In 1926, after the death of Abuna Mathewos, Emperor Haile Selassie I, then Ras Tafari, began to negotiate for the appointment of an Ethiopian native Bishop to be head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It was agreed by His Holiness Patriarch Cyril V and by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Church, and in May 1929, five Ethiopian Bishops were bishoped for the first time in the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Unfortunately, all five Bishops were killed by the Italian forces during the five-year war (1935-1940) by Mussolini.
Many of us have had extraordinary experiences that have made us want to scream, “What are the chances that this is happening right here, right now?” Most of the time, we wish we had a camera to record this special moment, but we either don’t have access to one or we forget about it right away. But occasionally, these exceptional events leave us with the impression that we saw some sort of otherworldly force at work.
