The exiled Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has announced today that it will launch a weekly radio broadcast to Ethiopia starting on 2 July 2007. The radio will be broadcast every Monday from 7-8 pm, Addis Ababa time [1600-1700 gmt], on 15260 kHz or 19 meter band.
The radio programme will include bible teaching, church news, as well as reports and discussions on current social, political and other issues of national importance. The Holy Synod is led by the legitimate patriarch of Ethiopia, Abune Merkorios, who went into exile when the Tigrean People Liberation Front (weyane, [TPLF, dominant party with in ruling coalition]) came to power in 1991.
While in exile, Abune Merkorios helped prevent Ethiopian churches in the Diaspora from being taken over by the weyane-installed patriarch, Aba Gebremedhin (formerly Aba Paulos) who is viewed by Ethiopians more as a political cadre of the regime than a religious leader.
Abune Merkorios has also helped build several churches, providing spiritual comfort to hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians who scattered around the world. The radio broadcast is intended to expand its spiritual service the church providing to its followers be a voice for the millions of Ethiopians who are being brutalized by the tribal junta in power.
(Source: Ethiopian Review website in English 12 Jun 07 via BBC Monitoring, original post 14 June 2007)