Afan Oromo Language Book of Liturgy Inaugurated
The Book Liturgy of the Ethiopian Orthodo0x Tewahido Church has been translated into Oromoiffa. The inauguration ceremony of the newly published Book of Liturgy was held last week on March 19, 2016, at Elili International Hotel, Addis Ababa
His Holiness Abune Mathias, Archbishops, former Ethiopian President Girma Wolde-Giorgis, officials of the Oromia region, administrators and staff members of Addis Ababa Diocese, Oromifa speaking intellectuals and believers attended the inauguration ceremony.
The committee tasked with the project consisted of four members from the council of intellectuals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and five additional scholars, and was led by four Oromiffa speaking archbishops: His Grace Abune Henok, His Grace Abune Sawiros, His Grace Abune Yared and His Grace Abune Ewostatewos. The translation was meticulously observed and edited by scholars of Addis Ababa University and native speakers of the language. The book consists of different dialects to make it comprehensive and inclusive of all Oromiffa speakers.
In his welcoming speech to the invited guests who attended the program, His Grace Abune Sawiros, archbishop of Western Shewa diocese, recalled the significant role the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church played in producing God-fearing generation. He said, “The church led its children on a path of civilization by illuminating the light of knowledge through the invention of unique Alphabets with their syllables before the establishment of the modern ministry of education. So, she has been praised forever for her contribution.” His Grace also congratulated the participants of the ceremony on the translation of the Book and thanked the parties involved in the project.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, His Holiness noted that the translation of the Book of Liturgy, which consists of the 14 Anaphoras, is aimed at enabling the Church’s Oromo fellowship to worship and praise God in their native tongue. He added, “This proves that our church is all inclusive and has been serving its children equally. We will also devise long and short term plans to translate the Book into the languages of the country’s diverse nations and nationalities.
His Grace Abune Henok, archbishop of western Wellega (Qelem and Assosa) diocese, on his part said,“The translation work started in 1998 E.C and took 10 years to complete. Some anti-Orthodox groups have tried to politicize our faith saying Ethiopian Orthodox church is a faith of certain ethnic groups. Now, this work is a turning point for this stereotype. The original Ge’ez language and its Yaredic hymn are preserved without modification and no one touches it. The Ethiopian Ge’ez language is a center of unity and unifies all nations and nationalities.” 
Participants of the event also expressed their delight over the translation of the Book of Liturgy into Oromiffa. The newly published Book consists of three columns: Ge’ez, Amharic, Afan Oromo (Latin alphabet letters). Each copy is available for sale at a price of ETB 375.00.