Ethiopia Tigray crisis: Warnings of genocide and famine
His Holiness Abune Matthias - an ethnic Tigrayan himself - explained that since the outbreak of conflict in November between the Ethiopian military and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), his "mouth had been sealed, unable to speak from fear".
Abune Matthias' emotional statement resonated with many Tigrayans, who are deeply traumatized by the violence in their region. More than two million people have been displaced in the conflict.
Through protests in capitals around the world and via social media, members of the diaspora have united to campaign against what they insist is genocide.
The Ethiopian government rejects reports of mass atrocities as exaggerated and politically motivated. Breaking with the traditional hierarchy of the Ethiopian church, the Orthodox Synod distanced itself from the patriarch's statement.
In popular parlance, genocide is the crime of crimes - the very worst on the books. It evokes a special outrage - campaigners against genocide call for exceptional international responses, including military intervention, to stop it.