement of the exiled Patriarch with regard to his alleged illness, and the voluntary abdication of his throne thereof. Therefore, in the absence of any credible evidence, other than the unsubstantiated allegation, it should be obvious that the Patriarch was indeed forced out of his position under the orders of the regime's security forces.  It is also ironic that the esteemed Fathers in Addis Ababa also claim that "The Holy Synod is a righteous body guided by the Holy Spirit, and, therefore, Patriarch Abune Merkorios's voluntary abdication of his position should be seen as a way of divine intervention, or a secret means to an end of his reign." Although the true believers of the Church are already privy to the fact of this matter, we still want to expound further on this issue by listing these authenticated details:

1. Mr. Tamerat Layne, the then-Prime Minister of the new government that came to power in 1991 (1983 E.C.), declared at the time that the regime would not wish to work with the Patriarch. lt was subsequently resolved that, until such time that the new rulers stabilized the political uncertainty engulfing the country, the "Holy Synod should operate as is but with the Patriarch's role being limited only to providing prayers and blessings," which in effect meant stripping him of his normal duties as the Head of the EOTC;
   
2. ln a letter dated Meskerem 28, 1984 E.C. (Oct, 1992) and numbered 69/298184, the regime illegally issued an order to the Patriarch to vacate his office at the Patriarchate;
   
3. Subsequent to that order, His Holiness was forced out of his official residence by security forces on Meskerem 30, 1984 E.C. (Oct, 1992) and practically remained under house arrest in an undisclosed area of Addis Ababa for one year;
   
4. Still, in a letter dated Tir 15, 1984 E.C. (January 24, 1992), the Patriarch informed the then-President of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia, Melese Zenawi, PM Tamerat Layne, all members of the Holy Synod, and the Executive Director of the EOTC Patriarchate, affirming that there was no illness nor any other impediments that would prevent him from discharging fully and ably his Holy duties, adding that the esteemed Fathers of the Holy Synod knew perfectly about his ability to do so;
   
5. Despite His Holiness's plea against his forced removal, the regime-orchestrated appointment of Abune Paulos as the fifth Patriarch was executed in violation of the canon law of the Church. ln the aftermath, the group that forcefully took over the Church's chain of command placed the legal Patriarch in a life-threatening predicament, forcing him to stay in the underground basement of a burial site at an Entoto church, not too far from the capital city. Gravely concerned about the personal safety and security of the Patriarch, some faithful put together a plan that would escort him clandestinely on Tekimit 1, 1985 E.C. (October 12,1993) to neighboring Kenya through Moyale, a border town between Ethiopia and that country;
   
6. ln Tikimt 1985 E.C. (October 1993), His Holiness announced to all followers of the Orthodox faith around the world via radio and through a press release from his exile in Kenya that he is still the legal Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; and
   
7. The events that we have outlined above were finally validated in recent times, thanks to both the current President of Ethiopia, His Excellency Girma Wolde Giorgis, and former Prime Minister Tamerat Leyane, who publicly corroborated the forced removal of the Patriarch in no uncertain terms. Even more importantly, we do have in our possession original documents that further offer evidence substantiating the facts enumerated above. ln fact, we are ready any time to show these authentic, historic documents to anyone seeking them. Despite these undeniable facts, however, the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa continues to deny the truth and still insists on alleging that His Holiness "voluntarily abdicated his throne," a claim that was made in the most recent statement issued from Addis Ababa. Meanwhile, we wish to reiterate that the faithful should not by any means be fooled by an assertion that is devoid of truth, as well as an outright falsification of facts and events.

B. Concerning the Continuance of the Legal Holy Synod in Exile
ln the same statement of declaration, the minority within the Addis Ababa Synod has accused us of "establishing a Synod in exile coiitrary to any historical precedence known to Orthodox religion," Yet we found this to be disingenuous in the sense that it was not intended to address the issues associated with the forced removal of the Patriarch. The esteemed Fathers even went as far as declaring that "Without the permission of the Holy Synod, even the celebration of Fasika (Fthiopian Easter) outside of the Archdiocese of the Church is prohibited based on the canonical law of the Church." To confuse the faithful, they further cited the most venerated religious figures of Orthodox Christianity, such as Pope.Saint Athanasius, 5t. Yohanes Afework and Pope Saint Dioscorus, to validate their point, contending that these past saintly Fathers did not establish a Synod in exile, even though they were banished from their church in which they held the highest position of a Pope or a Patriarch. However, the reference to such Sreat Orthodox saints disguises the truth, since it can only be relevant to a church in which its stability and sanctity, as well as its basic principles of faith, have not been compromised; as such, the cases of the saintly Fathers thus cannot be reasonably used to describe the crisis in our Church, which has fallen under the control of a seemingly "foreign" force that is not only hostile to the Orthodox faith but also has consciously breached the canon law of the Church. Let us now look at the cases of the three great Orthodox Fathers as they relate to the establishment of a synod in exile:

1. Saint Athanasisus, Saint Yohanes Afework, and Saint Dioscorus were all exiled as individuals, not as part of a group of high clergymen. As everyone who is familiar with Orthodox hierarchy knows, no one individual or a Patriarch alone is authorized to establish a Synod, run a Patriarchate, and consecrate new bishops. ln this connection, both Saint Yohanes Afework and Saint Dioscorus were placed under house arrest in exile, and this meant that they did not even have the freedom to act on simple religious matters, let alone establishing a Synod or appointing bishops. ln fact, their saintly biographies reveal that they lived the rest of their lives in prison and passed away without ever gaining their freedom.
2. His Holiness Abune Merkorios, by contrast, was forced into exile along with his fellow Archbishops, including His Eminence Abune Yisehaq, Archbishop of the Western Hemisphere; Abune Elias, Archbishop of Europe, Africa and Australia; Abune Zena Markos, Deputy Patriarch; Abune Gorgorios, Archbishop and Special Secretary to the Patriarch; and Abune Mekesedek, who at the time was Dean of the Theological College of the Holy Trinity and current General Secretary of the Holy Synod in exile. The exiled Fathers together established the Synod in exile, and have since expanded their missionary work, and will continue to do so as the legal Ethiopian Orthodox ecclesiastical body in North America. Given these facts, the futile attempt by the Synod in Ethiopia to liken our situation to the cases of the cited saintly Orthodox Fathers is masked in distortion of facts. Moreover, their pronouncement lacks the integrity that the Almighty God has bestowed on them as disciples of his teachings, while at the same time exposing the faithful to utter confusion and falsehood.

Another historical fact begs further explanation to counter the argument that the Addis Ababa Synod has made. When Saintly Father Athanasisus, Patriarch of Alexandria, was exiled five times, at no time did his followers attempt to fill the leadership void created by replocing him with onother person. In fact, when the rulers of Constantinople tried to force upon them someone on their "religious Father," they vehemently rebuffed that order, thereby remaining true to their belief rather than acquiescing to the regime's demands. During the fourth century, our religious forefathers in Axum took a similar action by reecting the accusations made against Saint Athanusius by Constantinople. Likewise, when Saint Yohanes Afework was falsely accused and forced into exile, his follawers cried out for his return and never accepted his replacement with an open arm. Upon his death, even his accusers felt so remorseful about what they did to him that they cried and pleaded in these words, "Forgive us our Father," but never mocked at him as their ex-Patriarch. Similarly, Saint Dioscorus, who accepted his exile with grace and saw his suffering os a source of religious atonement, sent his followers a message of exaltation reminding them that "the fruits of the true religian are vested in you," a message that resonated with them for as lang as he was alive; it was a reminder that they believed in him until eternity, as they never wavered from what he taught them, and still recognized him as their leader even when the rulers of Constantinople named a replacement for him without their consent. As their loyalty to Saint Dioscorus was unflinching, it was passed from generations to generations in the annals of Orthodox history. Yet those who followed the orders of Constantinople accepted the replacement af Pope Dioscorus and took a different route that made the religious division bona fide.  ln keeping with the traditions established by our great Orthodox Fathers - Saint Athanasius, Saint Yohanes Afework, and Saint Dioscorus - His Holiness Abune Merkorios has continued in exile his godly work more resolutely than ever. The Almighty God has blessed him to be of great service to the followers of the faith, as he leads a group of devout Archbishops,12 of whom he appointed personally, who perform faithfully God's work throughout the Diaspora Orthodox community, The Legal Synod he leads has helped establish a growing number of churches that are now under the umbrella of the Patriarchate, while at the same time making it possible for the faithful to have their spiritual needs served well. The affiliated churches are growing in number; the missionary work of the Synod is more expanding than ever; the faithful are attending church services in greater numbers more than any other time; and a strong base for communities of Ethiopian Orthodox faith throughout the Diaspora is being established with great fervor. Above all, our community is more prepared than before to build a strong Orthodox foundation; to leave a legacy that gives vibrancy to Ethiopia's Orthodox faith; to revitalize its unique history; and to pass these vital societal hallmarks to the generations to follow.  C. Concerning the Peace and Unity Mission The Council of Peace and Unity of the Ethiopion Orthodox Tewahedo Church embarked on a mission of peace and unity, mediating between the Holy Synod in Ethiopia and our Synod so as to unite the divided church though reconciliation. With the blessings of His Holiness Abune Merkorios and the Synod's full endorsement of this effort, a team of representatives was named to present our case. Three conferences took place over the last three years involving our team and representatives from the Addis Ababa Synod. Throughout the course of time, the peace and unity mission was greeted overwhelmingly by almost all Orthodox Tewahedo believers both at home and abroad and was awaited with a great sense of hope and optimism.  ln Ethiopia, the majority of the Synod's membership, the clergy, Sunday School pupils and many others concerned individuals and organizations all saw the reconciliation efforts with great fanfare and exaltation. However, the statement issued by the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa, following the talks in Dallas, was such that it not only undermined the process of the reconciliation mission but also presented facts that were deceiving and distorted. ln essence, that statement characterized our position in terms that were outright false. ln it, the Addis Ababa Synod misrepresented the Legal Synod's position describing it in these terms: "There is no such thing as peace and unity within the Church unless we control the Patriarchate," an outright lie that had no credible support, Given this backdrop then, what actually took place during the peace talks? What was the agenda considered for the negotiation? To answer these and other related questions, the following points must be clearly understood:

1. At the outset, we found out that the team representing the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa had neither the will nor the authority to propose or accept ideas during the course of the negotiation. They presented the same old and debunked argument that "Abune Merkorios abdicated his throne voluntarily and that the Church must now move to selecting the sixth Patriarch," a position that gave no room for further discussian because they had no authorization from Addis Ababa to do anything otherwise;
   
2. Since the Addis Ababa Synod has come under the direct control of the regime in power, the peace and unity mediation was doomed from the start, as was evident in the provocative statement released by the Synod that was detrimental to the negotiation even before the team had a chance to report to the entire Synod on the progress of the talks. On one hand, a team was sent to Dallas purportedly to negotiate with us, but at the same time the Acting Patriarch in Addis Ababa was making a statement in an interview over the media that was counterproductive to the negotiation, which in effect gave a clue about the malicious hand of the regime in the affairs of the Church, and therefore was really an effort in futility even to begin with; and
   
3. The team representing the Legal Synod in North America, by contrast, was charged with a full authority to negotiate with its counterpart and thus made every effort toward the settlement of the outstanding issues that created the divide within our Church. During the negotiation, we adopted a good measure of flexibility in our bargaining posture, proposing what we thought was a workable solution that would both address the breach of the canon law and yet offer due recognition to the reigns of both the legal Patriarch and the one that was placed on the throne in violation of Orthodox practices. To this end, our team proposed the reinstatement of the legal Patriarch to his former position, so that he will finish up his reign without any lasting damage to the canon law, and then to be followed with the selection of the six Patriarch when the vacancy becomes legally available. However, the latest announcement issued by the Synod in Addis Ababa made it clear that tirey never had the true intentions of finding solutions to the problem. ln fact, they appeared to play "the number game," arguing that reinstating the legal Patriarch now, the fourth in the order of appointment, after the fifth Patriarch (the late Abuse Paulo's) is going "backwards in the numbering order" and thus unworkable, which we found it to be a disingenuous way of looking at the issue at hand aswellas a clear indication of notwantingtofind a realsolution to a realproblem.

