ICC Note:

Patriach Abune Antonios, head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Was allowed to attend mass for the first time in over a decade. It was a short lived freedom however. Though allowed to make the appearance at the church, Patriarch Antonios was quickly escorted back to his place of detainment. Even during the mass, he was not allowed to speak to anyone or make and comments whatsoever. This has raised serious questions as to the intention of the Eritrean government. They were clearly controlling the entire appearance and did not want Patriarch Antonios to say or do anything. This clear disregard for human rights is just one of thousands that Eritrea has committed.

07/20/2017 Eritrea (TheGazette) – Stories speak to the best and worst in all of us, which is why as a writer and a priest, I find myself drawn to stories. All good stories have heroes, conflict and struggles.

Abune (or “Father”) Antonios is such a hero, and his story has conflict and the life-and-death struggles of a true leader.

Born in 1927, Patriarch Antonios of Eritrea entered the monastery at age 5. At 12, he was ordained a deacon, and at 15 he became a priest, like his father. He then rose to lead that country’s largest religious community, the Eritrean Orthodox Church. If there was ever a man “born to the cloth,” it was he.

At this point, the story is almost boringly peaceful. A man feels called by his God, follows that vocation and leads the members of his flock in pursuit of their conscience, their religion and their belief. He is the shepherd for hundreds of thousands of his parishioners’ souls. It should be a “happy ever after” story.

Sadly, the story does not have a happy ending where he lives out his life tending to his flock.
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