Princeton Theological Seminary

Abune Paulos: A Gentle Man from an Ancient Land

Many Princeton Seminary graduates from the 1970s and 1980s remember Abune Paulos when he was a fellow student on Princeton’s campus. He was kind, gentle, and always had a twinkle in his eye. He came to PTS as a Th.M. student when he was a priest in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and was known to his classmates and professors as Father Yohannes.

Later he was made a bishop of his church, and returned to his homeland. He was imprisoned without trial for six years when Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed in a coup. But through the efforts of Princeton Seminary President James I. McCord, whom the Abune called “my spiritual father,” he was released unexpectedly and flown to the United States to continue his Ph.D. in church history at the Seminary.

He became the patriarch in 1992 and was head of the almost half of the Ethiopian population who are Orthodox Christians. He was also serving as one of the seven presidents of the World Council of Churches when he died.

Read more about Abune Paulos and his relationship with Princeton Seminary in these articles, one a personal reflection by PTS alumna Barbara Chaapel and one a reflection on the situation in Ethiopia in the 1980 written by PTS alumnus Pashington Obeng.

A memorial service for Abune Paulos will be held on Sunday, September 9 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, 630 Second Avenue (between 34th and 35th Streets) in New York City. All are welcome to attend.

Leave a comment about Abune Paulos.

Posted by Earl KimbleJr at 02/20/2013 02:35:13 PM |

Dear Barbara, Thank you for posting news (and your past beautiful article) about (then) Bishop (now former) Patriarch Paulos. I know he loved you and the Princeton Seminary community; and so many were blessed by this brave and faithful man of God. May God's peace attend him; God's angels enfold him; and God's Spirit receive him, and give comfort to all those who are his family in Christ.
Posted by: Rev. Linda Roberts-Baca ( Email | Visit ) at 8/16/2012 4:47 PM

Dear Barbara, this is such sad news. Abune Paulos was and remained a friend of Princeton Theological Seminary until the end of his life. He not only had a very large picture of his graduation from the Seminary in the hall near his reception room, in an exhibition telling his life's story, there are numerous pictures on the wall from his Princeton days, one that includes you! Paul Rorem and I visited him in June 2011, and on April 6 this year I visited him in Addis to seek his help in relation to a needy monastic community in a remote island of Lake Tana. Abune Paulos showed concern and responded immediately to ensure that help would be on the way. We were also interested in finding ways for his doctoral thesis, written under the supervision of Karlfried Froehlich, to come to publication. He was very aware of his position in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, his role within the larger world of Christian orthodoxy, and of the strategic ecumenical role of his church for Christianity as a whole. May his life courage, his spirit, and his contributions to Ethiopia and abroad not be forgotten, and may those around and near to him be given comfort.
Posted by: Loren Stuckenbruck ( Email ) at 8/17/2012 4:36 AM

Thank you for these beautiful words about our Patriarch. May God bless you and keep you. - Astemari Keristos Semra faithful member of St. Michael Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Englewood NJ
Posted by: Keristos Semra ( Email | Visit ) at 8/18/2012 10:17 PM

Barbara Chaapel introduced me to Bishop Paulos not long after I returned to the seminary to begin work as the Director of Admissions in 1985. The Admissions Office became a regular stop on his sojourn through the campus and I was glad to count myself among his friends. He invited me to worship at Christmas services at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church he helped establish in New York City and I shall never forget the deep spirituality of that service and the sense I had that I was connected to an ancient part of the church so far removed from our mainstream protestant expression of Christian faith--and yet a part of the one body of Christ. I know both too little and too much about the tensions and divisions in Ethiopia around the witness of the Church and the leadership of Abune Paulos. What I will always remember is the grace-filled time I spent in the company of a good friend.
Posted by: Michael Livingston ( Email ) at 8/20/2012 11:24 AM

"Paulus" was one of the first people I met when I came to PTS as a junior in 1978. We had some good conversations over the years I was there as an M.Div., student. I especially remember his telling me about his long imprisonment for really no reason, about how he and his fellow prisoners slept on bare concrete floors for years, and that they expected every day to be executed before night. He told me all this in a normal voice, no fear or anger audible in his voice or visible in his face. Ever since, Paulus has been my mental picture of a Christian martyr and one who suffered for his faith as few of us do and no one else I have met personally. What a loss that he has died, loss to his friends, loss to the world, and loss to the Church.
Posted by: Jane Mills Morrison ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 1:27 PM

