Ethiopia. Addis Ababa. 24-26 April 2025. Official visit of the IAO leadership

On April 24-26, 2025, the Secretary General of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), member of the Hellenic Parliament, Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos, accompanied by the President of the General Assembly of the Organization, member of the Romanian Parliament, Mr. Ioan Vulpescu, and the IAO Advisor, Dr. Kostas Mygdalis, visited Addis Ababa, where they had meetings with the ecclesiastical and political leadership of Ethiopia.

The IAO delegation had the opportunity to meet with His Holiness the Patriarch Abune Mathias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. In his address, the IAO Secretary General noted that in Ethiopia “the long Christian tradition is reflected in the magnificent churches, the many monasteries, the unique hagiography, the preservation of valuable manuscripts, the art of chanting. This dynamic Christianity, which constitutes the majority of the population of Ethiopia today, is an integral part of world Christianity. And let me tell you that as Orthodox Christians, spiritual descendants of the Eastern Roman Empire, the well-known Byzantium, we feel you as our true brothers. This is also the reason why we wish on behalf of Ethiopia to have a permanent presence and active participation within the IAO.” Finally, he stressed: “Our world seems to have entered a critical period, where bloody wars, great disasters, threatening revisionism, destructive trade antagonisms, inequalities, poverty and unprecedented migratory flows are taking place. It is the duty of all of us, and especially of Christians, to join forces to jointly respond to the challenges and create a peaceful and more just world, in accordance with the spirit of the teaching of the Gospel.” Moreover, the President of the IAO General Assembly presented the Patriarch with the Declaration of Pasqua Together 2025, for the joint celebration of Easter by all Christians. The Ethiopian Patriarch thanked the IAO leadership and praised the initiatives of the interparliamentary organization.

Furthermore, the IAO leadership was received by the Speaker of the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives of Ethiopia, Mr. Tagesse Chafo. The head of the IAO briefed the Speaker of the Ethiopian Parliament on the role of the IAO and its diverse activities. During the meeting, the issue of appointing an official parliamentary delegation of the Ethiopian Parliament to the IAO, and its participation in the upcoming General Assembly to be held in Bucharest next June, was raised. For his part, the Speaker of the Ethiopian Parliament thanked for the information and promised to positively consider the proposal for his country’s parliament to acquire a more active role within the IAO.

During their stay in Addis Ababa, the delegation went to the Church of Saint Frumentius and attended the Divine Liturgy led by His Eminence Metropolitan of Axum, Mr. Petros, and had meetings with the President and members of the Greek Community of Ethiopia.