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The experience offered insights into Ethiopia’s diverse religious landscape, communities, and longstanding traditions of coexistence and hospitality.
KAICIID is an intergovernmental organization founded to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue, fostering peaceful coexistence and cooperation among communities and countries.
The programme in Ethiopia brought together academics, youth leaders, civil society professionals, and dialogue practitioners from diverse contexts around the world, fostering a global network committed to peacebuilding, mutual understanding, and cooperation.
Prof. Dr Angeliki Ziaka, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive for interreligious dialogue and cooperation and Ecumenical Institute at Bossey professor, participated in the KAICIID fellows’ learning journey, contributing to the exchange of knowledge, experience, and practice in interreligious dialogue alongside fellows from diverse institutional, religious, and geographical backgrounds.
During her stay in Addis Ababa, Ziaka also paid an informal visit to His Holiness Patriarch Abune Mathias of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The visit offered an opportunity to gain deeper insight into the church’s ministry to millions of faithful, its constructive relations with other faith communities, and its ongoing witness and mission in Ethiopia.
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Holy Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa, photo: KAICIID
Referring to her visit to the Patriarchate of Ethiopia, Ziaka noted: “The visit was particularly moving, as Ethiopian Christianity brought the continuity of centuries vividly into the present, while His Holiness’s blessing and gentle kindness gave the encounter a deeply meaningful and memorable character.”
Reflecting on the KAICIID experience, she added: “In a world marked by complex challenges and deepening divisions, the KAICIID International Fellows Programme creates a valuable space for learning, trust-building, and meaningful cooperation among Fellows from diverse contexts, united by a shared commitment to peace, mutual understanding, and cooperation for the life of the world.”
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The Holy Patriarchate of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Photo: WCC
