Ethiopian Christianity
Before Europeans entered the continent of Africa there were already people inhabiting the it. Just like anywhere else that has people communities were built up. These communities housed cultures, languages, and religions all to themselves. After gaining stability and expanding influence trade networks were made constructed on and off the continent. With this the spread of culture and goods from around the known world became available. Religion such as Christianity made its way on to the African continent.
The impact of the Christian faith was subtle in some African nations. In others, the belief was view as very important the cultural heritage. Before Christianity and Islam were introduced to Africa most faiths were spiritualistic. They would incorporate the supernatural into everything in daily life. These religions called for the use of ancestors and worship of deities. The deities in question could range from lesser or local gods and goddess of nature and virtue. All the way up to a High or Grand deity who could be mediated with through elders or spiritually leaders. Though Christianity opposes this it did not simply wipe such practices away in its entirety. The earliest activity started to move through the northeastern part of Africa. The faith would first make its way through Egypt then further down into Nubia then Ethiopia. Egyptian and Ethiopian Christianity was similar. Ethiopia did however adopt Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo, and Greek Orthodox.
Ethiopia took the Christian faith very seriously more so than others. There is a story that implies that the successive rulers of Ethiopia can trace their lineage back to biblical figures. Specify the Queen of Sheba and the famous King Solomon of the Old Testament and Torah. The next time Christianity would move through the African continent would be during the fifteenth century by Europeans. This is important since Christianity had the strongest presence in Europe. Also, European Christianity is a lot more invasive than what would have been found in Africa.
These Europeans mostly consisted of Portuguese explorers who had an invested interest in trade routes. Soon after them would come missionaries looking to convert or save the souls of African people. With the new powers working around African nations it made sense for people to take up the faith. Governing bodies and elites would likely convert to Christianity to be more appealing with European partners. Still even with contacts with Europe most of northeastern Africa is up against the Arabian Peninsula. European Catholics do not have the best record with tolerating Muslims. The Arabs by this point would still have an interest in these regions as they were trade partners. Odds are that they would have had trouble with their Catholics counterparts in this scenario.
As stated earlier before the introduction of Christianity in Africa there was already several religions present. These religions were plentiful but followed similar characteristics. A communities’ shared religion was an important and nearly inseparable part of daily life. Religion placed the supernatural as a force that oversaw everything from inanimate objects to living people. Also, most of these religions included a pantheon of deities to be worshiped. These pantheons could include nature and aspect gods, spirits, and Supreme Beings.
In some cases, these deities could be mediated with though elders communing with deceased ancestors. These ancestors would speak on the living’s behalf as they could not do it themselves. This is the native faiths of Africa however like every other continent in the old-world isolation did not last. The two major faiths of the world Christianity and Islam eventually made their way on to the continent. The two faiths are said to have been present in Africa before the trans-Atlantic slave trade and European colonialism. Despite being from outside of Africa both faiths changed almost every African society they encountered.
Christianity made its way into African in two separate waves the first wave arrived in the north-eastern part of Africa. Christianity was introduced to Egypt somewhere between the first century A.D. and the third century A.D. The faith made its way down through Nubia. In North Africa, the Faith of Christendom found the first century C.E. city of Alexandria very important. During the first century C.E. Alexandria served as Egypt’s commercial capital. The city also held many of the world’s early scholars and thinkers who would work to study the theological value of this new religion. Also, it was in the city of Alexandria that the gospel-writer Mark found one of the original Christian bishoprics. Finding itself to be appealing to the more oppressed populations Christianity became rooted in 1st century Egypt. This was because of the promise of a hopefully peasant afterlife to anyone willing to commit whether suffering from poverty or oppression. Because of this Egyptian Christianity soon became a dominant religion in Egypt.
Though the spread of Christianity was slow at first once settled it picked up speed going west across northern Africa. This was a problem because of the distrust of the Roman empire of the time. The Romans were known to view early organized Christianity as a subversive sect that could threaten Roman authority. However, it is more likely that Christian served more as a scape goat for social problems faced by the Roman Empire. This can best be understood like this, Emperors much like divinely appointed kings acted similarly to a god. Christianity puts kingship and the highest authority in a homeless wanderer whose body is currently missing as the only true authority on earth. So, persecution became a problem even in African communities. This was likely a contributing factor to Christianity moving south. So, by the second through the fourth centuries A.D. Christianity moved south and then landed in Ethiopia.
