History
Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in the world, it “has remains that cover much of human evolution ranging from Chororapithecus Abyssinicus, (12 to 7 million years ago), a possible ape relative of humanity, to Homo Sapiens Idaltu (‘Elder') the earliest modern human fossil at 160,000 year old found in the Afar Regional State at Horto” (Ethiopia Portal). The famous discovery is found Lucy, the most complete skeleton of an early hominid, in the Afraican region. Generally speaking, Ethiopia is the place of staring human origin.
Christianity has roots in Ethiopia from a very long time ago. St.Matthias, one of the disciples of Jesus, preached in the country before his crucifixion. There is a record in 356 of Frumentius, who is believed to be the first bishop of Ethiopia. As a result of him and his teachings, Ethiopia was able to become one of the first countries to be Christian, as they made Christianity their state religion all the way back in the fourth century.
Islam took hold in many countries in Africa, but Ethiopia was one of the only survivors as a Christian State. Ethiopia was the only region of Africa to survive the expansion of Islam as a Christian state. In 615, followers of Islam arrives in Ethiopia and were welcomed, just as Frumentius had been welcomed when he arrived to the country many years prior. In the 16th century, there was some conflicts between the two religions, but now they seem to co-exist peacefully, even though Christianity still is majority.
Christianity has roots in Ethiopia from a very long time ago. St.Matthias, one of the disciples of Jesus, preached in the country before his crucifixion. There is a record in 356 of Frumentius, who is believed to be the first bishop of Ethiopia. As a result of him and his teachings, Ethiopia was able to become one of the first countries to be Christian, as they made Christianity their state religion all the way back in the fourth century.
Islam took hold in many countries in Africa, but Ethiopia was one of the only survivors as a Christian State. Ethiopia was the only region of Africa to survive the expansion of Islam as a Christian state. In 615, followers of Islam arrives in Ethiopia and were welcomed, just as Frumentius had been welcomed when he arrived to the country many years prior. In the 16th century, there was some conflicts between the two religions, but now they seem to co-exist peacefully, even though Christianity still is majority.
DemographicsEthiopia (Estimated) Current Population: 110.14 million
Orthodox Christian (Estimated) Population: 260 million
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Sacraments
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Holy Days
The Ethiopian Church celebrates eighteen holy days centered around Christ (Sellassia & Mikael, 1997). Half of them are considered major holy days, and the other are minor holy days. The major holy days are The Incarnation, Birth of Christ, The Epiphany, Hosanna, or Palm Sunday, Crucifixion, Easter, Debra Tabor, The Ascension, and the Pentecost. The minor holy days are Sebkat, Berhan, Nolawi, Christmas Eve, Gizret, the Birth of Simon, Debra Zeit, Kana Zegalila, and Maskal.
Selection
This group was chosen because we were looking for a familiar tradition of Christianity (Orthodoxy) but have it be different than the cultures we were most familiar with (such as European ones). There are a high number of Christians in this country, making it both feasible in terms of the amount of literature as well as interesting to research.
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References
Debreselam. “The Seven Sacraments.” Seven Sacraments - Debre Genet Medhanealem
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, Mar. 2007, www.dgmedhanealem.org/our-faith/seven-sacraments.
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Population Census Commission. Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and ... Dec. 2008, www.ethiopianreview.com/pdf/001/Cen2007_firstdraft(1).pdf
Pew Research Center. “Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century.” Pew Research Center's
Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, 8 Jan. 2019,
www.pewforum.org/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/.
Sellassie, S. H., & Mikael, B. (1997). Worship in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,'. The Church
of Ethiopia: A Panorama of History and Spiritual Life (Addis Ababa, 1970), 65.
Tamene, Getnet. "Features of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the clergy." Asian and African
Studies 7.1 (1998): 87-104.
World Population Review. “Ethiopia Population 2019.” Ethiopia Population 2019 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), worldpopulationreview.com/countries/ethiopia-population/.
Image Links:
https://ecclesiasticalheraldry.weebly.com/uploads/5/7/2/2/57220915/1207821_orig.png
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, Mar. 2007, www.dgmedhanealem.org/our-faith/seven-sacraments.
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Population Census Commission. Summary and Statistical Report of the 2007 Population and ... Dec. 2008, www.ethiopianreview.com/pdf/001/Cen2007_firstdraft(1).pdf
Pew Research Center. “Orthodox Christianity in the 21st Century.” Pew Research Center's
Religion & Public Life Project, Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project, 8 Jan. 2019,
www.pewforum.org/2017/11/08/orthodox-christianity-in-the-21st-century/.
Sellassie, S. H., & Mikael, B. (1997). Worship in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church,'. The Church
of Ethiopia: A Panorama of History and Spiritual Life (Addis Ababa, 1970), 65.
Tamene, Getnet. "Features of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the clergy." Asian and African
Studies 7.1 (1998): 87-104.
World Population Review. “Ethiopia Population 2019.” Ethiopia Population 2019 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs), worldpopulationreview.com/countries/ethiopia-population/.
Image Links:
https://ecclesiasticalheraldry.weebly.com/uploads/5/7/2/2/57220915/1207821_orig.png