Remembering Abune Petros

Abune Petros (born Haile Maryam, ca. 1882/1892 – executed on July 29, 1936) was an Ethiopian Orthodox bishop and martyr, remembered as a central spiritual figure in the resistance against the occupation of Ethiopia by fascist Italy.

Petros was born into a farming family in Fiche (Selale, northern Shewa) and entered Ethiopian Orthodox monastic life at a young age, where he took the name Abba Haile Mariam (“Abba Haile Mariam” - “Father (Abba) ‘Power of the Holy Mary’” or freely: “The Reverend whose name means ‘Power of Mary’”). After serving as abbot in monasteries such as Debre Menkirat in Wolaita and St. Mary at Lake Zeway, he was appointed in 1928 as one of the first native Ethiopian bishops – a milestone in the church's departure from exclusive Egyptian (Coptic) episcopal leadership. Under the episcopal name Abune Petros, he became the bishop of Wollo and Eastern Ethiopia, based in Dessie. There, he was known for his pastoral care, preaching, and teaching in Central and Eastern Ethiopia. When Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935/36, Abune Petros accompanied Emperor Haile Selassie to the front and provided pastoral support to soldiers and civilians. Witnessing the use of chemical weapons and massacres, he ordered prayers and fasting in his churches and began to publicly condemn colonialism, atrocities, and the occupation. He rejected offers from Italian authorities and even some church leaders to recognize King Vittorio Emanuele as “Emperor of Ethiopia,” insisting that only the legitimate Ethiopian government and Haile Selassie could be recognized. Italy had colonies in Eritrea and Somalia since the late 19th century and aimed for a coherent colony called "Africa Orientale Italiana," which was also supposed to include Ethiopia (Abyssinia). After the heavy Italian defeat at Adua in 1896, Ethiopia remained one of the few formally independent states in Africa and became a symbol of African sovereignty. Mussolini linked the attack on Ethiopia with the vision of a new Roman-Fascist Empire and a "place in the sun" for Italy to secure the status of a great power. This was the last major colonial conquest war, fought with massive violence and modern weapons – including poison gas – and it formally ended in 1941 with the expulsion of the Italians by British-Ethiopian troops. Abune Petros was arrested after collaborating with resistance forces in the northern provinces of Shewa and Wollo and was brought to a public show trial in Addis Ababa. On July 29, 1936, he was executed by a firing squad in his bishop's robes in a public square (near Arada/Central Addis Ababa) in front of a gathered crowd of Ethiopians and Italian officers. Before his death, he delivered a final speech condemning the invasion, blessing the people, and pronouncing a curse on the people and the land of Ethiopia should they ever voluntarily submit to foreign rule – a formulation that later became a strong symbol of anti-colonial patriotism. Particularly well-known is the passage of his speech in which he refers to the occupiers as true "bandits" and the resistance fighters as patriots striving for freedom. A central recorded wording states, in essence: The fascists are the true bandits because they came from afar to violently occupy a peaceful country. The patriots are people who wanted freedom from the terror rule of fascism. He asks God to give the people in Ethiopia the strength to never capitulate before the fascist army and its violence. Additionally, his words to the Italian officers are recorded: He could not accept the ultimate demand to legitimize the occupation because "the cry of my countrymen, who died from your poison gas and your terror machine," prevents his conscience from doing so. How could he stand before God if he silently closed his eyes to such a crime? After the liberation of Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie ordered the establishment of a monument for Abune Petros at the site of his execution in Addis Ababa. This monument remains an important place of remembrance for the resistance to this day. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church later canonized him as a martyr and saint, and a monastery was named after him in his hometown of Fiche. His story and his last words inspired literary and artistic works, including poems by Tsegaye Gabre-Medhin, and he is widely regarded as a symbol of unwavering faith, national dignity, and Ethiopia's anti-fascist struggle. The Ethiopian state and government-affiliated media often portray Abune Petros as a national martyr who stands for the unity and sovereignty of Ethiopia against foreign aggression. His name and image appear in textbooks, memorial events, and national narratives about the struggle against fascism, often alongside other patriots from the occupation period. In this official culture of remembrance, his religious role is emphasized, but politically framed in a way that highlights loyalty to the state and the defense of the state order. Thus, Abune Petros serves as a figure of identity, linking historical willingness to sacrifice with present-day loyalty to the state. At the same time, opposition actors, particularly from broader circles (such as those close to Fano), utilize the figure of Abune Petros to legitimize current struggles against government policies perceived as "oppressive." In media contributions and political commentary, his name is often directly linked to current conflicts over violence, repression, or centralization, so that his martyrdom serves as a historical precedent for morally justified resistance. In these discourses, Abune Petros appears less as a state-integrated national hero and more as a spiritual accuser against injustice in general – whether this injustice comes from foreign occupiers or from his own government. This makes him a symbolic figure with which today's opposition movements can historically "extend" themselves and position themselves within a continuity of resistance. Abune Petros had biographical connections to regions such as Wollo and played an important role in the patriotic resistance there. In regional discourses, he is therefore sometimes emphasized as a "local" martyr to profile local identity and victim history against the national meta-narrative. Such regional appropriations can increasingly connect the national figure with ethnopolitical interpretations – for example, as evidence that certain regions or groups have bled particularly for the defense of the country. This embeds his memory in internal Ethiopian negotiations around recognition, marginalization, and historical justice. Quotes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abune_Petros https://www.hungarianconservative.com/articles/culture_society/the-ethiopian-genocide-and-the-rise-of-abune-petros/ https://www.facebook.com/ethiopiansforconstitutionalmonarchy/posts/in-memory-of-the-martyrdom-of-abune-petros-bishop-of-wollo-who-was-gunned-down-8/808028978129572/ https://x.com/RisingEthiopia/status/1950285271905280224 https://www.youtube.com/watchv=lSL0E9NpYuc https://medium.com/@tinabelayw/two-legends-one-legacy-remembering-abune-petros-through-tsegayes-poetic-soul-066a7c821b79