Orthodox Synod Demands Action After Oromia Killings
More than 60 worshippers were killed; Catholic bishops call for reconciliation while responsibility for the massacres remains disputed.
The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has demanded stronger state protection for worshippers after armed attacks killed more than 60 Orthodox faithful in Oromia in late October.
In an unusual public intervention, the Synod called on authorities to provide “essential security until the problem is resolved” and to pursue justice for the victims. The Synod said gunmen went house to house, killing residents with firearms and knives. Fourteen people died on October 20 in Gora Silingo, Merti District. Forty-six more were killed on October 24 in the villages of Tereta, Chole and Birbo, Shirka District, Arsi Zone. The dead included elderly people and children. One church was damaged; churches in nearby villages sheltered those fleeing the violence.
Catholic bishops urge reconciliation
The bloodshed came after Ethiopia’s Catholic bishops appealed for an end to hostilities across the country. They said the Church “grieves deeply over the armed conflict that is currently present in Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia and other regions,” warning that “rather than resolving differences, war serves only to deepen divisions and multiplies suffering.”
In a pastoral letter, Bishop Lesanechristos Matheos of the Ethiopian Catholic Eparchy of Bahir Dar-Dessie called for prayer, wisdom, compassion and a firm commitment to peace. “Every life lost is a tragedy,” he wrote, urging Ethiopians to reject hatred, misinformation and division.
Fragile peace, disputed blame
The Oromia regional government has accused armed rebel groups of staging the attacks to inflame religious tensions. Responsibility has not been independently verified and remains contested.
The violence unfolds amid renewed fighting involving the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, allied armed groups and government forces in parts of Tigray, Afar and Amhara—echoing the civil war that formally ended with the 2022 Pretoria Agreement. Ethiopia’s peace remains fragile: ethnic tensions, political grievances and recurring religiously motivated violence continue to strain coexistence among faith communities.
For Catholics and Orthodox alike, the toll underscores the Church’s teaching on the dignity of every life and the duty of civil authority to protect the innocent while citizens work for genuine reconciliation.