Ethiopia

Land of the Ancient Christians

There is a land of sailing ships [or whirring wings - locusts?], a land beyond the rivers of Cush [Ethiopia] which sends its envoys by the Nile, journeying on the waters in vessels of reed. Go, swift messengers, go to a people tall and smooth-skinned [or bronzed], to a people dreaded near and far, a nation strong and proud, whose land is scoured [criss-crossed] by rivers." - Isaiah 18:1-2

by Iyassu Demissie

For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. Jhon 3:16

To read Jhon 3:16 in Amharic script click next."Yohannes Sost Asra Sidist"
It is popularly accepted by historians that Christianity was introduced to Ethiopia in the 4th century by Frumentius (Abba Salama in Ethiopic sources) of Alexandria. This assumption, though containing truth in it, is misleading. It is misleading because it implies Christianity was introduced for the first time at the time of Frumentius, while Christianity was present inside Ethiopia before the time of Frumentius. Axum in its hey day included most of Northern Africa and Southern Arabia and its cultural influence was wide spread even more so. Its, Axum's, subjects, many of them, were followers of Judaism and would have traveled to the Holy City "Yerusalayim"( Jerusalem). While in Jerusalem they certainly would be introduced to Christianity. The possibilty of this is demonstrated in the Bible in the story of the Ethiopian envoy of the Queen Candace. Even so inspite of the early contact with Christianity the Ethiopian people remained loyal to their religion of Judaism and even after the conversion to christianity the early christian churches were known as "messianic Jewish Synagogues" in Ethiopian tradition. But in the fourth century something happened that gave Christianity a chance to pervade all the corners of the Axumite empire. The philosopher Meropuis decided to take a young man from Pheonocia named Frumentuis of Tyre to an educational journey to the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea. On their way they were shipwrecked in the Red Sea in Axumite territory. Frumentuis survived the wreck and was rescued and taken inland into the capital Axum by the Ethiopians but the philosopher Meropuis was not fortunate enough, he died somewhere in Axumite territory in the shipwreck or after it. Young Frumentius stayed in the house of a jewish priest called Anbaram who was pro-christian. Later on Frumentius was taken to the royal house of Axum where he tutored the young heir to the throne named Ezana and his brother. Not long after that Frumentius become a high government official and he was able to preach Christianity and encourage christian merchants from the Hellenized world to build churches in Axum and around it. Later Frumentius was allowed by the Axumite king to go to Alexanderia to study for priesthood. After the completion of his studies he was ordained a priest and was also made Bishop of Axum by Athanasuis the Great.

Saint Frumentius
When Frumentius returned to Axum he baptised his step-father the jewish priest Anbaram and also his previous student and now the king of Axum Ezana and his brother Shizana. Both brothers changed their name after their baptism into Abraha(Lightmaker) for Ezana and Atsbaha(Dawnbreaker) for Shizana. After his conversion to christianity what king Ezana did first was making Christianity the official religion of the Kingdome. In his action, making Christianity officail, Ezana made Ethiopia the second country to officially adopt the Christian religion, after Armenia.Since then Christianity has been a defining character of Ethiopian culture and daily life. The early church of Ethiopia was similar to the one in Alexanderia and functioned as one untill 451 when at the Council of Chalceadon the Ethiopian church separated itself from the rest. This is because the Council decided that Christ has two nature, which are human and Devine(Diophosyte) as oppposed to one, which is Devine(Monophsyte). The Ethiopian Church rejected this and retained its Monophosyte beleif. The Ethiopian church though, instead of refering itself as Monophosyte, prefers the name "Non-Chalcaedonian".
Since then the Ethiopian church has evolved in many ways than one. Through time the church developed its distinct characterstics that made it stand out among its peers in the Orient. One thing that the Ethiopian church clung to eversince its foundation is its Jewish heritage. Even now the Ethiopian form of christianity can be called a " Messianic Jewish" faith because it still shows strong Jewish Elements. For instance one of the important foundation of the church is the Ark of the Covenant. The ark which was built by Moses through the guidance of the Lord God (HaShem)stayed with the Israelites untill King Solomon became King. After that the Bible ceases mentioning the ark. According to ancient Ethiopian litrature called the "Kibr al Negast"( Glory of the Kings) the ark was brought by Menelik, the son of King Solomon of Israel and Queen of Sheba of Ethiopia, to Ethiopia after he came back from visiting his father in Jerusalem.

The Ark of the Covenant
According to the Kibr al Negast the ark has been residing in Ethiopia ever since. This story of the ark's disapperance from Jerusalem has been seen as a legend by some historians untill recently when many historians started to take it seriously because of archeological discoveries that attests to the Ethiopian claim. But authors such as Graham Hankok do not think that the ark came out of the Temple of Solomon in the time of the same king. According to Hankok's claim , somewhat credible, the ark must have been brought out of the "Mekdas" or the inner sanctum at the time of the king Mennaseh. Menasseh had walked astray from the way of the Lord God of Israel and had introduced pagan idols such as Ashtarot as diety in the Temple. Therefore the preists took the ark and fled to Egypt near Elephantine. They stayed there untill they quarrled with the Egyptians and were forced to move southward to Ethiopia. There in the sanctuary of the islands in Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile, the ark stayed till it was moved to Axum when Christianity became the official religion of the Axumite Empire. Every year on the holiday of "Tamqat" all the churches in Ethiopia hold a procession in their respective cities which is led by decons carrying a replica of the Ark of the Covevnant. Even in Axum where the ark rests now the original one is not used for Tamqat procession.Another aspect in the Ethiopian church that reminds of the ancient Hebrews is the way the priests dance and worship. The way the church musicians play the harps, flutes, drums and cistras and the way the priests move and chant with fragrant smoke billowing out of their cisterns remind one of their ancient ties with the Biblical Hebrews. Another tie with ancient Judaism in the Ethiopian church is the way the inside of Ethiopian churchs are built, which in the way of the ancient Temple of Solomon. The strict observance of dietry and circumscition laws in the church and the society is another tie with ancient Judaism.

The Church in Axum where the original Ark is placed