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Ethiopia: 60 Orthodox Christians Killed as Grieving Church Demands Justice and Holds On to Hope
Two attacks in Ethiopia's Oromia region on October 20 and 24 left more than 20 people seriously injured and about 20 homes burned. As witnesses describe attacks on families and the perpetrators remain unidentified, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is calling for prayer and protection. A message of solidarity from India offers a reminder that the suffering of one Christian community concerns the entire Church.
Ana Paula Morales (Poli)
10/29/20268 min read
A member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church takes part in a religious service in Addis Ababa. Following the October 2026 attacks, the Church called on its communities to pray for the victims and demand justice. Filephoto. Source: The Africa Report.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Families in several communities across Ethiopia's Oromia region are mourning their dead as the wounded receive medical treatment and others seek shelter after losing their homes. At least 60 Orthodox Christians were killed in two attacks, according to the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which has called for justice, protection for its faithful and prayers for the victims.
The killings took place in two separate attacks on Tuesday, October 20, and Saturday, October 24, 2026, in the Arsi Zone, south of Addis Ababa. According to an official statement issued by the Holy Synod on Monday, October 26, 14 worshippers were killed in the first attack, which occurred in Gora Silingo, a community in Merti district. Four days later, another 46 people were killed in Tereta, Chole and Birbo, in Shirka district.
Church authorities also reported that more than 20 people had been hospitalized with serious injuries and that 20 homes had been destroyed by fire. The figures were reported Tuesday, October 27, by Reuters, which noted that neither the perpetrators nor their motives had been conclusively identified.
The Holy Synod warned that killings, displacement and attacks on Orthodox communities and their property have become recurring concerns in Arsi and other parts of Ethiopia. It urged federal and regional authorities to protect civilians, investigate the violence and bring those responsible to justice.
From House to House: Witness Accounts of the Violence
Early accounts from those who witnessed the aftermath of the attacks are beginning to reveal the suffering endured by the affected communities.
According to an October 27 report by Vatican News, armed men reportedly moved from house to house, attacking residents with firearms and bladed weapons. Children and elderly people were said to be among the victims. The Vatican news outlet also reported that a church had apparently been damaged and that churches in neighboring communities had offered shelter to people fleeing the violence.
The report focused primarily on the October 24 attack against communities in Shirka district. The precise circumstances, however, still require an independent investigation to establish exactly what happened.
In a separate report published October 27, The Associated Press interviewed a Christian resident of a nearby community who traveled to Tereta Chole to attend funerals and help transport the wounded. A local priest told the news agency he had seen victims arriving at a hospital, where some patients later had to be transferred to other medical facilities.
Both witnesses requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
The figures released by Church authorities convey the scale of the tragedy, but behind them are grieving families, survivors struggling to recover and communities living with the uncertainty of whether they will face another attack.
Were They Killed Because of Their Faith?
Although the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has identified the victims as members of its community, investigators have not conclusively established whether the attacks were carried out specifically because of their religious identity.
Reuters reported on October 27 that the Oromia regional government blamed a rebel alliance, claiming the killings were intended to incite religious and ethnic conflict. Authorities, however, did not publicly provide evidence supporting their allegations.
A source linked to the rebel alliance, meanwhile, accused the regional government of being behind the violence. Reuters noted that the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), which authorities have previously blamed for attacks on Orthodox communities, had not responded to requests for comment.
The Associated Press identified Oromia regional government spokesman Hailu Adugna as one of the officials who publicly accused the OLA and its allies. The competing claims underscore the difficulty of determining responsibility in a region where several armed groups have been engaged in fighting with government forces.
The possibility that religion played a role in the killings is also being examined by conflict-monitoring organizations. According to an October 27 Africanews report citing information obtained by AFP, the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data organization (ACLED) assessed that the October 24 attack may have been religiously motivated and specifically directed against Orthodox Christians.
ACLED cited reports that an Orthodox church had been looted and warned that attacks against members of the faith in the region have increased since February 2023, with violence intensifying over the past year.
The AFP report also said the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission was examining the circumstances of the attacks.
While these indications warrant an investigation into possible religious motives, the identity of the perpetrators and the specific reasons behind both massacres remain independently unverified.
Holy Synod Calls for Prayer and Demands Protection
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's response went beyond condemning the killings.
According to its official October 26 statement, the Holy Synod gathered that Monday for prayers at the patriarchal headquarters in Addis Ababa. It also called on Ethiopian churches and monasteries, both at home and abroad, to hold memorial prayers following the Divine Liturgy on Tuesday, October 27.
In its message, the Synod entrusted the dead to God's mercy, praying for their eternal rest and the honor of martyrdom. It also expressed solidarity with the bereaved families and the Ethiopian people.
The Synod recalled that Ethiopia's Constitution guarantees the right to life and religious freedom, and called on authorities to uphold those protections through concrete security measures. It also announced plans to pursue meetings with senior officials and establish a committee of Church representatives, specialists and legal experts to seek lasting solutions to the insecurity affecting Orthodox communities.
