Indian delegates attend funeral ceremony of Orthodox patriarch

August 25, 2012: Delegates from India joined Church leaders from around the world at the funeral of Ethiopian Orthodox patriarch. The funeral ceremony of Abune Paulos, 76, was held at the St. Trinity Cathedral Church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Thursday. The late Ethiopian patriarch was one of the seven serving presidents of the World Council of Churches.

Besides India, representatives from various countries, bishops and heads of Churches including Coptic Church of Egypt and Syria, general secretary of World Churches, representatives of the Vatican and the Greek Orthodox Church attended the funeral ceremony.

The body of Paulos arrived at the cathedral for a religious ceremony in a special coach and escorted by patriarchs, the laity, abbots and abbesses of various monasteries and heads of churches in Addis Ababa. The ceremony was broadcast live on national television and radios.

Born in Adwa in Tigray, Ethiopia's northern province, the patriarch did his education at the Theological College of the Holy Trinity in Addis Ababa under the patronage of Patriarch Abune Tewophilos.