Orthodox church anoints second patriarch

By unanimous vote of its holy synod, the Eritrean Orthodox Church has anointed Abune Yacob as its second patriarch. Yacob’s coronation as patriarch comes two and a half months after the death of the first patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Abune Filipos. He died at the age of 102 of natural causes following a brief illness in September. Filipos was widely regarded as the spiritual father of the country, and was highly respected for his outspoken criticism of Italian, British, and Ethiopian control of Eritrea prior to its independence. With his coronation as patriarch, 76-year old Yacob is now the spiritual leader of more than a million Eritrean Orthodox Christians, who constitute slightly less than half of this tiny Horn of Africa nation’s 3.5 million people. Eritrea is divided roughly equally between Muslims and Christians. The vast majority of Christians in the country follow the Orthodox Church. The Eritrean Orthodox Church split from its Ethiopian counterpart after Eritrea declared independence in May 1993.