Asmara, 26 January 2025 – The consecration and enthronement of His Holiness Abune Basilios I, the Sixth Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, took place early this morning at Saint Mary Church in Asmara.
Archbishops of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, along with foreign delegates from sister Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Churches—representing Egypt, Russia, Greece, Armenia, Syria, and India—participated in the ceremony. The event was enriched with the Church’s centuries-old rituals and prayers.
Messages of blessings and congratulations were also conveyed by delegations from the World Council of Churches (WCC), the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), and the Fellowship of Christian Councils and Churches in the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa.
President Isaias Afwerki, Government Ministers, members of the Diplomatic Corps, representatives of dioceses and major monasteries across the country, as well as the faithful, attended the three-hour ceremony in its entirety.
His Holiness was elected as the Sixth Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church on 9 December 2024 in Asmara, in accordance with the norms and regulations of the Holy Synod and the Church.
Abune Basilios previously served as the Administrator of the Office of the Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church.