The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is part of the Oriental Orthodox communion, and it was granted autocephaly by Shenouda III, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, in 1994 — a year after Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia. Shenouda III ordained five Eritrean high-ranking clergy as Bishops of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church on 19 June 1994 in Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo. This would allow the formation of a local Holy Synod for Eritrea.