Eritrean Patriarch reappears at Sunday Mass a decade after being placed on house arrest

Abune Antonios, the patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, made his first public appearance in a decade at a mass in St. Mary's Cathedral in Asmara on Sunday.

Antonios, who has been under house arrest since 2007, participated in the worship service, which was attended by hundreds of Christian worshippers.

According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), the patriarch's rare appearance has been described by its sources as "a profound answer to many prayers and much pressure." However, the sources noted that it is not yet clear whether the patriarch had been released temporarily or conditionally.

"It is encouraging to hear that Patriarch Antonios was able to participate in a mass after a decade of incommunicado incarceration. We await clarification regarding the terms of his release, and our profound hope is that the patriarch is finally free and will be reinstated unconditionally," CSW chief Mervyn Thomas said in a statement.

"We also remember the tens of thousands of prisoners of conscience of all faiths and none still languishing in indefinite detention in Eritrea, including the four Orthodox priests and eight Protestant leaders, and reiterate our call for their immediate and unconditional release," he said.

The patriarch, who turned 90 on July 12, was placed under house arrest in 2007 after he was expelled from office.

Antonios has been critical of the Eritrean government's increasing interference in church affairs ever since his ordination in 2004.

He drew the ire of the authorities after he refused to excommunicate 3,000 parishioners who opposed the government and called for the release of political prisoners.

He was removed from effective control of the Patriarchate and confined to ceremonial duties in 2005 for raising his objections to the appointment of Mr. Yoftahe Dimetros, a government-affiliated lay person, as administrator of the Church's governing body, the Holy Synod, in contravention to canon law.

In January 2006, he received a letter informing him of his dismissal from office. Later that month, Antonios was replaced by an alternative patriarch, and Dimetros allegedly ordered the confiscation of the patriarch's car and the dismissal of his chauffeur.

In the early hours of May 27, 2007, Antonios was removed from his residence and detained incommunicado in an unknown location.

Eritrea has been ranked in the Open Doors 2017 World Watch List as the 10th worst nation in the world when it comes to persecution of Christians.

Open Doors noted that Eritrea's authoritarian government is "intolerant towards any form of association, dissent and free expression" and it tries to "control all religious institutions," and that was "particularly evident" when Antonios was deposed as the head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church.