Dear Barbara; Thank you so much for sharing this news article on the death of Abune Paulus. I will always remember him as a kind, spiritual and gentle soul. We had many talks on many different subjects. I will cherish our time together forever. 8/24/2012
Posted by: Jessyca Stansbury- McCargo ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 1:44 PM

Bishop Paulos and I would share meals from time to time in the dining hall during the 1980s, and I remember fondly those conversations. I knew he held an important position in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but it was not until we rode into together on the train to New York City that I witnessed how much so. At Penn Station, when we emerged from our track, there was a group of people waiting for him, and when we approached the entire group kneeled with people kissing his hand. That was quite a scene, but more than that, I will remember his kind and gracious spirit. Rest in peace.
Posted by: David Yoo ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 2:00 PM

The Bishop was one of the most amazing people that I remember from my days at PTS. At times, he would speak of his time in prison. This man, so slight in stature, stated that he had lost almost 300 pounds through that ordeal, and he would relate this as if it was just an ordinary thing. He would sit in the basement lounge of Alexander Hall in the evenings, catching the CBS evening news with all of us, and though he stood out in the crowd wearing his unique robes and relics, he related to all of us as if he were just one more student. He had such dignity, and yet he never hesitated to speak with any one of "the least of us." He was also a regular fixture in the Alex basement to watch his two favorite TV shows: "The Dukes of Hazzard," and "Dynasty" (I'm not completely sure about that second one...it could have been "Dallas"?). I would shake my head, and ask him why he liked these shows, and he would wryly respond with a slight smile, "Why Mary, they are about real life! They are great shows!" Such a faithful servant, such a stalwart church leader, such a personality, and such a presence on this Earth: the Bishop will be missed, but thanks be to God that he walked in our midst for a while, and blessed us all!
Posted by: Mary Robinson-Mohr ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 2:03 PM

. Lacy class of 71
Posted by: James A. Lacy ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 3:02 PM

Soon after I arrived at PTS in the 80's I started going to the weight room over by the gym. I always went at odd times to avoid the crowd. On the first day I went to the gym I found myself sharing the room with Bishop Paulos. He wore a shiny Nike workout suit and he sported his traditional head covering. I was intrigued, and after several meetings over weights we became friends. He came to dinner with my wife and me at our apartment in CRW where we would talk about his home, his church and his country. To say the least, Bishop Paulos was an integral part of my theological education at Princeton. He introduced me to world Christianity. He made the classroom study of theology, the bible and Church History come alive as he shaped them through an Orthodox and Ethiopian lens. Kim and I taught him the wonders of quacamole and chips. He taught us about life. I thank God for Bishop Paulos!
Posted by: Larry Coulter ( Email | Visit ) at 8/24/2012 3:23 PM

To have Bishop Paulos bless the University Chapel congregation by using an oversized cross pulled from inside his vestments after receiving his Ph.D. at the 1988 graduation ceremonies was the highlight of the day & a tribute to ecumenism!
Posted by: Gary Knerr ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 4:42 PM

I enjoyed having lunch once in a while with Bishop Paulos, as I called him at the time 1986-1987. I think he was amused by my complete ignorance of the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition. Finally, after all explanation failed to enlighten me, he invited me up to Riverside Church to where he was pastoring a congregation. I was struck by the generous length and openness of the service. Children seemed to be free to come and go as their attention spans allowed, and there was mystery that I had never experienced before. I was surprised to learn over the years that my humble lunch partner and gracious teacher of the Orthodox tradition returned from his exile to become the Patriarch of his nation's Orthodox populace... I thank God that such a great man would take the time to try and educate such a novice as I.
Posted by: Scott Herr ( Email | Visit ) at 8/24/2012 5:40 PM

