OBITUARY 

H.H. Abune Antonios, the Third Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church

“Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints” – Psalm 116:15 

Patriarch Antonios was born in 1927 during Fascist Italy’s colonization of Eritrea in Hemberti, a village north of Asmara in the province of Hamasien, Eritrea.

His father was a priest and, as was the custom, offered his firstborn to the service of God. In 1932, at the age of only five, his father took him to the monastery of Debre Tsige Abuna Enderias and dedicated him to being raised there. The guiding principle for such an action was  Hannah’s statement about her son: “After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord” (1st Samuel 11:28). He began receiving his education at the monastery at such a young age in preparation for the service of the church. Because of his diligence as a student. the spirituality he exhibited even as a young child and his maturity, in 1938 the monastery ordained him a deacon at the hands of Bishop Markos when he was twelve years of age. Thus began Abune Antonios’s long and remarkable service to God and the Church. He was tonsured and entered the monastic life in his early adulthood. Continuing his education as an accomplished liturgist, he was then ordained into the priesthood in 1950. Because of his dedication, service to the monastic community in which he was raised and educated, the monastic community elected him as their Abbot in 1955.

As the Abbot of the monastery of Abune Enderias Debre Tsige Sef’a, Abune Antonios’s list of achievements is too many to mention. But here are a few examples: 

He presided over the renovation of the old and dilapidated buildings. He made sure that the water storage tanks were all restored and enlarged. New water wells were dug in order to supply enough water to the ever-growing vegetable gardens and orchards operated by the monastery. He sought the aid of benefactors to the monastery and mobilized the local population to make the monastery more accessible. To this end, he made it possible for the building of a thirty-kilometer-long road, which is still in use. He established a mill in the village of Adi Felesti for the benefit of the monastery and the surrounding villages. He was responsible for bringing peace to the forty-year-old dispute between certain villages and the monastery on land-related issues. Because the monastery was too far for some villages in the area to travel for church services, he saw to it that churches were built in these villages so that the faithful could worship with a lot more ease. He was also one of the people who worked for the establishment of the Association of Monasteries, in which he also served as a secretary and a treasurer. 

When Eritrea, after a thirty-year-long war, gained its national independence and sovereignty in 1991, the question of attaining an autocephalous status for the Eritrean Orthodox Church was initiated. To this end, a provisional “synod” was established. On June 19, 1994, on the Feast of Holy Pentecost, with the participation of sixty archbishops and bishops and presided upon by the late Pope Shenouda III, Patriarch of Alexandria and the See of St. Mark at St. Mark Cathedral in Cairo, Abune Antonios was ordained a bishop along with four others. With this historic act, Eritrea became an autocephalous church, a member of the See of St. Mark and the sixth member of the Oriental Orthodox Churches.  

As a diocesan bishop of the Central Zone, one of the six administrative zones into which Eritrea is divided, Abune Antonios ordained 5 bishops, 430 priests and 827 deacons. In addition, he consecrated several new churches. One of the campaigns for which Abune Antonios is known was the effort to eradicate the widespread practice of witchcraft in his diocese. 

In the patriarchal election that took place on March 2, 2004, Abune Antonios was elected the 3rd Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church. His ordination and enthronement as Patriarch took place on 23 April 2004 in Asmara at the hands of Pope Shenouda III, assisted by Eritrean and Coptic Orthodox Metropolitans and Bishops.

From the beginning of his enthronement, Patriarch Antonios stood firm on many important issues that became detrimental to the life of the Church. Most important were his call to cease all interferences by the state in the affairs of the Church; his refusal to accept the government’s installment of a layperson -  a political appointee - as “the General Administrator” of the Church; His Holiness's rejection of the government’s demand to closing down the Medhane Alem Orthodox Church, which was attracting young people in their hundreds; His demand that all clergies and many other prisoners of conscience that were being detained in large numbers in Eritrea to either be charged with a crime or to be released. But most of all, his call for the rule of law rubbed the government the wrong way. 

Realizing that Abune Antonios was not disposed to do its bidding in the government’s attempt to control the Church, the decision was made to illegally depose His Holiness. Therefore, on August 6-7, 2005 the government orchestrated the deposing of Abune Antonios from his patriarchal throne. On November 13, 2006 at the age of eighty His Holiness Abune Antonios was thrown into prison. 

During his sixteen years of cruel imprisonment at the hands of the enemies of the Church, Abune Antonios has shown us the depth of his spirituality, his unwavering commitment and fidelity to his beloved Church, and his fearlessness tempered by humility and his strength of character. Without anyone on his side he could counsel with, he remained clear and steadfast on these and many other important issues. He saw his imprisonment as an opportunity to spend time in prayers. Because of his defense of the Church and the people of Eritrea, His Holiness will remain a highly respected figure and a beloved father for all.       

On Wednesday, February 9, 2022, after sixteen years of imprisonment, denied of human contact in all these years, His Holiness Abune Antonios, the 3rd patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, departed this world at the age of ninety-six. Imprisoned by his country, he remains a venerated and beloved figure in the hearts of his people and across the world. He has fought the good fight; he has finished the race; he has kept the faith. Abune Antonios was laid to rest In the Monastery of Debre Tsige Abuna Enderias where he was raised since age five and where he served most of his life.

May God repose his soul.

The Canonical Archdiocese of the Eritrean Orthodox Church in Diaspora.

20 February 2022