Career
This was possible because the regime in Eritrea changed the rules for the appointment, so that the Holy Synod of the church could assign a layman to be the new Patriarch. So do several Eritrean churches particularly in the diaspora and continue to endorse his predecessor. The former Patriarch Abune Antonios, who was removed from the post after having criticized the Eritrean government for interference in church affairs, has been held under house arrest by the regime in Eritrea since 2005.
In October 2014 the Union of Eritrean Monasteries issued a decree excommunicating Dioskoros" governmental allies, a priest and a layman, citing a long list of alleged abuses.
However Dioskoros was not directly excommunicated.