By the third and fifth centuries A.D. Coptic Christianity could be found in both Ethiopia and Egypt. Though mainly Coptic Ethiopia also had Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and other forms of Christian Orthodoxy. With the faith came Christian thinkers, “Early African Christian thinkers included Tertullian, Augustine of Hippo, Clement of Alexandria, among others.” (Lumpkins, 2017). Also, churches were built, Ethiopian church architecture is especially unique. Some of these Ethiopian churches are of worldly renowned for their design.
Sometime later between 1401-1500 C.E. the second wave of Christianity came into Africa. This time it was because of Europeans who were making direct contact with Africans. The primary source of this European influence came from the Portuguese who were at that time traveling and exploring the African continent to establish trade routes. The spread of was likely not just to convert people to Christianity but also to build military allies to work against Muslims. Islam also had a presence in Africa’s northern regions as well since the seventh century C.E. Thus, African Christianity was strengthened which lead to new Christian kingdoms.
A good number of African government leaders and royalties found themselves converted to the Christian faith. One of the best examples of this was the Kingdom of the Kongo. There were a few complaints about the trans-Atlantic slave trade but most of these issues were ignored or thanks to the lucrativeness of the business. Turning back to the matter of Islam, there were Muslims living in Africa and they occupied a large amount of Africa. Specify northern Africa states such as “Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and the Sudan.” (Lumpkins, 2017). The not as invasive as their Christian counterparts they would have trouble with Christian Europe on more than one occasion.
By the beginning of 9th century Ethiopia was becoming more of an isolated location of Christianity, with a big emphasis on agricultural for the economy, with was lorded over by an aristocracy. The faith had slowly made its way into Ethiopia after moving through North Africa and Egypt. The spread was halted from expanding further south by heavy resistant by the communities living there. Christianity mostly stayed in Ethiopia because of this resistance.
Later on the Zagwe dynasty was formed from military officers of the Aksumite elite in Ethiopia. By 1150 this Zagwe dynasty had taken control from the original line of Aksumite kings. The reason that this is important is because, “The Zagwe kings brought in an era of more aggressive expansion by the Christian Ethiopian state” (Shillington, 2012). These Zagwe kings were in control of a vast army, several Christian settlements were established from Lake Tana to Shoan plateau. With the state being expanded the Zagwe kings appointed Christian rulers to govern this territory. These territories were given military protection to make sure of safe travel and trade. Also, Christian missionaries were sent out and monasteries were established offering places to study Christian Ethiopian culture.
Along with this churches were built as a testament to the fervor for the Christian Church Ethiopian. There have been eleven known churches that have been extravagantly craved out of mountains and even more named after famous Jerusalem locations like Golgotha. The Zagwe leaders were also responsible for reestablishing links with between Palestine’s Holy Land and the Church of Ethiopia. This broke down Christian Ethiopia’s centuries of isolation aside from the contacts with remnants of the Coptic Church of Egypt. While other parts of Africa were seeing the rise of Islam Ethiopia stood out like God’s chosen against pagans and Muslims. The Ethiopian Church held onto a belief that their lineage stretched all the way to ancient Israel. Despite the ideological differences Muslim Egypt and Christian Ethiopia managed to gain a working relationship by the thirteenth century. An Ethiopian could freely travel between these lands, which greatly encouraged pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Though there is a great deal more history to the Ethiopian Christian Orthodoxy.
In the article Dominance and Diversity: Kingship, Ethnicity, and Christianity in Orthodox Ethiopia is written by Steven Kaplan provides insight on this. Kaplan’s article goes into more detail about the supposed Ethiopian history of the Orthodox Church. The focused-on period starts around 1270 back when ‘Ethiopian’ was less of an ethnic identity and more of a nationality. In Ethiopia, the citizens viewed themselves as the successors of the Israelites. This was based of the biblical figures the Queen of Sheba and King Solomon that Christian Ethiopians identify as predecessors. Kaplan also points out instances of monastic movements between the 14th and 15th centuries associated with an ethnic based resistance that halted the further expansion of Christendom.
