Members of the Debre Ganet Emmanuel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, in St George’s, as well as those of within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church globally are celebrating the enthronement of a new patriarch.Abune Mathias was enthroned earlier this month in Addis Ababa. The 71-year-old priest has been serving as the archbishop of the church in Jerusalem. He has lived outside of Ethiopia for over 30 years, after going into exile following a coup by Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1974.Abune Mathias is the church’s sixth patriarch and follows in the footsteps of Abune Paulos, who took over the leadership of the church in 1992 and passed away six months ago. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was formerly a part of the Egyptian Coptic Christian Church, until it got its own patriarch in 1959.Debre Ganet Emmanuel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was first established in 1974 by Abuna Yesehaq, who was the Primate of the Church of Ethiopia in the Western Hemisphere. It currently serves about 100 members.“The people are very happy to have a new patriarch installed, because it shows the apostolic tradition continues,” shared the church’s press officer, Haile Maskal.Regular worship services are held every Sunday beginning at 8:30am at the church’s sanctuary on Old Military Road.For more information on the church, call 297-2085.