The Eritrean community on the west side is tightknit and revolves around the D.G. Kidane Mhret Cathedral Eritrean Orthodox Church, where hundreds of people gather for prayer on Sundays.
“You know everyone here,” said church member Salma Foto. “Even if you don’t really know them, they’re somehow related to you in the end.”
The east African country of Eritrea has only existed for about 30 years. It’s located on the Horn of Africa and used to be a part of Ethiopia before separating in 1991. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 500 Eritrean-born persons have made Marion County their home, and many Hoosiers of Eritrean descent have been born since then.
The close relationship among community members lets them share in one another’s success, especially when it involves the next generation of Eritreans.
Clergy at the West Indianapolis church held a commemoration ceremony June 23 for 13 church members who recently graduated from high school and college.
The intersection of Belmont Avenue and Wyoming Street is a busy place Sunday mornings. Parishioners of both the Eritrean church and other nearby churches park along Rhodius Park to attend services. Eritrean parishioners wear white garments called a netsela to services.
The church celebrated the graduations of 13 congregants. Although the church is located on the west side, families live throughout the city.
Foto and her friend Bethlehem Zerom, both 18, have known each other since birth and have remained close despite living in different parts of the city and attending different schools.
Both are first generation Eritrean Americans. Foto graduated from Avon High School and plans to study nursing at Ivy Tech Community College. Zerom graduated from Herron High School and plans to study psychology at IU Indianapolis.
Both credit the Eritrean community with helping them achieve academic success now and in the future.
“It’s not just your family that wants to help you succeed,” Foto said. “Literally everyone here wants to help each other however they can.”
Services last several hours, and there are often more church members than there are seats. Some members wait in other parts of the church. Parishioners are expected to remove their shoes after entering the church lobby. The sign on the door is written in Tigrinya, the language spoken by most Eritreans, and quotes Exodus 3:5, where God says, “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”
Graduates on June 23 waited in the hallway to be called up for the commemoration ceremony. Some of the graduates said they’ve noticed a boom in the Eritrean population recently.
“I think there’s been a lot of growth, especially in the last seven years,” said Cokeb Gebrehiwet, 22, who recently graduated from DePauw University with a degree in communication.
Many children are present at Sunday services at the church. Some sit quietly with their parents, and others roam throughout.
During the commemoration, recent graduates are called to stand before the congregation to receive blessings. Services are held in Geʽez, the Eritrean Orthodox Church’s liturgical language, similar to how some Roman Catholic churches hold mass in Ecclesiastical Latin or how the Greek Orthodox Church uses Koine Greek.
Although the language used is an important part of church tradition, some church members said the underlying message of the services and commemorations are what are most important.
“It’s important for students to know that the church always thinks about them,” said Million Tesfamaryam, a deacon at the church. “The biggest thing is that teenagers learn that this church is their church.”
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @heyEnriqueSaenz
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