At its start Ethiopian, Christian tradition places the introduction of the Christian faith was introduced to Ethiopia by Philip the Apostle. This Apostle Philip was one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. This event was documented in Acts 8:26-29 in the Christian bible. It involves Apostle Philip meeting an Ethiopian Eunuch who presumable takes this information back to the kingdom known as Aksum in Ethiopia. Though there are other documents informs that the ruler of Aksum Ezana influenced the religious change. Those sources point to the introduction of Christian to Ethiopia happening during his reign around the c. 330. Before this in the earlier years of his reign Ethiopia did worship pagan deities.
Sometime later in Ezana’s rule evidence was found that supported that the kingdom had adopted the Christian faith. The reason this matters is because these sources are vital to understanding the potential origins and development of what became Ethiopian Christianity. Also, the events during this period of establishing the Church will be important to its future. For example, there was an issue with deciding how would act as the head of the Ethiopian Church. The leader of what was the Egyptian Church had the power to choose at that time. The people picked were monks from Egypt but not Ethiopian, which of course was problematic. The reason being that these monks would have been ineffective because of the language barrier, lack of Ethiopian cultural knowledge, and having not preset political standing. Still the presence of a Church leader such as a bishop or deacon is vital for the leadership and success of an early Church. Of course, the presence of any religious group typically needs the acceptance the nation’s leader.
Fortunately, unlike the original Roman empire, the Christian faith was well received in Ethiopia by its rulers and the native population. It also helped that “Christianity arrived at a comparatively early stage in the organization of the Aksumite state, it was quickly integrated and not viewed as an external” (Kaplan, 2012). Yet much like Islam, the Christian faith functioned more as a feature of the elite in Ethiopian court culture. Ethiopian Christianity may have been very popular but it is doubtful that the introduction of it lead start to a mass conversion. Not everyone was a Christian and it would have been difficult to spread the word beyond elite circle or remove other existing faiths. There simply were not the needed resources such as clergy and fundamental religious texts to assist the spread. Also, it is doubtful that Ezana cared deeply enough to dedicate the time and energy needed anyway. Still a kingdom like Aksum that possess as Christian king would not need a religious revolution to become a Christian kingdom.
The kingdom’s conversion according to Kaplan took place around the time a ruler named Kaleb was rule during the 6th century. Kaleb is remembered as the first ruler of Ethiopia to function as a Christian representative in the area surrounding the Red Sea. Because of this Kaleb took more of an active role in Christian affairs at home and abroad. An example would be when a southern Arabian king who had converted to Judaism and was responsible for a massacre of Christians in his kingdom. Kaleb took it upon himself to avenge these Christians by defeating King Yusef and restoring Christianity. The Ethiopian king is also responsible for programs involving church building, reforming Christian politics, and removing paganism from the country. His son Gabra Masqal took up his own cross and transformed Christianity to the state religion.
After a long dynasty, the Zagwe found themselves replaced by the Solomonid dynasty in 1270. Solomonid rule deviated from Zagwe in some ways such as architectural styles. Also, noble courts became more mobile to accommodate for the vastness of the state and difficult to mountain terrain. This temporary capital system allowed the king to keep in contact with what would have been isolated areas. Despite this system the Solomonid kings still sought out further expansion. Though the use of military campaigns and Christian mission trips the area south of the Ethiopian king was subdued. The original plan for the south’s conquest was exploit the trading networks. This unfortunately brought Ethiopia into conflict with their Muslim neighbors. The conflict that arose lasted for two centuries and almost destroyed the kingdom by 1530.
The Christian faith would continue to exist in Ethiopia to this day. The faiths very presence as change this part of the African continent because of this. The original beliefs of Ethiopia were replaced be Christianity. Because of this faith the Country even counts its heritage as part of the Christian narrative. Christian Ethiopia stood as a strong kingdom even as Islam was snatching up northern Africa. Also, whether influenced by outside forces or not the presence of Christianity is still in Ethiopia.
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