After probing the retrogressing behavior of the Synod in Addis Ababa subsequent to the Dallas meeting, it became apparent to us that five of that Synod's Archbishops have taken full charge of making the decision, thereby overshadowing the voices of the entire Synod; they are active members of the ruling party and thus charged with stymieing the peace and unity mission. We also discovered that each had an ambition to become a Patriarch, and therefore it would not have been in their personal interest to support the peace and unity effort even from the start. Any possible return of the Patriarch to his throne would have apparently gone contrary to their plot, as well as to the wishes of the regime to which they report.  From the facts stated in the foregoing, it becomes crystal clear that a small but powerful clique of the Woyane regime, which orchestrated illegally the removal of His Holiness Abune Merkorios from his throne 21. years ago, is still in charge and continues to disgrace our Church. ln fact, this ruling clique is more determined than ever to subject our Church to relentless infamy; destroy the sanctity of the Church itself as we know it; and weaken the spiritual resiliency of the devout believers of the Orthodox Tewahedo faith. Taking into account the events described above, the Legal Holy Synod in North America examined thoroughly the state of the EOTC in both Ethiopia and the Didspora and has passed the following resolutions:

1. Since His Holiness Abune Merkorios is stillthe legal Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Holy Synod in exile condemns any illegal enthronement of a Patriarch for the EOTC in Ethiopia, because it would be a serious contravention of the Church's canon law;
   
2. For more than 21 years, our Church has undergone a crisis of historic proportions, as a government-led coup d'etat against the legal Patriarch was put into effect, leading to the illegitimate ascension of the late Abune Paulos to the throne and the division of the church thereafter. That regrettable action was being repeated again, as five members of the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa, using the power of the regime, were mobilizing forces to install a "Patriarch" of the regime's choice. Thus, based on the orders enshrined in the decrees of the Holy Book, the Synod directs that the true believers of the Orthodox faith, forever and in unison, oppose to, not recognize, or refuse to comply with the appointment of a "false Patriarch" in Ethiopia. The Synod further implores that the true Fathers of the Church in Ethiopia, especially those who stood their grounds for the peace and unity of the Church, refrain from participating in these questionable and ungodly exercises, which are indefensible in the court of both history and the Almighty God;
   
3. The Legal Holy Synod is deeply saddened by the fact that all those who stand for the peace and unity of our Church, including our religious Fathers, the clergy, organized Orthodox groups, and the faithful at large in Ethiopia, are being subjected to threats, intimidation or warnings, often coming from government operatives that oppose the return of the legal Patriarch to Ethiopia. These criminal practices against the Orthodox community are part and parcel of the sufferings that all other citizens in Ethiopia are being subjected to under the current regime in Addis Ababa. We are cognizant that our country is at a crossroads of political and social crises and that we pray to the Lord, so the suffering of our people will come to an end. Meanwhile, we are hopeful that Ethiopia will resurrect itself, and our Church will soon regain its freedom from the shackles of bondage. Meanwhile, the Synod wishes to counsel that the faithful engage at all times in activities that not only advance unity and peace for our Church but also foster a sense of fellowship and harmony between and among both the clergy and the laity. We hope you do so with greater care, wisdom, and stronger religious convictions;
   
4. The Synod was dismayed to learn that the political gang that had been waging a war of attrition on our Church for more than two decades has made recently the most ungodly claim of having "uprooted the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewhaedo Church from its foundation while annihilating the Amhara benefactors." Besides allowing alien religious forces to undermine our faith, distorting EOTC's positive contributions to Ethiopia's history, encouraging Orthodox believers to turn against their own faith, this seemingly godless clique is running a government bent on destroying our heritage as proud Ethiopians. The statement quoted above offers clear evidence that Ethiopia and particularly our historic Church is under grave danger and that the regime has neither good intensions nor goodwill for people of the Orthodox faith, as would have been expected under a government of national unity. With this being the case, the Synod urges all the faithful to join forces to engage in prayers and vigils so as to publicize this danger while pleading to our Creator to give us solace and strength to save our Church from further destruction;
   
5. We believe that the Holy Synod is the messenger of hope and goodwill, and stands for what is right and what is always acceptable unto God. As an ecclesiastical body advancing the work of God, the Holy Synod abominates any practice that begets racism, ethnicism, or any other discriminatory treatment of human beings. ln Ethiopia today, the pitfalls of ethnic-based rule are causing havoc on our society. Even the most celebrated monastery, Waldiba, has not been immune from the misfortune befalling Ethiopia today, Dozens of monks and celibates are being persecuted for resisting the government's desecration of the holiest of the holy site in that country. "The shrine and sanctity of our grand monastery must not be trampled with," cry out the monks of Waldiba, but the response from the regime was a swift and merciless action of intimidation, physical abuse and imprisonment of those God-fearing Orthodox celibates. This meant that the monks in Waldeba have joined the ranks of journalists, human rights advocates, and political prisoners who are all languishing in prison for voicing their ideas, and, in the case of the monks, for objecting peacefully to the demolition of their sacred and holy sanctuary; consequently, they all have become victims of government abuse and official oppression. Given that the regime has caused untold atrocities on every segment of our population, the Synod has resolved to take a stand and become an advocate for those whose freedom and liberties are being crushed in Ethiopia. Ironically, this has come at a time when the federal holiday commerating the birthday of the most celebrated African American civil rights leader, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, was before us. The issue of civil rights and liberties in Ethiopia is one that we intend to publicize to the rest of the world using every available means at our disposal, as Dr. King had done decades ago. ln keeping with the tradition of our own great Orthodox Fathers of the past, who sacrificed their lives for their religious beliefs, including the martyred Abune Pateros, Abune Michael, and the great Patriarch Abune Tewoflos, we in the Exiled Synod, guided by His holiness Patriarch Abune Merkorios, have resolved that we will stand for the freedom of our people in Ethiopia and work toward peace and unity of our Church, relying on the power of God and His blessings. There should not be any doubt that the survival our country is directly tied to the survival of our Church, and thus any weakening in our faith will undoubtedly have a direct bearing on the survival our beloved country, as well. Therefore, we call on all Ethiopians, especially those with strong ties to their country of birth, to rise up in unison and join us in solidarity and unity to voice our cries for freedom and liberty in the country that we all cherish so dearly and collectively;
   
6. To effectively carry out the objectives outlined above, the Holy Synod-in-Exile has restructured the Patriarchate and made some readjustment to its priorities. Accordingly, our plan to expand the number of Archdioceses and consecrate additional Bishops, which was on hold due to the now defunct peace and unity bid, will now go forward with new force and vigor. To this end, the Synod has strengthened the Office of the Patriarchate by appointing a three-member executive body charged with coordinating and monitoring the day-to-day operations of member churches throughout the globe; it consists of a General Manger, an Executive Secretary, as well as a Public Relations Officer. Yet this new direction will require the full participation of the faithful particularly in the Diaspora. Your ideas, prayers, and generous financial support are all critical to make a difference in executing the plan that has been put forward, and so the Synod is hoping that your will respond positively to our call for action;
   
7. During the last several years, the Exiled Synod has made a sincere effort to bring together the divided Church and the faithful in the Diaspora with some success, but still much remained to be accomplished, During the same period, many of the faithful and several churches had hoped that the divide within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewhaedo Church would come to an end through reconciliation and thus chose to remain neutral until that happened. However, that hope was dashed when the Synod in Addis Ababa aborted the peace and unity mediation efforts. Given this backdrop, the Holy Synod has now resolved that it has the moral obligation to bring all the Orthodox faithful and neutral churches under a reinvigorated Holy Synod that caters to the spiritual needs of the Orthodox community at large. By so doing, the Synod's guiding principles will be "one country, one people and one church." With this in mind, we pray that the faithful and those churches that are not affiliated with the Synod will join us to make this a reality. To those who are true helievers of the Orthodox faith, are genuinely concerned with crisis facing our Church, and have great ideasto rescue the Church from its current predicamen! we call upon you once again to stand up for freedom and liberty of the Orthodox faithful as well as the sanctity of our Church. Since the Synod has established a special taskforce to find ways that will bring all the divided churches in the Diaspora into unity, the group assigned for this purpose is ready to meet and discuss with representatives of neutral churches and others to build the groundwork that will be necessary to nurture unity, solidarity, and fellowship amongst our people;
   
8. The Synod believes that it has the responsibility of educating and informing international organizations, religious communities, human rights organizations, and governments around the work about the brutalities to which our clergy and our people at home are subjected. With this in mind, we have established a taskforce, consisting of members from among the Archbishops, the clergy, and the laity, the charge of which will be to give testimonials at international forums, as well disseminate information as necessary to publicize the danger that our Church is facing;
   
9. The recently announced statemont by the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa came from a small group of Archbishops who are in cahoots with the regime, and was made by suppressing the voices of reason expressed by others within the Synod. The statement sent shockwaves throughout the Diaspora Orthodox community that was awaiting for good news, with unprecedented fervor, to see the divide within the EOTC coming to an end. Flowever, the crisis facing the Church will only come to pass once we receive some redemption from our Lord. Our Church, throughout its history, has gone through many tribulations and historical adversities, one of which was the destruction inflicted on it and its treasures by Gran Mohamed. Many Orthodox scholars and believers have lost their lives in defense of our Church duringthis period of sheer destruction that lasted L5 years. After the passage of that tumultuous period, the Church is still a symbol of "light in the midst of darkness." Even with the current crisis, the Synod asks you---the faithful --not to lose hope but to pray and plead too our Almighty God for salvation. Having accepted the commandment of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Synod has taken up the moral obligation to propagate the words of the Gospel through a rejuvenated missionary program and reach out to the Orthodox faithful throughout the diaspora. As commended in the verses of the Holy Bible "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God" (lsaiah 4Ai7," the Holy Synod is ready with new energy and zeal to comfort those that need to be comforted; those designated to do the missionary work of the Synod will be at your service from hereon;
   
10. Despite a three-year effort to bring peace and unity to our Church, which was finally thwarted by a small cadre of Archbishops who act as regime operatives within the Addis Ababa Synod, the Synod-in-Exile extends a heartfelt appreciation to the Council of Peace and Unity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church for being so benevolent in their mediation and sacrificing their precious time, energy and resources for a noble cause that has both national and international implications;
    
11. At the same time, the Synod has resolved that the selection of the 6th Patriarch that was underway should be halted immediately because the silent majority within the Addis Ababa Synod was not in favor of it, nor the mediators and the faithful at large. We think that the peace and unity effort should take precedence over the selection of a Patriarch, who would be just as illegitimate as the one before him. Therefore, we are still acquiescent to the peace and unity mission, so that the divide within our Church can be overcome once and for all, and we are ready to do our part to bring a historic end to that divide; and
    
12. The Los Angeles meeting concluded with the final blessings of His Holiness Abune Merkorios, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Hosted by the clergy, the board, and members of the Dingil Mariam Orthodox Tewaheda Church in Los Angeles, the meeting was received with great enthusiasm and patronage. For this, the Synod gives special thanks to all the members of that Church; we are deeply indebted to the hospitality and graciousness that they exhibited during the course of the meeting.

በኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ደብረ ምሕረት ቅዱስ ሚካኤል ካቴድራል ጋርላንድ ቴክሳስ በfebrwary 16, 2013 የተጠራው ስብሰባ የቅዱስ ሜካኤል ደብርን በገለተልኛ ይቆይ ? ወይስ አባት ይኑረው? ግምገማ።

በየሐረርወርቅ ጋሻው(የኢትዮጵያወርቅ)

በመጀመሪያ የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያኑን ከፓለቲካ ነጻ ማውጣት አለብን ገለልተኛ ነኝ የሚሉት በውጪ አገር የሚኙት የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያናት በሙሉ በሲኖዶስ ስር መሆን ይጠበቅባቸዋል።

ብዙሰዎች ስለስብሰባው እየደወላችሁ ምንተወሰነ
የሚል ጥያቄኛ ሌላም ሃሳብ ይዛችሁ የምትደውሉት ብዙናችሁ። በተለመደው ከእኔ ሃቁን ለማወቅ ስለምትደውሉ አመሰግናለሁ። አንደኛ ለሁላችሁም የምመልስበት የስርልክ ሳዓት የለኝም። ሶስተኛ የቤተክርስቲያን አባልነታችሁን ከፈሉ ወይም አባል ሁኑ የተሰብሳቢነቱ እድል እንዲኖራችሁ። አራተኛ፡ ቤተክርስቲያኑ የቀዳው ቪዲዎ ስላለ በዛ ለመረዳት ስለምትችሉ የሚመለከተውን እንድታናግሩ አሳስባለሁ። አምስተኛ እኔ ከቤተክርስቲያኑ እርቀሻል እሁድ እሁድ ያለፈው ምርጫ ቦርድ ከተደረገ በሁዋላ በሚል የምትጠይቁኝ  ሁሉ: ስለኔ በቅዱስ ሜካኤል ደብር ቤተክርስቲያን ያለመታየትም ሚስጥር ስላልሆነ ይሄን ያህል ሰለተጨነቃችሁበት ባጭሩ ለመግለጽ ያሕል ፡ በሶስት የቦርድ አባላት ምርጫው በትክክሉ እንዳይሄድ ሻጥር ሰርተው ሰለደረስኩበት የዶክተር ግርማና የነርስ ጌታቸው ፊጣ ቦታውን መልቀቅ ለቤተክርስቲያኑ የሚያመጣውን ጉዳት ሰለማውቅ በማዘኔ ከእነዚህም ሰዎች ጋር ላለመጋጨት እራቅ ብሎ ተግባራቸው ግልጽ እስኪሆን ሌላ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክርስቲያን በመሄድ ለመቆየት በማሰብ ነው። የተማረሰው፡ ከኮራብሽንና በሑለት ሰዎች ብቻ የሚመራ ቦርድ ቀርቶ ሁሉም የቦርድ አባል ድምጽ የሚስተናገድበት ያደረጉትን እነዚህን ሰዎች በመማራቸውና የተለመደውን የመንደር የሁዋላ ቀር አሰራር በማስቀረታቸው ትልቅ የድብቅ ዘመቻ አድርጎ ምእመናኑንና ቤተክርስቲያኑን በቦርድ ውስጥ ተቀምጠው መጉዳት ሕሌናዬ እንደ ብዙዎቹ አልተቀበለውም። እራቅ ማለቱን መርጬ ነው: ሆኖም ትቼዋለሁ ለቤተክርስቲያኑ ሰላምና ለምእመናኑ አንድነት ስል :: ስለ ፈጸሙትም ተንኮል እግዚአብሄር ይቅጣቸው። ለደወላችሁልኝ እቤቴም ድረስ እኔን ፍለጋ ለመጣችሁት ሁሉ አመሰግናለሁ። ሆኖም እኔ የግለሰቦች ተቃዋሚ ሳልሆን ህብረተሰባችንና ቤተክርስቲያናችንን አንድነታችንን የሚነድሉ ከራሳቸው ጥቅም ሌላ የማይታያቸው ቂመኞች ሰዎችን ተግባር ተቃዋሚ መሆኔን በግልጽ ላስቀምጥ እወዳለሁ። ይሔንን ስል በቤተክርስቲያንም ቦርድ ውስጥ ተቀምጠው ቤተክርስቲያኑን ከሚጎዱት ጋር የሚወግኑትን ለቤተክርስቲያኑ የሚጠቅሙትን ከቦር ውስጥ እንዲወጡ በአፍራሾች አይምሮ የሚመሩትንም ጭምር ማለት ነው። በስብሰባው ላይ እንደተናገርኩት አንድም የምጠላው ሰው የለም ህዝብን ለመከፋፈል በሚወስዱት እርምጃ አላከብራቸውም እንጂ።

በመጀመሪያ ብዙ ክርስቲያን የሚጠይቀውን ሲኖዶስ ምንድነው? የሚለውን ጥያቄ ባጭሩ ለማስቀመጥ እወዳለሁ ይሄውም ከዚህ ቀደም በዚሁ ብሎግ በሰፊው ይጠቅማችሁዋል ብዬ የጻፍኩትን ማየት ስለምትችሉ።

ሲኖዶስ ማለት በቤተክህነት አጠቃቀም የጳጳሳት ጉባኤ ነው። የመጀመሪያው "ሲኖዶስ" የተጀመረው በእየሩሳሌም በሃምሳ ዓመተምሕረት ነው። በተጨማሪ ለቤተክርስቲያን መመሪያና መተዳደሪያ ይሆኑ ዘንድ ሕግጋትና ሥረዕታት የተፃፉበትና አራት ክፍል ያለው መጽሐፍ ሲኖዶስ ተብሎ ይጠራል። ይህም መጽሐፍ ሲኖዶስ ቤክርስቲያኖችን ከምትቀበላቸው ሰማኒያ አንዱ መጽሕፍት ውስጥ ይቆጠራል። የመጀመሪያው ሲኖዶስ ሊቀመንበር በመሆን የመራውም የጌታችን የእየሱስ ክርስቶስ ወንድም በሚል የሚጠራው ቅድዱስ ያዕቆብ ነበር። ለሲኖዶስ መደረግ ምክኒያት የሆነም ነገር በሐዋ.ሥራም. አስራ አምስት ላይ እንደተገለጸው፡ ከአይሁድዳዊነትና ከመምለኬ ጣኦትነት ወደ ክስርትና የተለወጡ የአይሁድና የአህዛብ ወገኖች፡ በአንዳንድ ኦሪታዊ ሕግጋት ምክኒያት በፈጠሩት አለመግባባ ነበር። ስለዚህ፡ ሲኖዶስ የማይለወጥ የቤተክርስቲያናችን መመሪያ ነው። በሲኖዶስ የተወሰነን ወይም የጸደቀውን ነብሰ ገዳዮችና ወሮ በሎች ሊለውጡት አይችሉም። ም እመናንም ሊለውጡትና ምድራዊ ፍላጎታቸውን ድሎታቸውን ማርኪያ ለማድረግ እነደፈለጉት ሊያረጉ አይፈቀድላቸውም። ቤተክርስቲያን ሃቀኛዋ በግለሰቦች ወይም በሌላ አነጋገር በሞግዚት አትመራም በሃይማኖት አባትኛ አባቶች እንጂ።

ከላይ እንዳስቀመጥኩት በማይወበዘው የፓትሪያርክ አመራረጥና በሲኖዶስ በቀኖና ላይ መጀመሪያ በደርግ ጊዜ ሁለተናውን ፓትሪያርክ አስሮ ሌላ በመሾሙ ቅዱስ ሲኖዶስን ደፍርዋል። አሁንም በጠመንጃ አገር ይዞ በክክልል ሕዝብና አገርን የሚመራው የራሱን ሰው ፓትሪያርክ አድርጎ ነበር። አቡነ ጳውሎስ በድንገት በመሞታቸው ደግሞ ፓትሪያርኩን ብጹህ አቡነ መርቆሪዎስን በቦታቸው መልሶ ለመጨረሻ ጊዜ በቤተክርስቲያንዋ መንግስት የተባለ እጅ እንዳይገባ እርቅ አባቶች እያደረጉ ባሉበት ሰዓት፡ የወያኔ መንግስትና ባለስልጣኖቹ የተጀመረውና እየሰመረ የመጣውን አቡነ መርቆሪዎስንንም ፓትሪያርክነታቸውን ያረጋገጠውን እረግጦ የራሱን ፓትሪያርክ ለማቁዋቁዋም እየተርዋርዋጠ ይገኛል በአሁኑ ጊዜ። ስለሆነም፡ ባስቸክዋይ የእርቁ አካል የሆኑት ድምጻቸው ሰለጠፉብን ይሰቀሉ የተባሉትም ቄሳውስት እርምጃ እንዳይወሰድባቸው በስብሃት ነጋና በግብረአበሮቹ ከዚህ በታች በስብሰባው ላይ ባለፈው ቅዳሜ ሃሳብ ለቤቱ እንደሰጠሁት እዚህም ላይ በመድገም የምእመናን ፊርማ በማሰባሰብ እርቁ ባስቸክዋይ እንዲቀጥል የወያኔን ጳጳስ ምርጫ በመቃወም በትክክለኛው የሃይማኖታችን ቀኖናና ሲኖዶስ ብቻ ያለ ፓለቲካ ጣልቃ ገብነት ፓትሪያርኩ አቡነ መርቆሪዎስ በቦታቸው እዲመለሱና እግዚአብሔር ወደ ዘለዓለማዊ ቤታችን ለሁላችንም ወደ ሆነው ቤቱ እስቲጠራቸው ድረስ የቤተክርስቲያናችንን አባትነት እንዲቀጥሉ መተባበር ከሁላችንም ይጠበቅብናል። የፓለቲካ ጣልቃ ገብነት ስል ወያኔን ብቻ ሳይሆን ተቃዋሚነኝ የሚለውም ጭምር እጁን ማውጣት አለበት። ወያኔም: ተቃዋሚውነን የሚሉትም ደጋፊዎቻቸውም እነሱ ባሉት ካልሆነ በሲኖዶስ በቀኖና የማያምኑ: ቤተክርስቲያንም የሚሄዱት:አላማቸውን ለማራመጃ ይረዳ ዘንድ ነው  ።

የወያኔ መንግስት፡ ከላይ ያስቀመጥኩዋቸውን የሰላም መፍትሄ በቅርብ ቀን አልቀበልም ካለና የራሱን ፓትሪያርክ የሚሰይም ከሆነ፡ ሰያሚውም ተሰያሚውም አንድ ሕገወጥ መሆናቸውን ተቀብለን ፡ ወያኔ ሊገድልአቸው ሲል ካገር ወጥተው በመከራ ላይ የሚኖሩትን ብጹህ አቡነ መርቆሪዎስን አባትነት አክብረን ቤተክርስቲያንዋ በህግዋ መሰረት ሲኖዶስና ፓትሪያርክ መምረጥ እስክትጀምር በዚህ መልክ አባት ይዘን በሚመራው ቤተክርስቲያን መቀተል ይኖርብናል ብዬ አምናለሁ። ይሄ አባባሌና የማያወላውል ውሳኔዬ የማያስደስተው ካለ የክርስትና ሃይማኖት መመሪያን ማለትም አለም አቀፍ "ሲኖዶስ" እራሱ ክርስቶስ የፈጠራት ቤተክርስቲያንን መመሪያ ሳያውቅ የሚዋዢቅ በመሆኑ ያለማወቁ ችግር የሱ ወይም የስዋ ብሎም የነሱ እንጂ የእኔ አይሆንም። በሃይማኖቴ ሲመጣ በስብስብ ምክር የምወስነው ሳይሆን በመጸሃፍ ቅዱሱ በእግዚአብሄር ትእዛዝ ብቻ የምመራ ማንምም ሊያወናብደኝ የማይችል የኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያንን ሕግ ብቻ የምከተል መሆኔንም መግለጽ እወዳለሁ።

መልክት። አሁን በቅዱስ ሜካኤል ደብርን በግለለተኛ ይቆይ የሚሉትን ለመቁዋቁዋም የምትርዋርዋጡት ገና እናንተ ተኝታችሁ አይምሮ አችሁ ላይ "የቅዱስ ሚካኤልን ደብር ለማስረከብ ለትግራይ ነጻ አውጪ አጥሩ ላይ ተንጠልጥለው የቦርድ መቀመጫውን ወንበር እያመረጡ ስለሆነ ቤተክርስቲያኑን እናድን" በሚል ለምእመናኑ በሙሉ በበራሪ ወረቀት ጭምር ማሳሰቢያ ስበትን ለቦርዱም በጊዜው ለነበረው ባቀረብኩበት ጊዜ የኔተቃዋሚ የነበራችሁ ፍርድ በሃሰት ከነሱጋር ሆናችሁ በሃሰት ህብረተሰቡን በማሸበር ጭምር የሬዲዮን ስርጭት አዘጋች በሚል ጭምር ውነቱ በህብረተሰቡ እንዳይታወቅ ያደረጋችሁ እኔ በስብሰባው ላይ የሰጠሁት የተባረክ ሃሳብ ስላላስደሰታችሁ ቅር እንዳላችሁ የነገራችሁኝ ነበራችሁ ሆኖም አወላዋይ ልባችሁን አንድ እንዲያረግላችሁ እግዚአብሄርን ለምኑት። ችግሩ የቤተክርሲያኑ እናንተና የድብቅ የወያኔ ተቀጣሪዎቹ ስለሆናችሁ። ቀደም ሲል እግዚአብሔርን የካዳችሁም ትገኙበታላችሁ። ይሄንን ስል ምን ማለቴ ነው::

