Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( in Amharic የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስትያን, translit. Yeh - Ityop'ya ortodoks täwahdo actuated krəstyan ) is an ancient oriental church in Ethiopia.
Name
Tewahedo means comparable to the related Arab Tawheed "Unit" and refers to the union of the two natures in Christ, a theological issue of early Christianity that effectively increased at the Council of Chalcedon abtrennten some groups, the so-called Monophysites. Whether the Ethiopian Church was Monophysite, is not yet clear unanimous among scientists. The Church rejects the term " Monophysites " for themselves. In the classification, and in general any investigation of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church is to be noted that so far there is no theological dictionaries of Ge'ez in Latin or in other languages , with which one could translate specialized texts with the necessary reliability.
History
On the origin of the Ethiopian Church reported the Greek historian Rufinus of Aquileia by two brothers, Frumentius and Aidesios that had been attacked on their way home to Tyre, on the coast of the Red Sea and sold to the court of the king of Aksum. Thanks to their Greek culture they had risen to become educators of the prince and the royal family have taught their Christian faith. Frumentius was the Patriarch of Alexandria, Athanasius, traveled later and was ordained by him Bishop of Aksum. The conversion of King Ezana to Christianity is occupied by archaeological discovery of coins of the 4th century. Since that time, rulers and church were closely linked in Christian Ethiopia.
Even after the decline of the Aksumite Empire Christianity in Ethiopia has been preserved, while spreading in the neighboring countries of Islam. So the Ethiopian Church was isolated from the rest of Christianity. Tekle Haymanot, a monk and saint of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was part of the reason that in 1270 the so-called Solomonic dynasty came to power. As a kind of reward, the church received large parts of the country paid (most sources say probably exaggerating by a third). Ethiopian Orthodox clergy represented the educated elite of the country and therefore found employment at the imperial court. Therefore, the church struggled initially vehemently opposed to the introduction of the modern school system by Emperor Menelik II
Long the Ethiopian Church was a part of the (now smaller ) Coptic Church of Egypt, until she was dismissed in 1950 by the Coptic Pope of Alexandria Yusab II in the autocephaly. After Eritrea in 1993 was declared independent from Ethiopia, was also given an Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church in 1998 the autocephalous status.
The Marxist Derg regime (1974-1991) nationalized in 1975 the feudal domain of the nobility and the Church. But only in the Constitution of 1994, the separation of church and state was officially completed.
Organization
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is 35 to 40 million believers ( the information on the number strongly diverge ) is the largest of the family of the Oriental Orthodox churches. All the bishops together form the supreme body of the Church, the Holy Synod, which meets twice a year in plenary session. Your stand Abune Paulos as " Patriarch, head of the Archbishops of Ethiopia, Archbishop of Axum and Eččagē on the chair of St.. Takla Haymanot " before. Only monks can be bishops. Conduct the 38 dioceses ( as of 2001) at home and abroad. The different areas of church life be coordinated through Patriarchalverwaltung in Addis Ababa.
Life of faith
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, through its isolated position in the highlands of the Horn of Africa surrounded by Muslim countries preserved and developed many cultural and religious Eigenständigkeiten. Particularly striking are the many echoes of Judaism that are likely to have resulted from that the Christian believers identified by repeated reading of the Old Testament with the biblical Israel and Jewish faiths such as circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath commandment, different purity and dietary laws etc. developed. As part of this process Judaisierungs the legend of the descent of the Ethiopian royal house from a ratio of King Solomon with Makeda, the Queen of Sheba was born ( in the Ethiopian national epic " Kïbrä nägäst " from the 14th century edited ). Their son Menelik is said to have stolen the Ark of the Covenant from the Temple and brought to Ethiopia. With her he lived a Judaism in Ethiopia. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians understand themselves so as Jewish Christians. The Ethiopian Orthodox bible canon includes both the Old and New Testament books that are counted in the remaining churches as apocryphal (eg, the Book of Enoch or Jubilees ), so that the Bible is the church in all traditional churches the longest; see list of biblical books.
As in some Oriental Orthodox Churches accept male and female monasteries in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Tewahido a central role as a cultural, social and spiritual centers. The Ethiopian Orthodox monasticism is the so-called " nine saints " back out, probably fled in the 6th century the rich religious persecution against Christians - chalzedonensischer. The monks and nuns in the 800 Ethiopian monasteries exist mostly very poor, but back in its churches enormous cultural treasures (such as illuminated manuscripts ). From the 6th century to the present managed the monasteries, the traditional Ethiopian education, were trained in the v. a clergyman. ( Today, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church also has three modern theological institutions, the most important the Holy Trinity Theological College in Addis Ababa. )
In addition to the monk priests the Ethiopian Orthodox Church also knows Tewahido married priests who enjoy a high reputation as well as that. Together with the deacons ( who are already ordained in adolescent years ) and the church singers ( däbtäras ) are all clerics together on the enormous number of about 400,000. Däbtäras responsible esp. for song and dance of the holy Jared returned hymns. For the celebration of the Sunday Eucharist at least two priests and a deacon are necessary. The liturgical language of the church is the sacred language Ge'ez, written with the Ge'ez script.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church Tewahido knows a wealth of fast days (200 days), in which no animal products and at least until lunch may be eaten and drunk nothing. Even on holidays does not save the Ethiopian Orthodox Church year. As a special feature within the Christian churches of the Ethiopian Orthodox ( Julian ) calendar has monthly recurring holidays.
As the only still existing pre-colonial Christian church of Black Africa, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Tewahido for many Christian black Africans and their descendants throughout the world has a special symbolic meaning. Thus, for example, a significant part of the supporters of the Jamaican Rastafarian religion now closed to the Ethiopian Church. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is regarded as the only active missionary Oriental Orthodox Church.
In today's Ethiopia approximately 32.1 million ( 43.5 %) belong to the people of this church, and the remaining inhabitants are Muslims ( 33.9%), Protestant (18.6%), and followers of traditional religions ( 2.6%). Nevertheless, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian society still characterizes disproportionately. Which should promote the development of the country; Conscious of its historical and contemporary role the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Tewahido a commission ( DICAC Development and Inter- Church Aid Commission) founded in 1972.
Patriarch since 1959
Abune Tewoflos was imprisoned and executed by the military junta. His two successors were used under the supervision of the military junta and not recognized by the Coptic Church. The 1992 abdication forced and fled Abune Merkorios is still regarded by a small minority of communities outside of Ethiopia as patriarch.
Ethiopian Church in Europe
The Ethiopian Church is the only one among the Eastern Churches, where the majority of the faithful still lives in the country of origin. Nevertheless, the number of emigrants who seek in America or Europe better living conditions increases. In Europe, the church has two bishops responsible: one in Rome and the other in London, each responsible for south-east and north -west Europe. An Episcopal Vicar of north-west Europe has its headquarters in Cologne, Germany. Archpriest Dr. Merawi Tebege connected for decades the community. He founded in rooms of the Protestant Luther Chapel, which has gone for some time by buying the property of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. A great Archangel Michael in bronze adorns the entrance of Mikael Church. The community always also invites people in the area who are not Orthodox faith. The church is located at Lindweiler way on the outskirts of the hamlet of Cologne Longerich.
The communities in Germany, England and Italy are the most numerous in Europe. In Austria Ethiopian Orthodox Christians live primarily in Vienna and Graz.