The head of the Eritrean Orthodox Church has been relieved of all administrative duties and removed from effective control of the Patriarchate.

Following a Holy Synod held from 6 - 7 August, Patriarch Abune Antonios has been 'frozen' from his post after attempts to unseat him ended in failure, according to an official letter dated 9 August 2005 and leaked to Eritrean website, www.asmarino.com   According to Asmarino.com, the 'freezing' of individuals who fall out of favour with the government is prevalent in Eritrea and is primarily undertaken as an act of humiliation. Article 32 of the constitution of the Orthodox Church states that its administrative body, the Holy Synod, is meant to function under the chairmanship of the Patriarch who is the chief administrator of the church.

However, it would appear that Patriarch Antonios will henceforth be confined to a ceremonial role and is no longer permitted to have any input into the day-to-day running of the Patriarchate. Instead, and contrary to the church's constitution, administrative authority may now rest in the hands of Mr Yoftahe Dimetros, a government-appointed lay person.

In May 2002 the government of Eritrea ordered the closure of all Christian denominations except Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and Evangelical Lutheranism, and ended all other religious practices apart from Islam. However, members of government-sanctioned churches have also experienced repression, and the 'freezing' of the Patriarch is the latest indication of mounting government interference in the internal affairs of Eritrea's largest church.

Since his ordination in April 2004, Patriarch Antonios is said to have become increasingly critical of the government's continual interventions into church matters.

In January 2005, and for the first time ever, the traditional Orthodox Annual Christmas message was not aired on national media after the Patriarch allegedly objected to the detention in November 2004 of three Orthodox priests from the Medhane Alem Church, and accused the government of interfering in church affairs. The Patriarch also opposed requests to close down the church, which is linked to the Orthodox renewal movement and attracts thousands of young people.

More recently, www.asmarino.com  Asmarino.com reports that prior to his removal from administrative duties, the Patriarch had increasingly begun to challenge the regime on spiritual grounds, and had objected to government intrusion through Mr Dimetros in the administration of the Patriarchate. Mr Dimetros himself has become increasingly infamous. It has emerged that Mr Dimetros repeatedly clashed with the Patriarch as he attempted to coerce the Orthodox Church to adopt government inspired policies. Mr Dimetros is also reported to have accompanied an Eritrean Bishop to the seat of the Egyptian Orthodox Church in July in an attempt to persuade the Papacy to replace Patriarch Antonios with this Bishop.

In an indication of Mr Dimetros' current notoriety, a letter dated 30 July 2005 from the Eritrean Orthodox Church in America, called for his 'immediate removal from the illegal position he holds' and his replacement by a bishop who fulfils the criteria outlined in the church's constitution and 'has the interest of the Church and her sacred mission at heart'.

Mervyn Thomas, Chief Executive of CSW, said: "We are dismayed by this unwarranted intervention in the affairs of the Orthodox Church. The discourteous treatment of the Primate of a church that is supposed to have government sanction suggests that in reality the Eritrean regime is attempting to curtail every expression of Christianity in that country."