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Eritrean Community
The Eritrean Church is a breakaway group from the ancient Ethiopian Church. It was established when Eritrea proclaimed itself an independent nation from Ethiopia a number of years ago. Neither the Ethiopian Church nor the Eritrean Church are in communion with the Orthodox Church, and they have not been since the mid-5th century, having refused to accept the doctrinal definitions of the fourth ecumenical council in Chalcedon. In the US, many Ethiopians and Eritreans have embraced the Orthodox faith, and it is incorrect to assume that just because someone is Ethiopian or Eritrean, that he or she is a member of the Ethiopian or Eritrean Churches, just as it would be wrong to assume that all Italians are Roman Catholic or that all Swedes are Lutheran. In the many parishes in which one finds parishioners of Ethiopian or Eritrean ancestry, they have been received into the Church as appropriate. Similarly, one could find individuals of Italian or Irish or Swedish ancestry in our parish, yet does not assume that because they are Irish or Swedish or Italian that the priest is giving communion to a Catholic or a Lutheran. Obviously they've embraced Orthodox Christianity, and the same holds for Ethiopians, Eritreans, Armenians, Egyptians. Such is the case at St. Paul’s in Las Vegas, as well as many, many other OCA parishes. "Ethiopian" and "Eritrean" are ethnic designations, not religious ones; in those countries, one will even find many Muslims. The Church embraces all who embrace her, regardless of ethnic background.
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