Geleta Berisso

Geleta Tesfaye Berisso (peace studies and theology) has been heading the youth division of one of the largest Ethiopian churches, teaching theology, and coordinating national dialogue facilitation projects in the wake of Ethiopia’s 2020 – 2022 Civil War.

He received a B.A. in theology from Pentecostal Theological College, Addis Ababa, and M.A. in Biblical and theological studies, with a concentration in systematic theology from the Ethiopian Graduate School of Theology. He also holds an M.A. in peace and security studies from Addis Ababa University.

As a Ph.D. student, Geleta is interested in examining the contemporary political, cultural, and religious narratives shaping the perpetuation of destructive beliefs and actions in Ethiopia, and theological rationalizations that back these narratives within the two largest Ethiopian denominations, i.e., the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church and churches under the Ethiopian Council of Gospel Believers' Churches. He seeks to examine how theological principles of the image of God, humanity, and the state challenge these rationalizations, and help reconceive the state, society, church and social justice in Ethiopia.

Geleta is a Notre Dame Presidential Fellow.