Abune Diosqoros (born Diosqoros Hagos Mendefera; 1935 – 21 December 2015) was the fourth

Patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, appointed in April 2007.

Bishop

Born in 1935, Dioskoros was consecrated as bishop of the

Seraye The Provinces of Eritrea existed between Eritrea's incorporation as a colony of Italy until the conversion of the provinces into administrative regions. Overview In Italian Eritrea, the Italian colonial administration had divided the colony into ...

district in the feast of Pentecost on 19 May 1994 by Coptic Orthodox

Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria Pope Shenouda III (; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ϣⲉⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲅ̅ '; ar, بابا الإسكندرية شنودة الثالث '; 3 August 1923 – 17 March 2012) was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See ...

. In 2004 he was transferred to the Diocese of the South West, where was a ruling bishop until his disputed election as the head of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church on 19 April 2007.

Patriarch

Dioskoros' appointment was made possible because the regime in Eritrea changed the rules for the appointment, so that the Holy Synod of the church could assign a layman to be the new Patriarch. The removal of Antonios (1927-2022), the former legal Patriarch, at the behest of the Eritrean government was denounced by

Coptic Coptic may refer to: Afro-Asia * Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya * Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century * Coptic alphabet ...

and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church who have refused to recognize Dioskoros as legitimate Patriarch of Eritrea, as did several Eritrean churches, particularly in the diaspora, which continued to endorse his predecessor. The former Patriarch Antonios, who was removed from the post after having criticized the Eritrean government for interference in church affairs, has been held under house arrest by the regime in Eritrea since 2005. In October 2014 the Union of Eritrean Monasteries issued a decree excommunicating Dioskoros' governmental allies, the priest Habtom Russom Habte and the layman Yoftahe Dimetros Gebre-mariam, citing a long list of alleged abuses during their administration during Doskoros' reign. However Dioskoros was not directly excommunicated in the process. The Eritrean Government accused several monks of being a major force behind the excommunication letter. A number of the monks allegedly involved decided to escape and take refuge in Ethiopia. Dioskoros died on 21 December 2015. Since his death, the position of patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church fell vacant until 2021, with the election of Qerlos.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dioskoros, Abune 1935 births 2015 deaths Eritrean Orthodox Christians Eritrean Oriental Orthodox Christians Patriarchs of Eritrea