Order of Preachers, Dominicans

The Order of Preachers was founded in 1216 by St. Dominic de Guzman. The Order was granted the right to preach, a privilege traditionally reserved to bishops, to counteract the Albigensian heresy. Since then, the Order has been engaged in preaching, carried out in various means like catechesis in a dehumanized world, evangelization in the context of diverse cultures, justice and peace, and human communication through mass media.

The presence of the Dominicans in this country was occasioned by the project of establishing the Catholic University of Ethiopia. The project was offered in 2001 and the Order responded by sending a team in October 2002.

On 22 July 2003, the Archbishop of Addis Ababa together with the other bishops of the country, accompanied by the former Nuncio, the Archbishop Silvano Tommasi, visited the Dominican Generalate at Santa Sabina, Rome, and met with the Socius to the Master for Africa and some members of the Dominican Team. Another ocular visit was conducted from 24 June to 7 July 2003.

On 20 October 2003, the Archbishop Berhaneyesus Souraphiel, CM, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE), and Rev. Fr. Carlos Azpiroz Costa, OP, the Master of the Order of Preachers, signed the Memorandum of Agreement on the fundamentals that would serve as basis of the working relationship between the CBCE and the Dominicans towards the establishment and the operation of the university.

On 22 December 2003, the Dominican House of St. Augustine of Hippo was erected by the Master of the Order in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Three Filipino Dominicans: Rogelio B.Alarcon (Superior of the House), Jose Rizal S.M. Dimapilis and Frank F. Beltran all of the Philippine Dominican Province, were assigned by the Master of the Order to form the core group of the Catholic University of Ethiopia – St. Thomas Aquinas project.

On October 7, 2008, on the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, the Ethiopian Catholic University of St. Thomas Aquinas (ECUSTA) was formally opened. The new Dominican Friars graced the inauguration. Fr. Greg Gregory, OP - the disignate Director for student affairs (and who just assumed the post of superior of the Dominican House of St. Thomas Augustine of Hippo by the appointment of the Master of the Order of Preachers on August 23, 2008) and Bro. Raymundo Bayaras, OP - the appointed director for financial affairs of ECUSTA. The two new friars became the new members of the community of Dominicans residing at the Dominican House of St. Augustine of Hippo in place of Frs. Dimapilis, Lapitan and Castillo, who have long been out of Ethiopia, with the later having been elected as prior of the convent of St. Mary Maggiore in Rome, Italy.

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Address / 2008

Addis Ababa

Dominican House of St. Augustine of Hippo
P.O. Box 27757/1000, Addis Abeba
Tel: 00.251.011.662.57.23
E-Mail: domfriars_adababa@yahoo.com

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MEMBERS OF THE ORDER OF PREACHERS, 2008

No.	Name	Ordination	Location
1.	Fr. Greg Gregory	25.03.95	Addis Ababa
2.	Bro. Raymundo Bayaras, OP.	16.07.71 (Proffesion)	Addis Ababa
3.	Fr. Rogelio Alarcon	31.05.64	Addis Ababa

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This page was last updated on 05/11/2009