Prayer, in this context, does not replace the demand for justice. For a Church accompanying its members through grief, it is also a declaration that the victims will not be forgotten and that their families should not have to face the consequences of violence alone.
An Orthodox Church in India Shares Ethiopia's Grief
The tragedy has begun to draw expressions of solidarity beyond Ethiopia's borders.
On October 26, Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in India, sent a letter to Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarch Abune Mathias I condemning the killings and expressing solidarity with the affected families.
The letter was published Tuesday, October 27, on the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's official website.
In his message, the Catholicos conveyed the condolences and prayers of the Holy Episcopal Synod, clergy, monastic communities and faithful of the Malankara Church. He also recalled the historical and spiritual ties between the two Churches, both members of the Oriental Orthodox family.
The Indian Church leader condemned the attacks on innocent people as a grave violation of human dignity, religious freedom and the principles of peaceful coexistence. He also emphasized that the suffering of one member of the Body of Christ is shared by the entire Christian family.
The letter referred to an earlier estimate of approximately 45 deaths, before the Ethiopian Holy Synod announced a combined toll of 60 victims. The difference reflects the information available when the message was written and does not constitute a separate, independently verified death toll.
The Catholicos called for justice, protection for vulnerable communities and measures to prevent further atrocities. He also offered prayers for the souls of those killed, the recovery of the wounded and consolation for families mourning their loved ones.
The gesture carries particular significance: both Churches share an ancient Christian tradition and a spiritual communion that transcends national borders. The suffering of Ethiopian Orthodox Christians has thus found an expression of solidarity thousands of miles away.
Catholic Bishops Had Already Warned of Violence in Oromia
Concerns among Christian leaders about the situation in Oromia predate the October attacks.
On March 13, 2026, Vatican News reported that Ethiopia's Catholic bishops had condemned killings and other abuses against civilians in the Arsi area during February, including kidnappings, displacement and the destruction of homes.
The report cited Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Ethiopia, who urged authorities to take effective measures to protect civilians and uphold the rule of law.
According to Ethiopian Human Rights Commission figures cited by Vatican News at the time, 34 Orthodox Christians had recently been killed, while the number of victims documented in Shirka district had reached 164 during the period under review. Those figures concern earlier violence and should not automatically be added to the death toll from the October 20 and 24 attacks.
Months later, on October 1, Ethiopia's Catholic bishops issued another appeal amid worsening conflicts in Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia and other regions. They called for dialogue, forgiveness, reconciliation, prayer and a peace that goes beyond the mere absence of fighting.
As of October 27, no new statement from the Catholic bishops specifically addressing the two latest massacres had been identified. Their previous appeals, however, show that the safety of communities in Arsi has been a concern for Church leaders for months.
Vatican had previously called for peace amid violence in Ethiopia
As of October 27, 2026, Pope Leo XIV had not issued a specific public statement addressing the killing of 60 Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia's Oromia region. However, the pontiff had previously expressed concern over the ongoing violence in the country.
During his September 30 general audience, Leo XIV voiced concern over renewed fighting in Tigray and the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions, urging dialogue and humanitarian assistance for civilians affected by the conflict. His appeal came several weeks before the October 20 and 24 attacks in Oromia and did not specifically address the violence in the Arsi area.
On October 27, Vatican News reported on the killing of Orthodox Christians in Oromia, citing witness accounts of attacks on local communities and the suffering of civilians. Although the report brought international attention to the tragedy, it did not constitute an official statement from the pope or a formal condemnation of the massacres by the Holy See.
Faith That Endures Amid Grief
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is part of one of the world's oldest Christian traditions. Its history, shaped by centuries of monastic life, prayer and liturgy, remains central to the religious identity of millions of Ethiopians.
Today, for families in Arsi, that spiritual heritage exists alongside the pain of loss and questions that remain unanswered.
Who killed their loved ones? Why were their communities attacked? What guarantees will they have that they can return home and live without fear?
Those answers must come from investigators and the authorities responsible for protecting civilians. Families need justice, security and assistance, as well as the spiritual support their Church provides.
The solidarity expressed from India points to another essential dimension of Christian faith: the suffering of one community should never be a matter of indifference to others.
St. Paul expressed that bond in his First Letter to the Corinthians: "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it" (1 Corinthians 12:26).
The 60 Christians whose deaths were reported by the Holy Synod leave behind grieving families, shaken communities and a Church in mourning. Their memory demands that the violence be investigated and that those who survived receive protection and consolation.
Christian hope does not erase suffering or diminish the need for justice. Rather, it affirms that no human life is insignificant, no grieving family should be abandoned and no tragedy should be allowed to disappear into silence.
As Ethiopia awaits answers, its Christian communities continue praying for the dead, the wounded, those who have lost their homes and a peace that allows all Ethiopians to live without fear.
Amid the grief, the Church keeps its eyes fixed on the risen Christ, the foundation of a hope that does not deny suffering but remains with those who bear its wounds.
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