- Abuna
"Abun" (in Europe erroneously known as "Abuna" , which is the status constructus form used when a name follows: Ge'ez አቡነ "’abuna"/"abune", 'our father'; Amh., Tgn.) is the title of the
metropolitan bishop or head of theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church . When referred to without a following name, it is "Abun", and if a name follows, it becomes "Abuna ..." (e.g., "Abuna Pawlos").Historically the "Abun" of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church was selected by the Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa, who was the leader of the
Coptic Orthodox Church and also had diocesian authority overEthiopia and other parts ofAfrica , who would appoint one of his monks to this post. As a result, a number of years might pass between successors, and due to a lack of knowledge of the native languages the "Abun" had a minimal influence on both Ethiopian religion and politics.Visitors to Ethiopia at this time, such as
Francisco Álvares in the 16th century and Remedius Prutky in the 18th century, were amazed at the mass ordination ofdeacon s andpriest s with little more than a wave of the cross and a prayer -- which was the "Abun"'s principal duty.After many centuries, the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches reached an agreement (
13 July 1948 ) that led to the promotion of the Ethiopian church to the rank of an autocephalousPatriarch ate. Five bishops were immediately consecrated by the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, empowered to elect a new Patriarch for their church, and the successor toAbuna Qerellos IV would have the power to consecrate new bishops. The first native Christian to become patriarch wasAbuna Basilios , who was consecrated14 January 1951 .Fact|date=February 2008The current "Abuna" of Ethiopia is
Abune Paulos ."Abuna" (Arabic: أبونا "’abūnā", literally 'our father') is also a title used among Arabic-speaking Christians to refer to a
priest . The title is used either by itself, or with the priest's given name, for example 'Abuna Tuma' for 'Father Thomas'. This title is not used in self-reference, rather the priest would refer to himself as "al-Ab" (الأب "al-’ab", literally 'the father').See also
*
Ab (Semitic)
*Ethiopian aristocratic and religious titles
*List of Abunas
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