There comes a moment, in the life of nearly every Christian, when faith demands more than words: it demands standing before those who hold power over one’s own life and choosing the truth, even knowing the cost. That was the moment that defined the life of Abune Petros.
Born Haile Maryam in 1882, in the region of Fiche, north of Addis Ababa, he grew up in a peasant family and was educated at the ancient monastery of Debre Libanos, the historic center of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. In 1916 he became a monk.
Recognized for his training and discipline, he went on to teach at various monasteries and even served as spiritual advisor to Ras Tafari, the future Emperor Haile Selassie. On May 29, 1929, he was consecrated bishop in Alexandria, receiving the ecclesiastical name Abune Petros.
When fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, Petros accompanied the emperor to the war front in the north of the country. Faced with the violence of the occupation, including the use of chemical weapons against civilians, he began publicly denouncing what he saw as a crime incompatible with the Christian faith the invaders claimed to profess.
He refused to submit the church and the Ethiopian people to the new power. On July 28, 1936, he joined the patriot forces led by Aberra Kassa in an attack on occupied Addis Ababa. The attack failed, and Petros was captured by Italian troops the following day.
Before the execution, he was offered a deal: he would be freed if he publicly condemned the Ethiopian patriots and stopped denouncing the invasion. He refused. On the night of July 30, 1936, he was shot in a public square in Addis Ababa, before a crowd.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church recognizes him as a martyr, and a monument to his memory still stands in the capital today. His death became a symbol of Ethiopian resistance to foreign occupation.
The life of Abune Petros reminds us that the gospel does not call for silence in the face of injustice, even when the price of speaking is one’s own life. His faithfulness, to the very end, still challenges those who today face the temptation to silence their faith out of fear or convenience.