I knew Bishop Paulos when I was a student in the early '80's. He wore all black and walked with a sadness in his face. He told me he didn't know why they put him in prison for six years and he didn't know why they released him. After I graduated and went to Crescent Ave. Presbyterian Church in Plainfield, NJ, I had him come and speak at an adult ed. forum. Someone from the community called the church in outrage, saying he wasn't a Bishop. The people in the church liked having him come. Kathy Crane, '82
Posted by: Kathy Crane ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 7:39 PM

I am so saddened by the passing of Abune Paulos. I have fond memories of him. I met Bishop Paulos in 1983 when I was an M Div. student. We had many conversations over many meals, sharing from personal testimonies to how to deliver a sermon. We also used to jog from time to time. When he came to Los Angeles, I invited him to a Korean dinner with my parents. He thoroughly enjoyed it as I had enjoyed an Ethiopian meal in New York with him, and with Lori and Dolores.
I was touched by his unwavering faith for God. He devoted his life for Christ and for His church, and he was willing to die for Him. He always had a loving heart for the suffering people of Ethiopia as well as for all the people around the world.
He will surely be missed. I thank God for Abune Paulos' presence in this world, and my he rest in God's loving hands. Esther Kim, '86
Posted by: Esther Eun Kyoung Kim ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 7:53 PM

I met the Abuna in 2005 when I was in Ethiopia to give a paper at a conference given by the WCC and the Vatican on African contributions to world religion. He invited the delegation to visit with him and began sharing "his" country 's religious history It was a magnificent moment. I extend condolences.
Posted by: LaVerne Gill ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 8:57 PM

I met Bishop Paulos as a student in the mid-80's. I remember feeling awed by his spiritual presence and his fierce love for the people he led. I use to study adjacent to him at a carrel hidden away on the top floor of the library; in hopes that some of his genius would drift my way. When he was at study he took off his hat. I would silently admire his beautiful hair. When Bishop Paulos asked any task of me - type a paper, pick up a book - I did it. We became friends. Father Irineu Pop and I attended the defense of his disservation. I will always remember Father Pop saying to him just before we walked into the room where the defense took place, "Now Paulos, don't be too hard on your committee." We all laughed, then we silently entered the room. Bishop Paulos was both soft spoken and brillant in his dissertation defense. I continue to be inspired by him and in memory of him.
Posted by: Laurie Garrett-Cobbina ( Email ) at 8/24/2012 9:08 PM

Abune Paulos was a dear and treasured friend to my family. We first met when I was a student at PTS for the first time. At that time he was Father Yohannes. He was kind and thoughtful. I took a leave of absence and when I returned, Father Yohannes was Bishop Yohannes. We spent lots of time visiting and renewing our friendship. He was also very encouraging and very caring toward my three children. They enjoyed seeing him around the campus and always took time to hear about their various interests. We graduated at the same time, I received an M.Div and he received his Ph.D. We still have a picture of him in our family album. It remains there as a memory of a dear friend. After I was a pastor in Southern California some of his friends from Ethiopia and I had occasion to meet. Learning that he was Abune Paulos was quite exciting we communicated for a time. Abune Paulos was an excellent example of a true pastor and Christian leader. After all he had experienced as a prisoner in Ethiopia, being released to return to Princeton to complete his work, he was not bitter or angry. He was a brother in Christ and an example for all to follow. He is now with the Lord, no more pain or suffering, no more discomfort or sadness. May he rest in peace. The world is a richer place because of him.
Posted by: Mary Newbern-Williams ( Email | Visit ) at 8/24/2012 10:53 PM

No one in my mind stood out as a more remarkable and memorable person at PTS during the early 1980's than Bishop Paulos - the bishop without a country who came to a country without a bishop, as he would say, talking about the Ethiopian Orthodox community he pastored in NYC. I was touched by his humanity - a person of deep spirituality and, because of that, so personable and lovable. I appreciated his modesty, being content to drive around in an old, orange tank-like Volvo, and asking Barlow Buescher and me – two country hicks fresh out of college - to give him driving lessons so he could make his way through the bumper to bumper traffic of NYC to be with his congregation. And while I never had to instruct him to drive more slowly on the roads, he was often telling me to slow down on the seminary sidewalks as I jogged by him running from one class to another - his hand would rise and his gentle voice would say: "Chalie, Chalie, Chalie, you need not hurry. Life needs to be taken at a slower pace." It humored me to find out that he did his own running and workouts, wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt under his robe so he was ready to go for a jog when he left Speer library for the day. And another little seen aspect of his life that brought this patriarch of the church down to earth was his regular viewing of the “night soap-opera” Dallas which he teasingly said he had to watch in order to “better understand what life is really like in the U.S.” I was grateful to experience PTS and formative years of ministry knowing a kind and approachable bishop who wore sweat pants and walked and ran in our shoes.
Posted by: Charlie Lewis ( Email ) at 8/25/2012 12:37 AM

