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| Abune Paulos headed the church since 1992 |
The head of
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos, has died aged 76, an official has
told the BBC.
The news
was confirmed by Mulugeta Aserate Kassa, an adviser at the Ethiopian embassy in
London.
He suffered
a heart attack, according to opposition website Ethiopian Review.
No funeral
details have been released, but Abune Paulos is expected to receive a state
funeral. About half of Ethiopia's population are estimated to be Orthodox
Christians.
Mr Mulugeta
told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme the patriarch had been "very healthy"
on Wednesday, when he led a service in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
'Pragmatist
at heart'
He later
fell ill and was rushed to hospital, said Mr Mulugeta, a close friend of the
patriarch.
The
patriarch died early on Thursday morning, he added.
Mr Mulugeta
said he could not confirm the cause of death, but the patriarch had suffered
from hypertension and diabetes.
Abune
Paulos was chosen to lead the church in 1992 - a year after the overthrow of
the communist government of Mengistu Haile Mariam.
"He
brought the church in line to meet the challenges of the 21st Century," Mr
Mulugeta said.
"He
was a pragmatist at heart."
He was
jailed under Mengistu and then went into exile in the US.
Critics
accused him of being close to current Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who has also
been ill recently.
Abune
Paulos was the first person from the Tigray ethnic group - the same as Mr Meles
- to head the country's Orthodox Church, Mr Mulugeta said.
"He
was loved by many," he added.
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