Ethiopia holds open-air mass for tsunami victims

ADDIS ABABA, Jan 15 (AFP) — Ethiopian President Girma Wolde Giorgis was among thousands attending a special open-air mass of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church here Sunday for victims of tsunamis that claimed at least 168,000 victims on December 26.

“In an age of globalisation, destruction in one part of the globe is a matter for the entire planet,” said Abuna Paulos, head of the Church, during the service outside the city’s main church, the Bole Medhane Alem:

“The Ethiopian Orthodox Church today offers prayers for those who died and those who survived.”

Up to 5,000 attended the event, including the mayor of Addis Ababa and the ambassadors of India, Indonesia and Thiland, all countries severely hit by the disaster.

“There is no far away place in the world,” said President Giorgis afterwards. “The world is now one family. What happened in Asia could have happened here as well so that’s why we are all here to give our condolences.”

Said Esherafi, one of the worshippers: “It is in the culture of our people and our church to remember the dead… we have been beneficiaries of a lot of international support in cases of famine, drought or other kinds of disaster, so Ethiopian people know what it means to be in a disaster situation.”

The Orthodox religion is the leading faith of Ethiopia. The church says it has a membership of 40 million out of a total population of 70 million.

There are 35,000 Orthodox places of worship and half a million priests.