After horrific violence that left dozens dead and caused partial internet outages, the powerful Ethiopian Orthodox Church said late on Wednesday that it had achieved an accord with a dissident synod from the Oromiya area.
Just as Ethiopia begins to move past a two-year war in the northern Tigray province that claimed tens of thousands of lives until a truce was reached in November, the schism threatened to bring new instability to Africa’s second most populous country.
In the ensuing confrontations between supporters and detractors, in which the church claimed at least 30 people were killed, they proclaimed themselves archbishops and established their own governing council.
Under the agreement reached on Wednesday, which was signed in front of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the Orthodox Church pledged to reinstall the three clergies as well as provide funds and supplies to churches all around Oromiya.