Ethiopian Orthodox church

Independent Christian patriarchate in Ethiopia.

Traditionally thought to have been founded by the preaching of the apostle Matthew or the eunuch of the Acts of the Apostles, the church was established in the 4th century by St. Frumentius and his brother Aedesius. Based in Addis Ababa, the church adheres to Monophysite doctrine (see Monophysite heresy). It accepts the honorary primacy of the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria, who appointed its archbishops from the 12th century until 1959, when an autonomous Ethiopian patriarchate was established. Its customs include circumcision, rigorous fasting, and the participation of laypersons known as debtera, who perform liturgical music and dances and act as astrologers, scribes, and fortune-tellers. Its principal adherents are the Amhara and Tigray peoples of the northern and central highlands. See also Coptic Orthodox church.

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▪ church, Ethiopia

also called  Ethiopian Church , Geʿez  Tewahdo 

 independent Christian patriarchate in Ethiopia. The church recognizes the honorary primacy of the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria. It is headquartered in Addis Ababa.

      Ethiopia was Christianized in the 4th century AD by two brothers from Tyre—St. Frumentius (Frumentius, Saint), later consecrated the first Ethiopian bishop, and Aedesius. They won the confidence of King Ezana at Aksum (a powerful kingdom in northern Ethiopia) and were allowed to evangelize. Toward the end of the 5th century, nine monks from Syria, probably non-Chalcedonian, are said to have brought monasticism to Ethiopia and encouraged the translation of the Scriptures into the Geʿez language. The Ethiopian church followed the Coptic church (in Egypt) when the latter continued to adhere to the monophysite doctrine after this doctrine had been condemned by the bishops of Rome and Constantinople at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451.

      In the 7th century the conquests of the Muslim Arabs cut off the Ethiopian church from contact with most of its Christian neighbours. The church absorbed various syncretic beliefs in the following centuries, but contact with the outside Christian world was maintained through the Ethiopian monastery in Jerusalem.

      Beginning in the 12th century, the patriarch of Alexandria appointed the Ethiopian archbishop, known as the abuna (Arabic: “our father”), who was always an Egyptian Coptic monk; this created a rivalry with the native itshage (abbot general) of the strong Ethiopian monastic community. Attempts to shake Egyptian Coptic control were made from time to time, but it was not until 1929 that a compromise was effected: an Egyptian monk was again appointed abuna, but four Ethiopian bishops were also consecrated as his auxiliaries. A native Ethiopian abuna, Basil, was finally appointed in 1950, and in 1959 an autonomous Ethiopian patriarchate was established.

      The Amhara and Tigray peoples of the northern and central highlands have historically been the principal adherents of the Ethiopian Orthodox church, and the church's religious forms and beliefs have been the dominant element in Amhara culture. Under the Amhara-dominated Ethiopian monarchy, the Ethiopian Orthodox church was declared to be the state church of the country, and it was a bulwark of the regime of Emperor Haile Selassie. Upon the abolition of the monarchy and the institution of socialism in the country beginning in 1975, the Ethiopian Orthodox church was disestablished, its patriarch was removed, and the church was divested of its extensive landholdings. The church was placed on a footing of equality with Islām and other religions in the country, but it nevertheless remained Ethiopia's most influential religious body.

      The clergy is composed of priests and deacons, who conduct the religious services, and debtera, who, though not ordained, perform the music and dance associated with church services and also function as astrologers, scribes, wizards, and fortune-tellers and learn church lore. Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity blends Christian conceptions of God, saints, and angels with non-Christian beliefs in benevolent and malevolent spirits and imps (minor devils). Considerable emphasis is placed on the Old Testament. Circumcision is almost universally practiced; the Saturday Sabbath (in addition to Sunday) is observed by some devout believers; the ark is an essential item in every church; and rigorous fasting is still practiced.

      The priesthood of the Ethiopian church, on the whole, is not learned, though there are theological seminaries in Addis Ababa and Harer. Monasticism is widespread, and individual monasteries often teach special subjects in theology or church music. Each community also has its own church school, which until 1900 was the sole source of Ethiopian education. The liturgy and scriptures are typically in Geʿez, though both have been translated into Amharic, the principal modern language of Ethiopia. In the late 20th century the church had about 29,000,000 adherents in Ethiopia and nearly 1,800,000 in Eritrea.

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