I remember well my conversations with Bishop Paulos while I was studying towards my ThM at Princeton Seminary in the late 1980's. He always took time to talk with me and we conversed on a number of interesting subjects. I was very much impressed with his intelligence, courtesy and spirituality. He was one who radiated love for God, church and humanity. I praise God for the unique opoortunity and privilege to have known him in such a personal way! I am also thankful that today he is resting in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!
Posted by: Eriberto (Eddie) Soto ( Email ) at 8/25/2012 10:19 AM

Abuna Paulos was also a dear friend to me during my time at Princeton. I met him over the Christmas holiday in 1982. He asked me if prisons in the US were like what he had seen the movie “The Birdman of Alcatraz” on television the night before. I said not anymore, that Alcatraz had been shut down because it was inhumane. He replied, “That is not inhumane. That is a hotel.” We spent a lot of time together during those few weeks, and continued to eat most meals together for the additional 2 ½ years I was at Princeton.When we first met, we shared loneliness. As I remember the wonder of the friendship that I shared with the man, many vignettes flash through my mind: far too many to record, but each one somehow precious in shaping the person I have become and each one inviting grief for a friend who has died.

I will take a few minutes to share some of the more poignant moments in our relationship.

As Charlie Lewis remembered, I did have the “good fortune” to teach the Bishop to drive. It was actually old Porsche rather than an old Volvo, but the stories about the same. We would load him up with his robes behind the wheel of the car and trust God would keep us safe. He actually took to driving pretty well and soon really liked to get his foot deeply into the accelerator. The car was so old to did not come with seatbelts and my knuckles turned pretty darn white on numerous occasions. Bishop Paulos loves to laugh and was able to appreciate small gestures and small freedoms that I so willingly take for granted.

When I returned to school in the fall of 1983, after having spent the summer in Walla Walla, Washington, I told the Bishop, even as the newspapers were full of stories of starvation in Ethiopia, that the summer had produced record crops of grain in Washington state. In fact there was so much wheat that it was being piled outside the overfull silos and there are many newspaper articles about trying to control the rodents and birds. That led to a discussion about the fact that, at that time at least, it took 16 pounds of humanly digestible grain to produce 1 pound of beef, 9 pounds of grain for pound of pork and about 2 ½ pounds of grain per pound of chicken. As a finish to that conversation, the Bishop told me he would never eat warm-blooded fresh flesh again. As far as I know, he never did.

When his mother died, he confided in me his embarrassment at not being able to meet the cultural obligations as the oldest son, of providing a banquet to the community in her honor. With the help of some friends, we tapped most of the people that we knew to be friendly to Bishop Paulos for small contributions. It didn't take more than a couple days to raise a couple of thousand dollars which was more than enough to provide the banquet in allow a dear friend to save face.

That lesson and intercultural understanding was reinforced when the bishops brother came to United States, so the Bishop could make sure his needs were being met adequately. We met the brother at the airport and went out for dinner at the Ground Round before we headed back to campus. Holly Selassie, who had been named after the former dictator, was a person with special needs, and was a priest, or a monk, in the Ethiopian Orthodox community. The Bishop was a gentle man who was not above twisting arms to meet his obligations, be they to his brother his church, his people, or his friends.