ጠቅላላው ምእመንን ላስታውስ የሚፈልገው ከላይ ያስቀመጥኩዋቸው ሃቆች ዛሬ በእውን ፊት ለፊት ወጥተው ሰላም ቤተክርስቲያኑን ከመንሳታችው በፊት አስፈላጊው ጥንቃቄ ቢደረግ ኖሮ ዛሬ ይሄ ሁሉ እላይ እታች ባልተደቀነብን ነበር። እና መረሳትም የሌለበት የመረዳጃ ማሕበሩ የመላው የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝብ በዳላስ ፎርት ወርዝ ንዋሪ መገልገያ የሆነውን የሬዲዮን ስርጭቱን ጭምር እና የቅዱስ ሚካኤል ካቴድራልን እናድን ብዬ ሳቀርብ ከናካቴው አብሮዋቸው የነበሩት ጆሮ ዳባ ብለው፡ ዛሬ ተኩላዎቹን ከላይ እንዳስቀመጥኩት እየሰፈጸሙ ያሉት ከፋፋይ ተግባርን አብረዋቸው በመሃላችን ያሳደጉ እና ለዚህ ሁሉ ብጥብጥ ሰላም ክርስቲያኑን በአምላክ የምናምነውን አላስቀምጥ ማለት ትልቅ አስተዋጽዎ አድርገዋል። በዛላይ የፓለቲካ ፓርቲ አባል ነን ተወካይ ነን ተቃዋሚንን በሚል ከልብና በእውነት ስለ አገራችን እና ሕዝቡ አንድነትና መብት የምንታገለውን ሁሉ እንቅፋት በመሆን የሚታወቁ : አንድም በተጨባጭ የረባ ስራ ሰርተው ውጤት ያላስመዘገቡና ቢጠየቁም ታጋይ ነን፡ ታግለናል ከሚል የአፍ ቃላት ወሬ በስተቀር በተግባር የሚተረጎም ያልሰሩ ሊሰሩም ገና በዚህ በቆየው እድሜያቸው እንክዋን ለወጣቱ ትውልድ ምን እንተውለት ጥሩ ነገር ብለው የማያስቡ ለራሳቸው ብቻ የሚያስቡ ሰዎች ናቸው።

አንደኛ፡ በስብሰባው ላይ ከተገኙት የቤትክርስቲያኑ አባላት የነበራቸው ተሳትፎ ይበል የሚያስብል ቢሆንም፡ በማር የተጠቀለለ መርዝ በውስጥ እንዳለበት ለመገንዘብ ለማንኛችንም ምእመን ነብይ መሆንን አልጠየቀንም ነበር። እነሆ የሚያስደነቀው በአፈ ቀላጤነት በማር የተሸፈነ መርዛቸውን እንድንቀበልላቸው እና ለቀጣዩ አላማቸው ማስፈጸሚያ ይረዳናል ብለው ቀድመው ይዘውት የነበረውን አቁዋም ወይም ወያኔነታቸውን ይዘው ሕዝብ ፊት መቅረብ አሁን ባለው የኢትዮጵያ ተጨባጭ ሁኔታ በፍጹም የማይፈቅድላቸው መሆኑን ሲገነዘቡ፡ ስልታቸውን በመቀየር በይፋ ከመቅረብ እና አቁዋማቸውን ከመግለጽ ይልቅ ከእነሱ አቁዋም ውጪ ያለውን ምእመናን ለማማለል (ለማታልል)እና የሚቀጥለውን የቦርድ ምርጫ በራሳቸው ቁጥጥር ስር ለማዋል እና እዛም ውስጥ ሰግስገው ሰርገው ለመግባት የሚያስችላቸውን የመራጭ ድምጽ ለማግኘት ሲሉ ብቻ አሁን የያዙትን ገለልተኛ የሚለውን አቁዋም እያራመዱ ይገኛሉ። ስለዚህ አሁን ለምእመናኑ ማሳሰብ የምፈልገው እነዚህ ሰዎች ወደ ስልጣን መጥተው ከተቆጣጠሩ በሁዋላ የሚፈቅዱትን የሚፈልጉትን ሁሉ ለማስፈጸም እንዲረዳቸው አንደኛ ፡ ቀደም ብለው በመረዳጃው ማህበር ስም ቦርድ ኦፍ ትረስቲ በሚል ስም እራሳቸውን ሕዝብ ሳይምርጣቸው በስልሳ ሰው ድምጽ ብቻ አርባ አምስት ሺ የሚደርስ በዳላስ ንዋሪውን ኢትዮጵያዊ ከመጤፍ ባለመቁጠር በተለመደው እነዚሁ ጋንግስተሮች ናቸው ቦርድ ኦፍ ትረስቲ ብለው እራሳቸውን ሰይመው ሾመው ተመቻችተው ያሉት።

ሁለተኛ፡ የሕብረተሰቡ ይሆነውን የሕዝቡን የሆነውን የሬዲዮ ስርጭት በቁጥጥራቸው ስር አድርገው ሕዝቡ እንዳይጠቀምበት እና ሃሳቡን እንዳይገልጽ እና እንዳይገናኝበት፡ እንዳይወያይበት ፕሮግራሙን በሚያስፈጽሙት ግብረአበሮቻቸው የሚፈልጉትን ብቻ እያስተናገዱበት እነዚህም ሰዎች በአሁኑ ሰአት በገለልተኛነት እራሳቸውን ያስቀመጡ ስለሆነ ለዚሁም ከዚህ በላይ ምንም አይነት ማስረጃ ከራሳቸው አንደበት ከወጣው የማንነታቸውን መሰረት ለማወቅ በቂ ስለሆነ ከዚህ ሌላ ማስረጃ አስፈላጊ አይደለም።

ሶስተኛው፡ አሁን በግልጽ በማያስቀምጡት የወያኔን በለሃምሳ ሁለት ገጽ መመሪያ መሰረት ለማስፈጸም ከመቼውም ይበልጥ የተጣለባቸውን እና የተቀበሉትን የወያኔን እንደራሴነት አደራ የተሙዋላ ለማድረግ እና ከወያኔ አለቃቸው የተዘጋጀላቸውን ምንዳ ለመቀበል እጃቸውን ከመዘርጋታቸው በፊት አሁን በእጃቸው በቁጥጥራቸው ስር ሊገባላቸው ያልቻለውን ቤተክርስቲያን በቀጣዩ የቦርድ ምርጫ ተመራጭ ሆነው በመግባት ጠቅላላ ያለንን ሕልውና በሙሉ በገዢው ፓርቲ ፍላጎት እና ውሳኔ በሚመራው ሲኖዶስ የአማራ እና የኦርቶዶክስን አከርካሪ ሰብሬአለሁ በሚል በይፋ በሚለፍፈው ወያኔ ስር ዓት አሳልፎ ሊሰጡን የተዘጋጁ የቀበሮ ባሕታውያን ስለሆኑ፡ የቤተክርስቲያኑ አባላት እራሱን እና ቤተክርስቲያኑን ለማዳን ከነዚህ ተኩላዎች ፡ ከፍተኛ ሃላፊነት ከምንግዜውም የበለጠ እንዳለበት ማስገንዘብ እወዳለሁ። በመጨረሻም እኔ በግለሰቦች በእየቦና ቤቱ በሚወራ የስርገኛ መጣ በርበሬ ቀንጥሱ ሰው ሳልሆን ቀደም ብሎ በማሰብ የምናገርና ሃሳቤን ከገለጽኩኝ በሁዋላ የማርም የምቀለብስ ሳልሆን ፡ የማምንበትን በቅድሜያ አስቤ የምናገር መሆኔንም፡ በቤተክርስቲያኑ ስብሰባ ላይ የሰጠሑት ከላይ ያስቀመጥኩት ያላስደሰታቸው ችኩሎች ላስጨብጥ እወዳለሁ።

የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያን በክርስቶስ ብሎም በልጆቹ ተጠብቃ ለዘለዓለም ትኖራለች!

የኢትዮጵያንና የሕዝብዋን አንድነት በአንድ ሰንደቅ አላማ ስር እግዚአብሄር ለዘላለም ይጠብቅልን።

From a priest that thinks like me in regard to ETOC see the commentary below:

By: ቀሲስ አስተርአየ ጽጌ

፭ኛ፦ በሰላሙ ቡድን ላይ የወደቀው ታሪካዊ ግዴታ፦


"ጭንጋፍ (ምቱር) ፓትርያርክ"

ቀሲስ አስተርአየ ጽጌ

nigatuasteraye@gmail.com

የካቲት ፳፻፭ ዓ.ም.
ማሰሰቢያ፦ "ወለእመ ተራድአ በመኳንንተ ዝንቱ ዓለም፡ወተሠይመ ለቤተ ክርስቲያን እምሃቤሆሙ ይትመተር ወይሰደድ ውእቱኒ ወኩሎሙ እለ ተሳተፍዎ"(ፍ.ነ. ፻፸፭) ማለትም፦ "በመንግስት ድጋፍ የተሰየመ ግለ ሰብ ጭንጋፍ ነው"። በቦታው እንዲቀመጥ የተባበሩት ሰዎችም ህይወት የሌለውን ህይወት ያለው በማስመሰል የተባበሩ ናቸውና ጭንጋፎች (ምቱራን) ናቸው።
"ይትመተር" ማለት፦ ይጨንገፍ ማለት ነው። "ይሰደድ" ማለት ደግሞ፤ ጭንጋፍ ሆኖ በተወለደ ህይወት አልባ ውራድ ላይ የሚፈጸመው ስርአት ይድረስበት ማለት ነው። ሊወለድ ነው እየተባለ የሚታወጅለት ይህን ግለ ሰብ፤ በመንበሩ ላይ አጽናው ብለን በቅዳሴያችን ልናወሳው ይቅርና፤ "አርህቅ እግዚኦ እምኔየ። ወእምነ ኩሉ ህዝብከ። ወእምዝንቱ መካን ቅዱስ ዘዚአከ"(ሥ.ቅ. ገጽ ፴ ቁ ፴፰) እያልን ከፍ ባለ ድምጻችን ከግላችን፤ ከማህበራችንና ከተቀደሰው መንበራችን እንዲርቅ የምናውጅበት ምቱር ፓትርያርክ ነው። መመሪያችን "ወእለ ሴሙ ላዕሆሙ መገብተ ከሐድያነ ንኮንኖሙ በግዘት በኩሉ መዋዕል"(ፍ.ነ. ፻፩፡ ፳፫) እንዲል ይወገድ የሚለው ምቱሩን (ጭንጋፉን) ብቻ ሳይሆን ሿሚዎችንና የተስማሙትን ሁሉ ነው።
መግቢያ

