Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Abdulazez Al-Motairi

April 22, 2008

Also called Ethiopian Church, Geez Tewahdo independent Christian patriarchate in Ethiopia holding to Monophysite (q.v.) doctrine, that is, that Christ has only one nature. The church recognizes the honorary primacy of the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria. It is headquartered in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Church is famous for its Islamophobia from 17th Century, after Islamic armed movement declared war against Abyssinian´s centuries old Christian leadership and merely defeated them. Islam entered Ethiopia permanently as fundamental believe in 16th Century by Arab Traders and Preachers, which lead 65% of Ethiopian to embrace Islam. Islamic history showed First Muslim Immigration by Sahaba of Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) to Ethiopia to save their religion from "Idol worshipers" in Makka of Arab decedents. Islamic History says first Islamic Funeral Prayer in absentee was performed by Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) from Madinah on Najashi (The King of Abyssinian) after his death in Harare City.

Ethiopia was Christianized in the 4th century AD by two brothers from Tyre—St. Frumentius, 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 Monophysites, are said to have brought monasticism to Ethiopia and encouraged the translation of the Scriptures into the Geez 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 neighbors. 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 affected: 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 Geez, 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.

Abyssinian Name:

Breed of domestic cat, probably of Egyptian origin, that has been considered to approximate the sacred cat of ancient Egypt more closely thanany other living cat. The Abyssinian is a lithe cat with relatively slender legs and a long, tapering tail. The short, finely textured coat is ruddy reddish brown, with individual hairs of the back, sides, chest, and tail distinctively ticked, or tipped, with bands of black or brown. The nose is red, the eyes are hazel, green, or gold, and the tail tip and backs of the hindlegs are black. The Abyssinian is noted for being affectionate and quiet, though generally shy with strangers.

Amhara

People of the Ethiopian central highlands, The Amhara are one of the two largest ethnolinguistic groups in Ethiopia (the other group being the Oromo). They constitute almost one-third of the country's population. The Amharic language is an Afro-Asiatic language belonging to the Southwest Semitic group. It is related to Geez, the sacred literary language of the Ethiopian Orthodox church, an ancient religion preserved virtually intact from the Monophysite Christianity of the Byzantine church of the 5th century. The Amhara, along with the Tigray peoples, are the principal adherents of this church.

The Amhara long dominated the history of their country; Amharic was the official language of Ethiopia until the 1990s, and it remains important. As descendants of a southward movement of ancient Semitic conquerors who mingled with indigenous Cushitic peoples, they inhabit much of the central and western parts of present-day Ethiopia. All except one of the country's emperors from 1270 to 1974 were Amhara; this dominance created competitive quarrels between the Amhara and their northern neighbours, the Tigray, and other Ethiopian ethnic groups, such as the Oromo. Tensions rose between the Amhara and the Oromo during the period of socialist rule (1974–91), as the Oromo claimed an increasingly prominent rolein the nation's social and political affairs. After 1991 a measure of Amhara sentiment was directed against the Tigray, who had gained influence during the struggle against the Marxists.


The Amhara are primarily agriculturists, producing corn (maize), wheat, barley, sorghum, and teff (Eragrostis abyssinica), a cereal grass that is grown for its grain and is a staple of the region. Traditionally, Amhara social structure was dominated bystrong personalized ties between patrons and clients, superiors and inferiors. Generally, a man's importance was in direct proportion to the amount of land he owned. A man of wealth whoowned no land, such as a merchant, had little influence. Under the imperial system, land was granted to titled nobles in return for military service to the emperor. The land was farmed by tenant clients. Even in family life all privilege and authority devolved from the patriarch.

Descent is reckoned patrilineally, and married couples usually reside near the husband's home. The Amhara practice three types of marriage: kal kidan, qurban, and damoz. Kal kidan (also called serat or semanya ["eighty"]) is marriage by civil contract. It is by far the most common form, though a great percentage of such unions end in divorce. Qurban marriages are performed in church and are regarded as sacred; they cannot be dissolved, even after the death of one partner, except in extraordinary circumstances. Because of these restrictions, it is the least common form of marital union; most couples choosing to celebrate the rite are already long married under kal kidan and have children.