Perhaps the most significant thing to my faith development had to do with the way, Bishop Paulos established opportunities for the exiled Ethiopian community living throughout the United States. Utilizing contacts and resources that I can only imagine (I am sure much arm twisting), he managed to anchor a congregation that worshiped in one of the chapels of the Riverside Church in New York City. That seemed to me a huge accomplishment, but for the Bishop was only a beginning. By the time I left the seminary the Bishop had created a network of Ethiopian Orthodox congregations across the the United States. I don't remember where all he had churches, but I know by the time I moved away from the Princeton area, it was hard to find time with him as he was on his way to Dallas, or Miami, Los Angeles, or wherever God had called him to establish yet another safe haven for people who found themselves in exile; He loved to be accused of jet-setting

In very profound ways Bishop Paulos also provided me a sanctuary where I could safely appropriate the tremendous teachings that came to me through the many excellent people at Princeton Seminary. His life, his graciousness, his humor, his tenacity, and his forthright spirit were essential to my own formation as human being and as a person of God. I am grieved at his passing but honored that our lives intersected according to God's purpose.
Posted by: Barlow Buescher ( Email ) at 8/25/2012 8:05 PM

A great man of God, whom I had to pleasure of influencing my life at Princeton. I have much personal stories to share as others, but I just praise God for this great man, humble and strong in faith. God is great to bless us with Bishop Paulos.
I remember when he was given a pair of blue jeans, which he wanted to wear, but he always wore his robe. When asked, he wore those jeans under his robe.
He was not only spiritual but fun loving, down to earth... just a great man... of God. We will miss him, but thankful of his blessings to us and also looking forward to seeing him again.
Posted by: Ronald Chu ( Email ) at 8/25/2012 11:49 PM

'Bishop Paulos' was one of the first people I met who really impressed and inspired me when I started at PTS in 1983. His dignity and compassion were always easy to see, but it was his playful spirit that constantly surprised and touched me.

I recall there was a big snowstorm in Princeton in January of 1984, which left enough snow on the ground for me to 'teach' my Southern California friend Esther Eun-Kyoung Kim how to build a snow fort on the quad behind Alexander Hall. Just as we had finished construction of our knee-high 'fort', Bishop Paulos came walking by. Some 'evil' spirit prompted me and Esther to hold up snowballs (which we'd no intention of throwing) and call out to Bishop Paulos, asking if he wanted to have a snowball fight. Instead of the refusal we expected, he quickly bent down and picked up a handful of snow, fashioning it into a snowball. Naturally, we called for an immediate truce, and returned with the Bishop to the Erman Hall lounge to share some hot tea, instead.

No matter how well you knew Bishop Paulos, he never stopped surprising you, in the best possible ways.
Posted by: Lori Patton ( Email ) at 8/26/2012 10:08 PM

In 1988, Bishop Paulos and I were working on the second floor of Speer. The coffee machine always took your money, but almost never produced coffee, even if you shook it. One day I saw Bishop Paulos about to put his money into the slot. "Bishop, that machine almost never produces coffee." "It will for me -- I'm a bishop." His good humor was well as his other special qualities must have affected the machine -- it worked for once.
Posted by: Ken Rothman ( Email ) at 8/28/2012 1:29 PM

We pray that the soul of His Grace Abuna Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church rests in eternal peace. I had the distinct honor of meeting His Eminence more than 20 years ago at Riverside Church where he often celebrated Mass. I was introduced to the Patriarch by my teacher, mentor and spiritual father, His Excellency Dejazmatch Amaha Abera Kassa.
Posted by: Rev. Gary James ( Email | Visit ) at 8/29/2012 7:33 AM

I met Abuna Paulos at one of our History Department colloquia at the home of Karlfried Froehlich in the early 80's. Then Bishop Paulos, he had just arrived from Ethiopia after having been released from house arrest thanks to pressure from Amnesty International and others. Someone had given him a ticket to fly to the World Council of Churches in Geneva; from there he telephoned James McCord, then President of PTS, who brought him back to Princeton to resume his studies toward the PhD. All this he recounted to us with the simple, matter-of-fact charm that was his way. I was so fortunate to be able to get to know him during his student years and further years in exile and then to be in contact now and then over the years. He was such a remarkable person, so devoted to his church, such a dear friend. We will all miss him so much. The sorrow is alleviated only by the many fond memories we all share and gratitude to have known him.
Posted by: Kathleen McVey ( Email ) at 9/3/2012 10:13 AM