Megabi Hadiss Abba Ti’ume Lisan, head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) in Ontario, Canada, said the Oromo and Tegaru ethnic groups are migrants from Madagascar and Yemen, respectively.

Megabi Hadiss was a guest on Addis Dimts, a popular Amhara diaspora media outlet based in the United States, to discuss the ongoing tension in the EOTC between Amhara, Tegaru, and Oromos.

“Amharas need to establish their own synod, and their own ‘Amhara government’ within the government,” Megabi Hadiss said.

Megabi Hadiss also said that Ethiopia’s Chief of General Staff, Birhanu Jula is “a bandit from Madagascar”, and a “war prisoner” whose appointment as a General to lead the Ethiopian army only shows that the country is also captive.

“As a result, it is critical to organize like the Fano and exert pressure [on the government]; the migrants from Madagascar and Yemen should not be allowed to weaken and bring the Amhara to its knees,” Megabi Hadiss stated, alluding to the Oromos and Tegaru, whose Orthodox leadership have made attempts to break away from the EOTC and establish their own synod.

The EOTC has been a dominant institution in Ethiopia for centuries. Although the 1974 revolution transformed Ethiopia from a Christian to a secular state, leaving religion to the individual, the church in the decades since has struggled to adapt to the country’s multinational, multicultural diversity.

Many believe that the church is still ruled by conservative Amhara nationalist bishops, a sentiment that lies at the heart of the current tension.