Qurban also is the only type of wedlock into which Ethiopian Orthodox priests may enter. First marriages of the kal kidan or qurban types are normally arranged by the parents. The third type of marriage—that with the lowest status—is damoz, an arrangement by which the woman is paid to be a temporary wife, most often for a period of one or two months. While the woman in a damoz relationship receives no claim to the estate of her transient husband, children born undersuch unions are considered legitimate. Damoz unions were outlawed from the mid-20th century, but they continued in practice.

Note:

Selling cotton at the Amharamarket in Lalībela, Ethiopia.

Oromo:

Largest community in Ethiopia in middle of lowlands, 90% of Oromo practice Islam as fundamental religion, Islam was introduced to Oromo in 16th century with neighboring Somali Community. Oromo has anti-Ethiopian armed movements and recently accused receiving military support and training from Eritrea. Current President of Ethiopia is from Christian Minority of Oromo, where Muslims has little access to government due to their armed struggle.

Tigray:

Also spelled Tigrai, or Tegray, people of central Eritrea and of the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. The Tigray speak Tigrinya, a Semitic language related to Geez and to Tigré, the language of a separate people (the Tigre) inhabiting northwestern Eritrea.

The Tigray are descendants of a Semitic people who intermixed with the Cushitic inhabitants of the region and founded the Christian kingdom of Aksum, which had its capital in the historic region of Tigray. The Tigray are a sedentary agricultural people. Most, along with the neighbouring Amhara people, are adherents to the Ethiopian Orthodox church. Despite the religious and cultural similarities between the Tigray and the Amhara, linguistic differences and political rivalry (often erupting into warfare) have separated the two groups.

In the late 20th century the Tigray accounted for nearly half of the population of Eritrea and less than one-tenth of the population of Ethiopia. Compare Tigre (people).

Habshi:

African and Abyssinian slaves in pre-British India. The name derives from the Arabic word Habashī, meaning Abyssinian, through its Persian form. Such slaves, frequently employed by the chiefs of Muslim India, especially in the Deccan, were believed to have great physical prowess and ability and a lack of personal ties, which promoted loyalty.

Many Habshī rose to high office and some became independent. The most famous of them was Malik Ambar of Ahmadnagar, who defied the Mughals for many years. Habshī in western India, the Sidis of Janjira, commanded the fleet of the Bijāpur sultan and became independent chiefs. They defied the Marāthās and in 1670 transferred their allegiance to the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. They accepted British supremacy and maintained their state until 1948, when it was integrated with the Bombay state of the new Indian Union.

Religion:

Christianity was introduced to Ethiopia in the 4th century, and the Ethiopian Orthodox church (called Tewahdo in Ethiopia) is one of the oldest Christian sects in the world. The church has long enjoyed a dominant role in the culture and politics of Ethiopia, counting more than half of all Ethiopians (including most of the Amhara and Tigray) among its adherents and having served as the official religion of the ruling elite until the demise of the monarchy in 1974. It also has served as the repository of Ethiopia's literary tradition and its visual arts. The core area of Christianity is in the highlands of northern Ethiopia, but its influence is felt in the entire country.

Islām was introduced in the 7th century and is now practiced by more than half of Ethiopians. It is most important in the outlying regions, particularly in the Eastern Lowlands, but there are local concentrations throughout the country. Traditionally, the status of Islām has been far from equal with that of Christianity. However, the emperor Haile Selassie gave audiences to Muslim leaders and made overtures in response to their concerns, and under the Derg even more was done to give at least symbolic parity to the two faiths. Nevertheless, the perception of Ethiopia as "an island of Christianity in a sea of Islām" has continued to prevail among both highland Ethiopians and foreigners.

About one-tenth of Ethiopians are animists who worship a variety of African deities. They are primarily located in the Western Lowlands and speak a variety of Nilotic languages, such as Kunama.

Judaism has long been practiced in the vicinity of the ancient city of Gonder. Most of the Ethiopian Jews—who call themselves Beta Israel but also have been known as Falasha—have relocated to Israel as part of Israel's policy to collect Jewish into their original land of Palestine after British and American assistance occupation in beginning of 19th century.

Compiled by Abdulaziz Al-Mutairi

Email: az.almutairi@yahoo.com

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