"እመኒ ሞአ በጉሁሉት ምቱር ውእቱ" (ፍ.አ. ፭. ቁጥ. ፻፸፮)
"በሸፍጥ ምርጫ በመንበር ላይ የሚቀመጥ ምቱር" ማለትም ‘ህይወት የሌለው ጭንጋፍ’ ነው። በባህላችን የአዕምሮ መታወክ ካልገጠመን በቀር፤ ውራድ ወይም ጭንጋፍ ሆኖ የተወለደውን ሰውም ሆነ እንስሳ ለማሳደግ ከናቱ ማህጸን ተቀብሎ የሚያቅፍ የለም።
ህዝብ ሳይመርጠው፥ እግዚአብሄር ሳይጠራው ወደ ፓትርያርክነት የሚመጣ እንደ ውርጃ ይቆጠራል። እንዳይከሰት ጥንቃቄ ይደረግ ዘንድ መጽሐፋችን መመሪያ ይሰጣል። በዘመናችንም የውስጥና የውጭ ሲኖዶሶች በሰየሙት ዛሬ የሞት ስቅላት አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ በፈረዱበት የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን የሰላምና አንድነት ጉባኤ (የሰላሙ ቡድን) አማካይነት ተጨንግፎ ከሚወለድ ፓትርያርክ እንድናለን ብለን ተስፋ አድርገን ነበር። 2
ነገር ግን የወያኔ መንግስት ይህን ሁሉ ጥያቄ ሳይቀበል፤ የህዝቡንም ፈቃድ ጥሶ በመለመላቸው ጳጳሳት አዋላጅነት ጭንጋፍ (ምቱር) ፓትርያርክ ለመውለድ በምጥ ላይ መሆኑን በብዙኀን መገናኛዎች ሰማነው። የህዝበ ክርስቲያኑና የሊቃውንቱ ክህነታዊ ተማህጽኖ የመነጨበት የቤተ ክርስቲያናችን መመሪያ እንደሚጠቁመን፤ አሁን በሚከናወነው መንገድ ጨንግፎ የሚወለደውን ፓትርያርክ "ሕልፈቱ ቅድመ አስተርእዮቱ" ብላ ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ትጸየፈዋለች። ይህን ለመግለጽ የሞከርኩባቸው ዋና ዋና ምክንያቶች የሚከተሉት ናቸው።
o
፩ኛ፦ተጨንግፎ የሚወለደው ፓትርያርክ
o
፪ኛ፦እንዴት ጨነገፈ
o
፫ኛ፦መቀበል የለብንም
o
፬ኛ፦እግዚአብሔር የከፈተው በር
o
፭ኛ፦የእርቀ ሰላሙ ቡድን ሃላፊነት
o
፮ኛ፦ የህዝበ ክርስቲያኑ ሐላፊነት

ከዚህ በመቀጠል "ተጨንግፎ የሚወለደው ፓትርያርክ" በማለት የቀረጽኩትን የመጀመሪያውን አንቀጽ በማብራራት ይህችን ጦማር እጀምራለሁ።
፩ኛ፦ ጨንግፎ የሚወለደው ፓትርያርክ

የካቲት ፳፩ ስለሚወለደው ፓትርያርክ ስናስብ ከአቡነ ጳውሎስ የተለየ ሆኖ እናገኘዋለን። አቡነ ጳውሎስን ይህ መንግስት ከሜዳ አግኝቶ በማደጎ አሳደጋቸው እንጅ ጸንሶ የወለዳቸው አይመስሉም። ይህን ለማለት ያስገደደኝ፤ እርቁ እንዲጀመር በፈቀዱት በአቡነ ጳውሎስ ላይ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ "እርቁ እንዲጀመር በመስማማታቸው ተሳስተዋል" ብለው በወረወሩባቸው ትችት እራሱ የወያኔ መንግስት አቡነ ጳውሎስን የጉዲፈቻ ልጅ አድርጓቸዋል። የኢ.ህ.ዴ.ግ. ልጅ መስለው የተገኙት በቦታው ከተሰየሙ በኋላ ነውና ማደጎ ነበሩ ማለት ነው። ይህ ዛሬ ሊወለድ ነው ተብሎ የተነገረን ፓትርያርክ ከአቡነ ጳውሎስ ለየት ያለ ኢ.ህ.ዴ.ግ.ን በጫካ በነበረበት ጊዜ በአካሉ በሥጋውና በነፍሱ አስመሎ ይወልደው ዘነድ የጸነሰ ነው። ያጸናነሱን ሁኔታ የቀድሞው የሕ.ወ.ሓ.ት. ሊቀመንበር ከነበሩት ከዶክተር አረጋዊ በርሄ መጽሐፍ እንመልከተው። (ዝርዝሩን እዚህ ላይ በመጫን ያንብቡ)።
የዶክተር አረጋዊ ታሪካዊ ሕህያው የምስክርነት ቃል፦

"የትግራይ ህዝብ ነጻ አውጭ ግንባር በ1979 አመተ ምህረት አስተሳሰብ ለዋጭ የፕሮፓጋንዳ መርሀ ግብር ለሚመለምላቸው ቀሳውስት ዘረጋ። የማሰልጠኑ ዓላማ ቤተ ክርስቲያኗን ከህዝብ ለይቶ በመምታት ስፋቷን ማጥበብና በትግሬአዊነት ላይ ብቻ የተመሰረተ ስሜት በትግራይ ተወላጆች ጭንቅላት መክተት ነው። ቤተ ክርስቲያኗ ለረዥም ዘመናት በህዝቡ አዕምሮ ላይ ስትተቀርጸው የኖረችውን ብሄራዊ የኢትዮጵያነትን ስሜት ከትግራይ ህዝብ አዕምሮ ጠራርጎ በጠባቡ ትግሬአዊነት ስሜት በመተካት የቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱን ይዘት እያጠበቡ ራሷን ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱን መምታት ነው። 3
የወረዳ ስልጠና የተጀመረው በጠንካራ ትግሉ የታወቀው ካዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርስቲ በነገረ መለኮት ትምህርት የተመረቀው ገብረ ኪዳን ደስታ ነው። የስልጠናውም ይዘት የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ጠቅላላ መዋቅራዊ አስተዳደር በትግራይ ነጻ አውጭ ድርጅት ባለሟሎች መተካትና በቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ አካባቢ የትግርኛ ቋንቋ እንዲሰፍን ማድረግ ነው። በዚህ መንፈስ ተቀረጾ የተዘረጋው እቅድ በየሰበካውና አጥቢያው ያሉትን ቄሶችና ምእመናኑን ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ ጠብቃ ካቆየችው ታሪክና ብሄራዊ መዋቅር እየገነጠሉ በማስኮብለል ወደ ነጻ አውጭው አምባ መሰብሰብ ነው። መነኮሳት በመምሰል ደብረ ዳሞ ወደ መሳሰሉት ገዳማት ሰርጎ በመግባት የድርጅቱን እቅድ በማስተጋባት የሚያዳክም አጥኝ ኃይል በስብሀት ነጋ መሪነት ተመሰረተ። የማሰልጠኑ ተግባር ከተፈጸመ በኋላ፤ የሰለጠኑት አስመሳይ መነኮሳት በትግራይ ምድር ዙሪያ ያሉት አብያተ ክርስቲያናት ከዋናው ጽፈት ቤት መገንጠልን በ1987 እና በ1989 ተግባራዊ እንዲያደርጉት አደረገ። ከነጻ አውጭው አመራር የሚቀበለው መነኮሳት እየመሰለ ሰርጎ የገባው አስመሳይ ቡድን፡ ከቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ ዋና መዋቅር ተገንጥሎ ከነጻ አውጭው ጋራ ጎን ለጎን የማካሄ ስራውን ቢሮ ከፍቶ ጀመረ። በዚህ ጊዜ ከዋናው ጽ ቤትና ከነጻ አውጭው ትእዛዝ በሚቀበሉት ቡድኖች መካከል የጎላ ልዩነት በግልጽ መታየት ጀመረ። እስከ 1990 ድረስ ሁለቱም ጎን ለጎን ሲሰሩ ከቆዩ በኋላ፤ ነጻ አውጭው መቀሌን ሲቆጣጠር፡ ከዋናው ጽ ቤት አመራር ይቀበል የነበረው መቀሌን ለቆ በ1991 ወደ ደሴ ሲሄድ፡ በነጻ አውጭው ስር ይመራ የነበረው ቡድን መቀሌውን ተቆጣጠረ"
ከዶክተር አረጋዊ በርሄ መጽሐፍ ከጠቀስኩት አንቀጽ ፬ ቁልፍ ሀረጎች እነሆ!
o
፩ኛ፦ "መነኮሳት በመምሰል ደብረ ዳሞ ወደ መሳሰሉት ገዳማት ሰርጎ በመግባት የድርጅቱን እቅድ በማስተጋባት ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱን የሚያዳክም አጥኝ ኃይል በስብሀት ነጋ መሪነት ተመሰረተ"
o
፪ኛ፦ "ከነጻ አውጭው አመራር የሚቀበለው መነኮሳት እየመሰለ ሰርጎ የገባው አስመሳይ ቡድን፡ ከቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ ዋና መዋቅር ተገንጥሎ ከነጻ አውጭው ጋራ ጎን ለጎን የማካሄድ ስራውን ቢሮ ከፍቶ ጀመረ"
o
፫ኛ፦"የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ጠቅላላ መዋቅራዊ አስተዳደር በትግራይ ነጻ አውጭ ድርጅት ባለሟሎች መተካትና በቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ አካባቢ የትግርኛ ቋንቋ እንዲሰፍን ማድረግ ነው"
o
፬ኛ፦ "ነጻ አውጭው መቀሌን ሲቆጣጠር፡ ከዋናው ጽ ቤት አመራር ይቀበል የነበረው መቀሌን ለቆ በ1991 ወደ ደሴ ሲሄድ፡ በነጻ አውጭው ስር ይመራ የነበረው ቡድን መቀሌውን ተቆጣጠረ"በማለት ጸንሳ፤ ወልዳና አሳድጋ የሰጠችን መንደር ትባረክና ብትንትን አድርገው ዶክተር አረጋዊ በርሄ ነግረውናል።

ይህን ይቅርታ የሌለው ደባ በቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ላይ ቀደም ብለው የፈጸሙ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ ጫካ በነበሩት ጊዜ ካቀዱት የጥፋት ሴራቸው ጋር ስለተጋጨ፤ የጉዲፈቻ ልጃቸውን ሟቹን አቡነ ጳውሎስን እርቀ-ሰላም እንዲጀመር በመፍቀዳቸው ኮንነዋቸዋል። "ዕርቅ ለመፈጸም በማለት ሰዎችን ሲልኩ የነበሩ ቄሶች መሰቀል አለባቸው" ቢሉ፤ "እምውስተ ርኩስ ምንትኒ ኢይወጽእ ንጹህ ወበውስተ ሀሰት በአይቴ ይትረከብ ጽድቅ" (ሲራ ፴፩፡፬) ማለትም፦ "ከአህያ መስዋዕት የሚሆን በግ እንደማይወለድ፤ ከሐሰተኛ ሕልምኛም እውነተኛ ነገር አይገኝም" ብሎ ጠቢቡ የተናገረውን ስለምናውቅ ዛሬ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ ይሰቀሉ እያሉ አረመኔያዊ ንግግር ቢናገሩ ሊያስደንቀን አይገባም። ባለፈው ስህተታቸው ንስሀ መግባት ሲገባቸው፤ ጭንጋፍ (ምቱር) ፓትርያርክ ለማሸከም ባላቸው ድፍረትና ንቀት በመቀጠላቸው እጅግ ልናዝንላቸው ይገባል። ከኛ የሚጠበቅብን ሊያሳዝሉን የሚሞክሩትን ጭንጋፋቸውን (ምቱርን) ፓትርያርክ እራሳቸው አዝለው እንዲዞሩ ማድረግ ነው። ይልቁንስ በመምጣት ላይ ያለውን የነ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋን ፓትርያርክ ምን እንዳስጨነገፈው? ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን የምትነግሪን "ምን አለሽ?" ብለን እንጠይቃት። 4
፪ኛ፦ምን አስጨነገፈው?

ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን "ይኩን በስምረተ ሕዝብ ዘይሰየም ላዕሌሆሙ። በህርየተ ኩሎሙ ህዝብ"(ፍ. አ. .፺) አማኞቹ በሰላም በስምምነት መርጠውት እሱም በምልአ ልብና በትፍስህት መምራት የሚችል ሲሆን ብቻ ነው ህይወት ያለው ፓትርያርክ ብለን የምንቀበለው። ይህ ሊወለድ ነው ተብሎ የተነገረን ግን በህዝበ ክርስቲያን ሳይፈለግ በካህናት ሳይደገፍ ይልቁንም መራር ተቃውሞ እየሰማ በግርግር በሸር በመንግስት ድጋፍ የሚሰየመውን ፓትርያርክ ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ጭንጋፍ "ምቱር" ትለዋለች። ሰዎች ሲቃወሙ የተቃውሞ ድምጻቸው እውነትነት እንዳለውና በሀሰት እንደሆነ ተመርምሮ እስኪደረስበት ድረስ፤ ጥቂቶችም ቢሆኑ የተቃውሞ ድምጻቸው ተከብሮ የተጀመረው የምርጫ ሂደት መቆም አለበት።
ተቃውሞው ተመርምሮ እስከ ሶስት ከደረሰ ማለትም የሚቃወመው የህብረተ ሰቡ አካል ሲሶው ከሆነ ለቤተ ክርስቲያን ሰላምና መረጋጋት ሲባል የታጨው ግለሰብ ገለል በማለት የሲሶው እጅ ህብረተ ሰብ ድምጽ መጽናትና መከበር አለበት።

የቤተ ክርስቲያናችን መጻሕፍት መርሆ እንመልከት፦

o
፩ኛ፦ "ወኢይከውን አሐዱ ሰማእት ከመ ይኩን ስምዐ ላዕለ ኩሉ ጌጋይ ወበኩሉ አበሳ ዘአበሰ በአፈ ክሌቱ ወሠለስቱ ሰማዕት የሀልቅ ኩሉ ነገር"(ዘዳግም ፲፱፡፲፬)። በደለኛ ተብሎ የሚወቀስና የሚከሰስ ሰው ክሱ ባንድ ምስክር ብቻ አይረጋገጥ። ክሱ ወቀሳው በሁለት በሶስት የምስክር ድምጽ ይጽና።
o
፪ኛ፦ "ወእመሰ ኢሰምአከ ንሣዕ ምስሌከ በዳግም አሐደ አው ክልዔ ከመ በአፈ ክልኤ ወሠለስቱ ሰማእት ይቀውም ኩሉ ቃል" ማቴ ፲፰፡ ፲፮። ምከረው ካልሰማህ በሁለት ምስክር ነገር ይጸናልና በሁለት በሶስስት ምስክር ይዘህ ምከረው።ከዚያ በኋላ እንደ አረመኔ ቁጠረው።
o
፫ኛ፦ "አኮኑ በአፈ ክልዔቱ ወሠለሰቱ ሰማእት ይቀውም ኩሉ ነገር"(፪ቆር ፲፫፡፩) በሁለት በሶስት የምስክር ድምጽ ሁሉ ነገር የሚጸና አይደለምን?

በኦሪት፥ በክርስቶስና በሐዋርያት ተደጋግሞ የተነገረ ይህ ትዕዛዝ በሀሰት ወይም በአድማ ጻድቁን ወይም ተገቢውን ሰው ለአገልግሎት ሲሰየም በምቀኝነት በተንኮል እንዳይበላሽ የተደረግ ጥንቃቄ ነው። "ይኩን በስምረተ ሕዝብ ዘይሰየም ላዕሌሆሙ። በህርየተ ኩሎሙ ህዝብ"(ፍ.አ.፺) የሚለው ትእዛዝ በመመሪያችን የተመዘገበው ከኦሪት ከክርስቶስና ከሐዋርያት ትእዛዝ መንጭቶ ነው።
አሁን ሊሰየም በታቀደው ፓትርያርክ ምርጫ ላይ እየጎረፈ ያለው የተቃውሞ ድምጽ ብዛት፥ እንድንለካባቸው ከላይ ከተገለጹት መስፈርቶች በላይ ነው። ይህን ተቃውሞ ሰብሮ የሚመጣውን መሳይ ፓትርያርክ መመሪያችን ምቱር (ጭንጋፍ) ይለዋል። ከዚህ በታች ከ፩ እስከ ፮ ተራ ቁጥር ምቱር ያደረጉትን (ያስጨነገፉትን) ማስረጃዎች በጥንቃቄ እንመልከታቸው፦
• ፩ኛ፦ በሞት ከተለዩን ሊቃውንቱ መካከል አንዱ በህይወት ያሉት ሊቀ ካህናት መራዊ ተበጀ "የቁጥር ዶክትሪን የለንም" ብለው በመጀመሪያ ተቃውሟቸው ከእነ አቶ ስብሀት በመወለድ ላይ ያለውን ምቱርነት በመግለጽ አስጨንገፈውታል።
• ፪ኛ፦ በአቃቤ መንበረ ፓትርያርኩ የሚመራው የውስጡ ሲኖዶስ ለጤነኛ ፓትርያርክ አሰያየም ይመች ዘንድ ስምምነት እርቅና ሰላም እንዲቀድም አምኖበት ለእርቁ ድርድር አቡነ አትናቴዎስን፥ አቡነ ገሪማንና አቡነ ቀውስጦስን ወክሎ መላኩ ጭንጋፍ (ምቱር) አድርጎታል።
5

• ፫ኛ፦ በሁሉም ወገን ታምኖበት በነ ሊቀ ማእምራን አማረ የተመሰረተው አስታራቂ ቡድን መመስረቱና፤ ይህ ሳይቋጭ ለፓትርያርክ ምርጫ የተደረገውን ሩጫ የቡድኑ ተቃዉሞ አስጨንግፎታል።
• ፬ኛ፦ምርጫ ከምታሰቡ በፊት እርቀ ሰላሙ እንዲፈጸም የሀገሪቱ ፕሬዝዳንት መቶ አለቃ ግርማ ወልደጊዮርጊስ ያቀረቡት ጥሪም አስጨንግፎታል። (ዝርዝሩን እዚህ ላይ በመጫን ያንብቡ)
• ፭ኛ፦ በአገር ውስጥና በውጭ ያለው የቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ አባላት ሁሉ ከምርጫው በፊት እርቁ እንዲቀድም ያቀረቡት ጥያቄ አስጨንግፎታል።
• ፮ኛ፦የላካቸውን ሲኖዶስ እና የታላከውን ቡድን ወክለው አቡነ አትናቴዎስ በአሜሪካ ራዲዮ "የጀመርነው እርቅና ሰላሙ ከዳር ሳይደርስ ለፓትርያርክ ምርጫ የሚደረገውን ዝግጅት እንቃወማለን" በማለት ያሰሙት የተቃውሞ ጥሪ፤ ከዚህ በላይ የተደረደሩትን ፭ የምስክርነት ድምጽ ማሳረጊያና መደምደሚያ ሆኖ አስጨንግፈውታል ወይም (ምቱር)አድርጎታል።

ልንይዛቸውና ልንመራባቸው የሚገቡን ከዚህ በላይ ይተገለጹትን እንጅ ወደ ኢምባሲው ሄደው ለነአቶ ስብሀት ነጋ ፖለቲካ ጥቅም ታስቦ recalculated ተደርገው ከዚህ በታች የቀረቡትን አይደለም፦ ከዚህ በታች ከ፩ እስከ ፬ የተዘረዘሩት ምክንያቶችም ቢሆኑ እነ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ ሊወልዱት በምጥ ያለውን ፓትርያርክ የበለጠ አስጨንግፈውታል ወይም (ምቱር)አድርጎታል።
ዋና ዋና ነጥቦችን እንመልከታቸው፦

o
፩ኛ፦ የአገሪቱ ፕሬዝደንት በግል ክርስትናቸውም ሆነ ፕሬዝደንታችው ቤተ ክርስቲያኒቱ ያቀፈችው ከ፵፩ ሚሊዮን ባለይ ነው የሚባለው ህዝብ የፈቀደውን ለማንጸባረቅ ባለባቸው ግዴታ፤ ከፓትርያርክ ምርጫ በፊት ስምምነቱ እንዲፈጸም የሰጡትን የተቀደሰ ሀሳብ እንዲቀይሩ "የኢሀደግ ፈቃድ አይደለም" በማለት ከአቃቤ መንበረ ፓትርያርኩ ከአቡነ ናትናኤል የተሰነዘረባቸው ተግሳጽ ሸፍጥ በመሆኑ አስጨንግፎታል።
o
፪ኛ፦በቅርስነት ከምንመለከታቸው አባቶቻችን ከአቡነ አትናቴወስ ቃል ያፈነገጠ ወረቀት የሰላም ቡድኑ ከውጩ ሲኖዶስ ጋራ ወግኗል የሚል ቃል ንቡረ እድ ኤልያስ የተባሉት ሰው በአዛውንቶቹ አባቶች ስም ጽፈው ያሰራጩት ሽፍጥ አስጨንግፎታል።
o
፫ኛ፦ ከዚያም "ዕርቅ ለመፈጸም በማለት ሰዎችን ሲልኩ የነበሩ ቄሴች መስቀል አለባቸው" በማለት አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ የተናገሩት አረመኔዊ የስቅላት ፍርድ አስጨንግፎታል።

በነዚህ ሁሉ ውስብስቦች (complication) የሚወለደው ፓትርያርክ በገዛ እትብቱ ታንቆ በመጨንገፍ እንዲወለድ አድርጎታል። ከዚህ በላይ በተዘረዘሩት ነገሮች ተጨንግፎ የመጣውን ፓትርያርክ ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን እንዳንቀበለው ታዝዘናለችና መቀበል አይኖርብንም። ይህንም በጥንቃቄ አብረን እንመልከተው።
፫ኛ፦መቀበል አይኖርብንም።

ከዚህ በላይ በተገለጸው ትርምስና ግርግር ተመርጫለሁ ብሎ የሚመጣውን ፓትርያርክ ከ፩ እስከ ፮ ተራ ቁጥር ከዚህ በታች ተብራርተው የተገለጹት የቤተ ክርስቲያናችን መመሪያ እንዳንቀበለው በአጽንኦ ያስገነዝበናል። 6
፩ኛ፦ ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ "ረዐዩዘሀሎ ኀቤክሙ መርዔቶ ለእግዚአብሄር እንዘ ተአቅብዎሙ ወኢትቅንይዎሙ በኩርህ አላ በጽድቅ በእንተ እግዚአብሔር እንዘ ኢትሬብህዎሙ አላ በምልአ ልብክሙ ወበትፍስህት፡ እንዘ ኢትትሄየሉ ሕዝቦ ለእግዚአብሄር አላ አርአያ ኩንዎሙ ለመርዔቱ" (፩ኛ ጴጥ ፭፡፪) ይህም ማለት፦ የእግዚአብሄርን ህዝብ በጥንቃቄ ምሩ። ምእመናን ሳይፈቅዱ በተጽእኖ አስገድዳችሁ ለመምራት አትሞክሩ" የሚለው ጥብቅ ትእዛዝ ነው። ሊቃውንት አበው፤ በአስረጅና በዓቢይ አገባብ እየታጀቡ ከሁለት ጊዜ በላይ ተደጋግመው የሚቀርቡ ትእዛዞች ትኩረት ሊሰጥባቸው የሚገባ ጥብቅ ትእዛዛት ናቸው ብለው አስተምረውናል። ከተቃወሱ ለጥገና የሚያስቸግር ሀውክ ይፈጠራል ይላሉ። እንዳሉትም በዚህ አረፍተ ነገር ለአጽንኦተ ትእዛዝ ተደጋግመው የተገለጹት በዓቢይ አገባብ አጎላማሽነት የቀረቡት፤ የካቲት ፳፩ ቀን በሚሰየመው የፓትርያርክ ሹመት ተጥሰዋል።
ሀ፦ አላ ረዐዩ………… በጽድቅ
ለ፦ አላ ረዐዩ…………በምልአ ልብክሙ ወበትፍስህት፡
ሐ፦ አላ ኩንዎሙ አርአያ…………ተብለው የተገለጹት ዓበይት ነገሮች በነ አቡነ እስጢፋኖስ አዋጅ ተጥሰዋል። በነ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ ተመልምሎ የሚመጣው ፓትርያርክ በሐዲስ ኪዳን ትእዛዝ ላይ ተመስርተው በመመያችን ላይ ተገልጸው ከዚህ በታች የተዘረዘሩትን ትእዛዞች የጣሳቸውን እንመልከት።
፪ኛ፦ "ወይትነስኡ ላዕሌሁ በጽድቅ ወኢይህድግዎ ይትዐደው ሃበ አባግዐ ክርስቶስ"(ፍ.አ ፭ ቁ. ፻፹፭-፮) በሚለው አንቀጽ ከሌሎች አፍራሽ ትእዛዞች ጋራ ኢይኅድግዎ የሚለው ጥብቅ ትእዛዝ ሶስት ጊዜ ለአጽንኦተ ነገር ተደጋገመ።
ሀ፦ ኢይኅድግዎ፦ይትዐደው፤ መመሪያውን ጥሶ የሚመጣውን ምእመናን ችላ አይበሉት።

