Orthodox Religious Figure. He shall be remembered for his 20 year tenure as Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and spiritual leader to its 40 million members. Born Gebre Medhin Wolde Yohannes to a religious family, he entered a monestary as a young man and was ordained a priest. Following study at the College of the Holy Trinity in Addis Ababa he was sent to St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary of Crestwood, New York, and thence to Princeton University. Recalled home upon the 1974 overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie, he was consecrated Bishop, taking the name Abune (or 'Abuna') Paulos. Jailed by the Communist Mengistu regime he was held until 1983 when he was exiled to the United States. Resuming his doctoral studies at Princeton, he was named Archbishop-in-exile in 1986 then with the 1991 fall of Communism and the abdication of Abuna Merkorios, who continues to live in America as Patriarch-in-exile, under circumstances that remain unclear, found himself called back and in 1992 installed as Patriarch. Though some accused him of being too close to the Meles government he was praised for his ecumenical initiatives and for his work on behalf of refugees and AIDS victims. Instrumental in recovering one of the ten 'tabots', images of the Ark of the Covenant taken to the British Museum in 1868, he was also to improve educational opportunities in his country and to see the restoration of Holy Trinity Cathedral. The Patriarch received the Nansen Medal from the United Nations for his refugee efforts, held the title Knight Grand Collar of the Order of the Eagle of Georgia and the Seamless Tunic of our Lord Jesus Christ, and served as one of the seven presidents of the World Council of Churches. Though afflicted with hypertension and diabetes he remained active and died after an illness of less than a day.