After the fall of the Derg regime in Ethiopia in 1991 and the installation of new authorities, Patriarch Merkorios abdicated.
The former Patriarch, Abuna Merkorios, then settled abroad (first in Kenya and then in the United States).
He later announced from his exile that his abdication had been made under coercion and that he was still the legitimate patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
[1][2] In July 2018, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the United States and announced an agreement between the official Ethiopian Orthodox Church led by Patriarch Mathias and Christian communities in the diaspora loyal to Patriarch Abuna Merkorios.
The agreement provides for the return of Merkorios to his country where a residence was prepared for him, and that henceforth the official Church and the diaspora will form only one synod, thus bringing about the end of the exile.