Pre-Revolutionary Church-State relations

Before the revolution The Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church(EOTC) was a close ally of Emperor Haile Selassie. For a long time, the Ethiopian monarch served as the de facto leader of the church. They appointed heads of monasteries, presided over Church councils and gave generous donations of land to churches and monasteries. Haile Selassie was particularly special thanks to his role in the achievement of autocephalous status for the EOTC. The 1955 constitution declared the EOTC as "the established Church supported by the State" and the Emperor as the "Defender of the Orthodox Faith". The Church owned significant portions of the nation's land and most of its wealth came from taxes levied on peasants who worked or lived on this Church land. Not only did the EOTC benefit from the monarchy, but the monarchy benefited from the church as well. Patriarch Basilios played a crucial role in thwarting the 1960 failed coup by strongly supporting the Emperor and excommunicating the coup leaders, some of whom were known for their anti-clerical views. They also supported the imperial policies in Eritrea, working closely with the Unionist Party and helping in the abolition of the federation process. Ideologically, the church provided the basis for legitimacy for the state, thus maintaining the status quo. For a long time, it had a virtual monopoly over education, which allowed them to preach to the peasantry to respect the established authority and to pay taxes. The Church and the government were firmly interwoven as shown by Patriarch Theophilus: "There is no state without the church and there is no church without the state. In Ethiopia church and state are one and the same."

Early years of the Derg

Religious groups did play a role in the 1974 revolution. During the second round of civilian uprisings, the Muslims of Addis Ababa, having faced discrimination over the years, also poured into the streets along with their Christian sympathizers while employees of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church threatened to go on strike. In March, at a demonstration of several hundred clergy, serious charges were made against the Church hierarchy and demanded the removal of all bishops and archbishops including the patriarch-Abuna Theophilos. These demonstrators demanded greater openness in the Church administration and also called for a more equal distribution of the EOTC’s wealth. In April, a large rally organized jointly by Christians and Muslims demanded complete separation of church and state together with the secularization and democratization of the state. When it became clear that the new cabinet of Endalkachew intended to carry out reforms that would limit the powers of the monarchy, some members of the EOTC at first believed that its influence could actually increase(in theory a weakened monarchy could mean that the Church would become the major authority in the country). However, despite lobbying attempts on the part of the Church leadership, the draft constitution presented in early August 1974 announced the separation of church and state and stressed the equality of all religions. But Endalkachew's cabinet would soon be replaced by the Derg junta. The Derg initially didn't have a well-defined political ideology so initially they tried to create a more moderate image, promising religious equality while simultaneously trying not to antagonize the Church. However, as the Derg adopted a Marxist-Leninist ideology, their policy towards the Church would change. They started to discourage fasting and veneration of saints. Mäsqäl (Cross) Square in Addis Ababa was renamed Revolution Square. But the Derg also wished to emphasize that it was fighting for religious equality in the country. In January 1975 national religious holidays were redefined and for the first time three Muslim holidays were included as public holidays. In their attempt to consolidate power and purge any potential political opposition from the Church, in February 1976, Abuna Theophilos was deposed by the Marxist regime along with three archbishops, who were imprisoned for periods ranging from three to eight years. The Patriarch had enraged the regime by resisting government attempts to bring the Church under its control. Theophilus was later executed and Abuna Takla Haymanot(who was considered to be more apolitical and submissive, yet well-known for his ascetism and selfless philanthropism) replaced him as Patriarch. The regime's goal was not to destroy the church but to reform into an organization that was under their complete control. This was done by installing loyalists within it, for example, Qes Salomon Gabra-Selassie, a top administrator within the church who compared the USSR’s implementation of socialism to eschatological conditions described in Biblical passages. Another way, the Church was subordinated was through changes in the Church finances. On 4 March 1975, the land reform abolished the status of the Church as a major rural landowner and freed peasants of traditional obligations(like taxes). A few months later, on 26 July 1975, the Ownership of Urban Lands Proclamation nationalized all renting buildings and urban property, severely diminishing the power of the urban Churches. Instead, the government allocated an annual subsidy of two million pounds in order to pay the salaries of those working in the Church and the Ministry of Defence also provided a monthly allowance of eleven thousand pounds to high ranking church officials. This meant that the income of the church was roughly the same as during the pre-revolutionary era, however, it had become completely financially dependent on the government, i.e the Derg. Interestingly, within the Derg itself there was difference in opinion over the way to deal with the ETOC. Colonel Atnafu Abate, who was born in Goljam, was said to have perceived the church as an institution deeply ingrained in the nation's life and as a result he believed that it had to play a significant role in the post-revolutionary era. Mengistu Haile Mariam,a southerner, who would later centralize power around himself and emerge as the country's dictator, believed that the Church was nothing more than an appendage. Despite ousting Atnafu during a power struggle, Mengistu in the end may have ended up following his approach.

Later years of the Derg

With the Church firmly under government control and, despite the shaky beginnings, over the course of the next decade, the relationship between the Derg and the ETOC would transition to cooperation. Several factors contributed to this. One was the Ogaden War during which the Church was brought into the limelight as a rallying point for Ethiopian nationalism. The ETOC actively encouraged its followers to take up arms and defend their motherland. Another contributing factor was the government's inability to defeat the northern rebels. Much like the former Emperor, Mengistu realized the usefulness of the Church as a rallying ground for Ethiopian nationalism since the ETOC was a major advocate of Ethiopian unity and territorial integrity, and did not have to be persuaded to support the suppression of rebels in Eritrea. The reorganized Church would become very loyal to the Derg and its policies. It would frequently praise its revolutionary achievements and would defend the state's actions at national and international forums. The government's policy would be to cooperate with the ecclesiastical authorities and would usually intervene only when a church official criticized the regime. Such individuals were dubbed as "fanatics" and were quickly eliminated.

The improvement of Church-State relations did not necessarily mean that the regime's negative attitude of religion itself changed. The educational system was still based on Marxist-Leninist lines where students were taught that religion was the "opium of the masses". Dawit Walde Giorgis recollected in "Red Tears" that government cadres in villages were actively involved in anti-religious campaign and who told him that "rooting religion out of the hearts of the people" was one of the top priorities assigned to them. One group of people that worried the government were the bahtawi, ascetic hermits who had renounced material needs and whose opinions were held to a very high regard by the peasantry as they were considered to possess a very holy character. During important religious holidays they would often express their criticism of the government(initially against the Emperor and later the Derg). Recognizing their influnce over the people, the Derg banished them to a "rehabilitation" center at Lake Zuway. Some were never seen again.

Aftermath

I won't go into too much detail on this but to give a brief overview: after the overthrow of the Derg by the TPLF/EPRDF, the reigning Patriarch, Abuna Merkorios(who just died a few weeks ago), resigned(or was forced to resign, depending on who you ask) in 1991 and was replaced by the Tigrayan Abuna Paulos. This was a very controversial move which led to a major schism and many diaspora churches did not recognize his authority and continued to view Abuna Merkorios, who lived in exile in Atlanta, Georgia, as the legitimate Patriarch. This continued until the recent reconciliation process. Meanwhile, in 1991, two Eritrean bishops were ordained in Cairo followed by additional bishops in 1994. The ETOC was definitely not pleased by this but they were powerless to stop it. Ultimately, in 1998, with the consecration of Patriarch Filepos, the Eritrean Orthodox Church, with its headquarters in Asmara, came into being and was accepted as a member of the World Council of Churches in 2003.