ለ፦ ኢይኅድግዎ፦ይንበር፤ በመንበሩ እንዲቀመጥ ምእመናን እድል አይስጡት

ሐ፦ ኢይኅድግዎ፦ ይትመየጥ፤ ካባረሩትም እንኳ በኋላ እንዳይመለስ ምእመናን በሩቅ ይጠብቁት" ተብሎ በመደጋገም ተነገረ።
፫ኛ፦ "ለእመ ይትጋአዙ ሰብአ ሀገር አው አህጉር እስከ ይትከፈሉ ሃበ ፪ቱ ክፍል ወበዛቲ ምክንያት ተሠይመ ካልዕ ኤጲሲ ቆጶስ ለይሕትቱ ጥዩቀ በእንተ ዝንቱ። ወለእመኒ ኢረከቡ ለዕለ ቀዳማዊ ኤጲሲ ቆጶስ ዘይደሉ ለመቲሮቱ ለይንበር በመካኑ። ወእመሰ ረከቡ በላዕሌሁ ለይሲሙ በመካነ ዚአሁ ዘአልቦ ነውር ውስቴቱ ወለዝንቱ ያውግዝዎ"( ፭፡ ፻፸) አከራካሪ ነገር ተፈጥሮ ሰው ተከፋፍሎ ሳለ፤ የተነሳው ነገር መስመር ሳይዝ በግርግር ፓትርያርክ ቢሰየም ጉዳዩን በጥንቃቄ ይመርምሩት። በመጀመሪያው ሰው ላይ ምንም የእምነት ሕጸጽ ከሌበት ይመለስ። የሚለው ትእዛዝ ሳይቋጭ ቁጥሩ ከሶስት እጅ በላይ የሆነው ህዝብ እየተቃወመው የመጣውን ፓትርያርክ መቀበል የለብንም። "ወለእመኒ ኢረከቡ" እና "ወእመሰ ረከቡ" በሚሉ አበይት አገባቦች ታጅባ የቀረበችው "ረከቡ" የተባለቸው ግስ በነ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ የስቅላት ፍርድ ማስፈራሪያ የምትታለፍ አይደለችም።
፬ኛ፦"ወለእመ ተራድአ በመኳንንተ ዝንቱ ዓለም፡ወተሠይመ ለቤተ ክርስቲያን እምሃቤሆሙ ይትመተር ወይሰደድ ውእቱኒ ወኩሎሙ እለ ተሳተፍዎ"(፻፸፭) ማለትም፦ በመንግስት ድጋፍ የተሰየመ ግለ ሰብ ጭንጋፍ ነው። በቦታው እንዲቀመጥ የተባበሩት ሰዎችም ህይወት የሌለውን ህይወት ያለው በማስመሰል የተባበሩ ናቸውና ጭንጋፎች (ምቱራን) ናቸው። "ይትመተር" ማለት፦ ይጨንገፍ ማለት ነው። "ይሰደድ" ማለት ደግሞ፤ ጭንጋፍ ሆኖ በተወለደ ህይወት አልባ ውራድ ላይ የሚፈጸመው ስርአት ይድረስበት ማለት ነው።
፭ኛ፦ "ዘተማኅጸነበእንተ ምግብናሁ ለሰብአ አፍአ አው በመኳንንተ ዓለም ይርድእዎ በእንተ ሥርዓተ ቤተ ክርስቲያን እንዘ የሀስስ በዝንቱ አኅስሮቶሙ ለሕዝበ እግዚአብሄር"(፻፸፰) በመንግስት ርዳታና አጋዥነት የገባ ፓትርያርክ ህዝበ እግዚአብሄርን ያወረደ ተጨንግፎ የመጣ ነው። ጭንጋፍ ሆኖ በተወለደ ህይወት አልባ ውራድ ላይ የሚፈጸመው ስርአት ይድረስበት ማለት ነው። 7
፮ኛ፦ "ይትመተር ዘይነስእ ሢመተ ክህነት በኅልያን፤ አው በተገርሞ፤ አው በአድለዎ ፤ አው በትምይንት፤ አው በአሰፈዎ ሕልያን (ፍ. አ ፮፡ ቁ፡ ፪፻፳፬)" ጥብቅ ትእዛዝ ያዘለችውን ይህችን ሐረግ እንተነትናት። የዚህች ሐረግ ማሰሪያ ግስ "ይትመተር" ናት። ማለትም ይጨንገፍ ማለት ሲሆን፡ የሚያስጨነግፉትም ምክንያቶች ከዚህ በታች የተደረደሩት ናቸው።
በህልያን……………………….በፍቅረ ሲመት የተበከለ ሕሊና
አው በተገርሞ………………….በምድራዊ ሥልጣን አስፈራሪነት የመጣ ፓትርያርክ
አው በአድለዎ………………….ሚዛኑን ሳያሟላ የመጣ
አው በትምይንት………………..በማን አለብኝ ስሜት የመጣ ፓትርያርክ
አው በአሰፈዎ ሕልያን…………..በመሞዳሞድ የመጣ ፓትርያርክ
ይህች ሀረግ ብቻ በየተሸከመችው የቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ትእዛዝ: እነ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ የሚሰይሙትን ፓትርያርክ ተቀብለን ቅዱስ ብጹዕ ብለን በቅዳሴያችን ልናስታውሰው አይገባም።
"ወንህነኒ ሰበክነ ስመከ ልዕልተ ወክብርተ ውስተ ኩሎን አብያተ ክርስቲያናት ወውስተ ኩሎን አህጉር ወበሀውርት ወአዘዝነ ይዝክሩከ በኩሉ ቅዳሴያት"(ሃ.አ. ፻፬፡፲፫) ከሚለው ከኦርቶቶክሳዊው መርሆችን ጋራ ያጋጨናል። በዚህ አረፍተ ነገርበቅዳሴያችን ስሙን እንድናስታውሰው የታዘዝነው ቃሉን ሳይለዋወጥ፥ ሸቀጣ ሸቀጥ ሳይደባልቅ፥ ለነገረ መለኮቱ፥ ለሞራሉ፥ ለተየሰየመለት ዓላማ ጸንቶ ለቆመ፥ በእውቀቱ፥ በችሎታው፥ በታማኝነቱ ታምኖበት ያለአንዳች ተቃውሞ ለተመረጠ አባት ብቻ ነው።
ሊወለድ ነው እየተባለ የሚታወጅለት ይህን ግለ ሰብ ግን፤ በመንበሩ ላይ አጽናው ብለን በቅዳሴያችን ልናወሳው ይቅርና፤ "አርህቅ እግዚኦ እምኔየ። ወእምነ ኩሉ ህዝብከ። ወእምዝንቱ መካን ቅዱስ ዘዚአከ"(ሥ.ቅ. ገጽ ፴ ቁ ፴፰) እያልን ከፍ ባለ ድምጻችን ከግላችን፤ ካንድነታችንና ከተቀደሰው መንበራችን እንዲርቅ የምናውጅበት ምቱር ፓትርያርክ ነው።
ከኛ እንዲርቅ ይህን የምናውጀው ምቱር ሆኖ በመጣብን ፓትርያርክ ብቻም አይደለም። "ወእለ ሴሙ ላዕሆሙ መገብተ ከሐድያነ ንኬንኖሙ በግዘት በኩሉ መዋዕል"( ፻፩፡ ፳፫) ይህን ምቱር ፓትርያርክ በላያችን ላይ የጫኑብን እና በሀሳቡም የተስማሙት ሁሉ ምቱራን ጭምር ከኛ እንዲርቁልን ነው።
አያችሁ! ቅዳሴያችንን ብንመለከተው እኮ "ቅዱስ ቅዱስ ቅዱስ" እያሉ ለሚቀደሱት ለጸወርተ መንበሩ ሱራፌልና ኪሩቤ ቅዳሴ ተሰጥኦ ነው። ይህን ቅዳሴ በመቀደስ ተሰጥኦውን የምትመልሰዋ ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን "አናቅጽ ሲኦል ኢይሄይልዋ" የተባለችው ናት። ቅዳሴያችን እንደነ ስብሀት ነጋ የመሳሰሉ ነፍሰ ገዳዮች ወደ ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ሾልከው የሚገቡበትን ጓዳ እየዘጋ፤ ክርስቶስ የከፈተውን በር እንድንመለከት የሚመራን ነው።
ቅድስት ኦርቶዶክሳዊት ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን የሰጠችንን ከኦሪቱ ጀምሮ በየእለት ስከምንጠቀምበት መጽሀፈ ቅዳሴያችን ላይ ያለውን ሊቃውንት አበው ያስተማሩንን ሳንለቅ ያተረጓጎማቸውን ስልት ሳንቀይርና ሳንደበላልቅ ቀጥ ብለን ብንሄድ በጓዳ በር ሾልኮ የሚገባውን እያስወጣን በበሩ የሚመጣውን ይደልዎ ብለን በመቀበል ቅድስት ቤተ ክርስቲያናችንን ከነ ስብሀት ነጋ ወጥመድ ማትረፍ ይቻላል። (የነ ፋሌቅ ወጥመድ የሚለውን ጦማር እዚህ ላይ በመጫን ያንብቡ)። 8
፬ኛ፦የተከፈተው በር  
በቅዱስ መጽሐፍ ላይ የተመሰረተው የቤተ ክርስቲያን ታሪክ እንደሚነግረን፤ ቤተ ክርስቲያን በምድር ላይ የተመሰረተችው ከተለያዩ ቦታወች ባህልና ቋንቋ ለተለመደው ዓመታዊ በዓል ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም በተጓዘ ሰው።

ታሪኩ እንደሚነግረን፤ ከተለያዩ ቦታዎች በዓለ ጰራቅሊጦስን ለማክበር ኢየሩሳሌም ላይ የተሰበሰቡት ሰዎች ክርስትናን በራሳቸው ቋንቋ ሰምተው ቤተ ክርስቲያንን አዝለው ወደየ አገራቸው ለመመለስ አስበው አልነበረም። ሐዋርያትም ቢሆኑ ባንድ ቤት ተሰብስበው ዘግተው የነበሩት እንዳትበታተኑ ቆዩ የተባሉበትን ምሥጢር በሚገባ ተርደተውና ከተለያየ አካባቢ ለመጣው ሰው በየራሱ ቋንቋ ነግረን እንልካለን ብለው አስበው አልነበረም። ሆኖም እግዚአብሔር በመለኮታዊ እቅዱ ከተለያዩ ቦታዎች ሰዎችን ወደ ኢየሩሳሌም ሰበሰበ። ሐዋርያትንም ባልተረዱት መንገድ ኢየሩሳሌም እንዲቆዩ አደረገ። ሐዋርያት ዘግተው በተሰበሰቡበት ቤት ላይ ሰውን ሁሉ አንድ አርጎ የሚስብ እሳት መሳይ ኃይል አነደደ። ከሩቅ ቦታ የተሰበሰበው ህዝብ ሁሉ ይገናኝበት ዘንድ በፍርሀት የተዘጋውን ቤት ወደ አደባባይነት ለወጠው።

እንደዚሁ ሁሉ በዘመናችን እግዚአብሔር ተመሳሳይ ስራ በቅድስት ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን እየሰራ ነው። ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን በእርስ በርስ ጥላቻ ዝግ ነበረች። የውስጡም ሆነ የውጭ ሲኖዶስ ተስማምተው ችግሩን ሊፈቱት በሩን ሊከፍቱት ባለመቻላቸው ይልቁንም "ወእመሰ በበይናቲክሙ ትትባልኡ ወትትናሰኩ ተኀልቆ ተርፈክሙ" (ገላ ፭፡፲፭) ከተባለው ደረጃ በመድረሳቸው፤ እነሱ ባላወቁት መንገድ በሰላሙ ቡድን መከሰት ላይ እግዚአብሔር እንዲስማሙ አደረጋቸው። በሰየሙት ቡድን አጋዥነት እንኳ ችግሩን መፍታት አልቻሉም። እንግዲህ ቢገባንና ብንረዳው እንድንጠቀምበት እግዚአብሄር በሰላሙ ቡድን በኩል ቤተ ክርስቲያናችንን ከነ አቶ ስብሀት ነጋ እንድናተርፋት በሩን አዘጋጅቷል። የሰላሙ ቡድን ይህን ረቂቅ ጥሪ ተረድቶና ተገንዝቦ ከእርቁ በፊት የፓትርያርክ ምርጫ እንዳይታሰብ ድምጽ ያሰሙትን ሁሉ ድርጅቶችን ታላላቅ ሊቃውንት ካህናትንና የተበታተነውን ህዝበ ክርስቲያን በማስተባበር ሃላፉነቱን ይወጣ ዘንድ ታሪካዊ ግዴታ ወድቆበታል።

፭ኛ፦ በሰላሙ ቡድን ላይ የወደቀው ታሪካዊ ግዴታ፦የሰላሙ ቡድን

"ዘይፈቅድ ይህንጽ ማኅፈደ ፡አኮኑ ይቀድም ይንበር ወየሀስብ ጻእጻአ እመ ዘየአክሎ ከመ ይሳርር መሰረቶ፡ እመ ስእነ ፈጽሞቶ ኩሎሙ እለ ርእይዎ ይእህዙ ወይሳለቁላእሌሁ (ሉቃስ ፲፬፡፳፰_፴)" የሚለውን የክርስቶስን ቃል መመሪያ አድርጎ ከሆነ: ከላይ ከ፩ እስከ ፬ የተዘረዘሩትን የቤተ ክርስቲያናችን መመሪያዎች ከመፈጸም አያፈገፍግም። ወደዚህ ተልእኮ ስትገቡም ይህን ግዴታ በመዘንጋት አይመስለኝም። ተልእኮው በቀላሉ ከፍጻሜ እንደማይደርስና መስዋዕትነት እንደሚጠይቅ ሳትረዱ ጀምራችሁት ከሆነ፤ አካባቢያችሁን የመቃኘት አቅም የሌላችህና ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ያለችበትን ማእበል ሳትረዱ ዘላችሁ የገባችሁ፤ ወይም በሁለት ልብ ሆናችሁ ጀምራችሁታል ማለት ነው። "ሁለት ሀሳብ ላለው በመንገዱም የሚወላውል ሁሉ ከአምላክ ምንም የሚያገኘው ረድኤት የለም" (ያዕ ፩፡፰) የሚለውን ረስታችሁታል። ወይም በቀላሉ ቢሳካ የባለውለታነትን ውዳሴና የሚገኘውን ጥቅማ ጥቅም ለመሳተፍ፤ ሳይሳካ ቢቀር በቀውስ ላይ ላለችው ቤተ ክርስቲያን ግድ ሳይኖራቻሁ፡ ለራሳችሁ ሰላማዊ ኑሮ ቅድሚያ 9
በመስጠት ከአጥፊው ቡድን ጋር ያላችሁን ወዳጅነት ቀጥላችሁ ከዚያም ከዚህም በሹመት በሽልማት ለመኖር የምትፈልጉ ያስመስልባችኋል።

ይህ ደግሞ ስለ ቤተ ክርስቲያን አንድነት የሚጨነቀውን ህዝብ አጓጉቶ፤ ለድርድር የቀረቡትን የበለጠ አዋግቶ መሸሽ ስለሆነ፤ ቤተ ክርስቲያንን በደሏት ብለን ከምንወቅሳቸው ሰዎች የከፋ በደል ነው። ሊቃውንት አባቶች እናንተ በገባችሁበት ፈታኝ ሁኔታ ላይ ገብቶ አሸንፎ ለወጣው ጽኑዕ የቤተ ክርስቲያን ሰው መታሰቢያ ይሆንለት ዘንድ የተደረሰለትን ቅኔ ትምህርት እና አቅጣጫ የሚያሳይ ቅርስ ነውና ላስታውሳችሁ።"
ክቡድ ቀርን ኤዎስጣቴዎስ፤ ዘበቆልከ ለነ በዘመነ ወንጌል ሐዲስ፤
እስመ ልበ አድባር ከደነ፡ ኃይለ ሃይማኖትከ ጢስ።

አመ ዕድወትከ ቀላየ በየብስ።

እምቅቡአነ ዘይት መንፈስ ቅዱስ፤ ዘይትባየጸከ መኑ በፍኖተ ሞገድ ግብረ ነፋስ።

እመኒ ተባየጽከ በዕድወተ ዓባይ ተርሴስ፤

በበትር ወሐሜላት፤ ሙሴ ወኤልያስ፤

በመንግስተ ሰማይ ዛህን በገነተ ሄኖክ መርስ፤

አልቦ ዘየዓብዮ ለአጽፍከ ዮሐንስ"
ይህ ቅኔ ከገባችሁ ማንም ሳይጠይቃችሁ የናት ቤተ ክርስቲያናችሁ ሁኔታ አስገድዷችሁ በፈቃዳችሁ መንቀሳቀስ የጀመራችሁትን ቀርቶ ሙታንን ከመቃብር የሚቀሰቅስ ነው። "
ብዙወች ነበሩ አገር ያፈራቸው፤
ዳሩ ምን ይሆናል ሞት ነው ያጠቃቸው" የሚለው ቅኔ በድምጻዊቷ ጉሮሮ በኩል ለመላ ኢትዮጵያውያን እንዲደርስ ያደረጉት ኢትዮጵያውያን ሊቃውንት ናቸው።
"ክረምት ባይመጣ ሁሉ ቤት።
እንግዳ ባይመጣ ሁሉ ሴት" የሚባለው ባህላዊ አባባልም አለን። በሰላም ጊዜ ሁሉ አዋቂ፡ ሁሉ ጀግና ነው። አፋችንን የፈታንበት፤ ዛሬም የምንደግመው ዳዊት "ኩሉ ጻድቅ በጊዜ ርቱዕ" የሚለው ከባህላዊው አባባላችን ጋራ የሚስማማ ነው። ባህላውያን አባባሎቻችንም ሆኑ የሊቃውንት አባቶቻችን ቅኔዎች የመነጩት የቅኔ መጻሕፍት ከሚባሉት ቅዱሳት መጻሕት ነው።
አገር በሽብርተኞች ስትናወጽ ዜጋ የሆነ ሁሉ ራሱን ለመከላከልም ሆነ አገርን ለማረጋጋት በሚደረገው ፍልሚያ ለመሳተፍ በደህና ጊዜ ያስቀመጠውን መሳሪያ ከያለበት እየፈለገ እንደሚወለውል፤ እኛም የእምነት የሞራልና የቁርጥ ታማኝነት ምንጮች የሆኑት ሊቃውንት አባቶቻችን ያስቀመጡልን ቅኔዎች ራሳችንን የምንመዝንባቸው አካባቢያችንንም የምንፈትሽባቸው ናቸውና በዚህ ጊዜ ልንዳስሳቸው ይገባል።

የአባቶቻችን ቅኔዎች መሠረታቸው የቅኔ መጻሕፍት ተብለው የሚጠሩት ቅዱሳት መጻሕት ናቸው ብያለሁና፥ ጥቂቶችን ከጥቂት መጻሕፍቶች ልጥቀስ። "
በሊዓ ብዙህ መዓር አኮ ሠናይ ወየሀምግ ከርሰ፡ ወየኃይል ለረቅይ" (ምሳ ፳፭፡ ፳፯) ይህም ማለት "የሚጣፍጥ ማር አብዝቶ መብላት ጥሩ አይደለም። ሆድ ይነፋል። በመጨረሻም ያስታውካል" አንገትን እያቅለሰለሱ ያለቦታውና ያለተገቢው ትህትና በመስጠት ባለስልጣንን መቅረብ ረብ የሌለው ጥቅም ፍለጋ ነው። በዚህ መንገድ የሚገኘው ሹመትና ሽልማት ያውርዳል። ከመካከላችሁ ይህ መሳይ ባህርይ ያለው ሰው ካለ ቆልምሞ በመውሰድ ይዟችሁ ገደል እንዳይገባ ተጠንቀቁ! 10
የሰላም ልኡክ ብላችሁ በፈጠራችሁት ድርጅታችሁ በጨለመበት ጊዜ ብቅ በማለታችሁ ዘላቂ ቁም ነገር ትሰራላችሁ በማለት ከነ ስብሀት ነጋ በቀር ሁሉም ደስ ብሎት ተቀብሏችኋል። ሁሉም አሁን በገባበት አረንቋ ሲዘፈቅ ድምጻችሁ በመጥፋቱ፤ ከናንተ ጋራ የቆመው ህዝብ "መኑ የአምር ከመ ትጠፋዕ በከዊነ ተነ ጊሜ" (መቃ ፱፡፱-፲) ማለትም፦ ፍለጋው እንደማይገኝ እንደ ጉም ሽንት ተኖ ጠፍቶ እንደሆነስ ምን እናውቃለን? እየተባባለ ነው።
ሽባና ተልካሻ ከሆነ ከዘር ከጎሳና ከክፍለ ሀገር ከጥቅማ ጥቅም በሽታ ተላቃችሁ፡ ራሳችሁን ካሉባልታ አግልላችሁ "ብእሲሰ ጠቢብ ያፈቅር ሰሚአ መጻሕፍት። ወዘሰ ይናፍቅ ወኢይትአመን በመጽሐፍ ይከውን ከመ ሐመር እንተ ታንኮልል መእከለ ዐውሎ" (ሲራ. ፴፮፡ ፪) የሚለውን ምክር ተከተሉ። ማለትም፦ አዋቂ ሰው ከመጻህፍት በሚያገኘው ጥበብ ይመራል። አላዋቂ ሰነፍ ሰው ግን ባሉባልታ ይደናበራል። በራሱ ጸንቶ መቆም ያቅተዋል። በነፋስ እንደሚናወጽ መርከብ ይዋዥቃል" በሚለው በጥበበኛው ሲራክ ሚዛን ራሳችሁን መዝኑ!
"ብእሲ ምሁር ዘተገሰጸ ብዙሀ የአምር ወዘአፈድፈደ ጥበበ ይነግር" (ሲራ ፴፩፡፱) የሚለውን በመመልከት ብቻችሁን እንወጣወለን ብላችሁ አትሞክሩ። ከናንተ ይልቅ በልምድ በአመክሮ የበሰሉትን ሊቃውንት አሰባስቡ!
የምትከተሉት የቀኖና፥ የሞራል፥ የህግና የነገረ መለኮት ጉዳይ ስለሆነ "ሁለት ልብ ሆናችሁ ወደ ህግ አትቅረቡ (ሄኖክ ፴፬፡ ፱) የሚለውን ምክር አትርሱ። ሁሉም አሁን በገባበት አረንቋ ሲዘፈቅ ድምጻችሁ በመጥፋቱ፤ ከናንተ ጋራ የቆመው ህዝብ "መኑ የአምር ከመ ትጠፋዕ በከዊነ ተነ ጊሜ" (መቃ ፱፡፱-፲) ማለትም፦ ፍለጋው እንደማይገኝ እንደ ጉም ሽንት ተኖ ጠፍቶ እንደሆነስ ምን እናውቃለን? እየተባባለ መሆኑን እያሳሰብኳችሁ እሰናበታችኋለሁ። ይህን በመሰለ ፈታኝ ዘመን ላይ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ስትወድቅ፥ ህዝበ ክርስቲያኑ ሀላፊነቱን እንዴት እንደሚወጣ በመመሪያች ተጽፎ የተቀመጠውን በሚቀጥለው ጦማር አቀርባለሁ።