Ethiopian eunuch

The eunuch of Candace was a dignitary of the Nubian Queen Candace. After Coptic and Byzantine tradition, he preached after his conversion to Christianity by the deacon Philip, the Gospel in South Arabia ( Arabia Eudaimon ) and in Ceylon ( Taprobane ). According to biblical tradition, he was the first non-Jew who was baptized.

The biblical narrative in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 8, 27-40 ) describes the baptism of the eunuch of the Ethiopian Queen Candace Amanitore:

" Now there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who managed all her treasure. This had come to Jerusalem to worship God, and drove home now. He was sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go and follow this car. Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet. And he said, Do you understand what you are reading? He said, How could I, unless someone guides me? And he invited Philip to get in and next to him to sit down. The passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb when it cares, so he opened not his mouth that. In the humiliation of his conviction was overturned. His descendants, who can count them? For his life is taken from the earth. The eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he told him the Gospel of Jesus. When they moved on, they came to a water source. And the eunuch said, here is water. What is my being baptized? He left the chariot and both Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and he baptized him. But when they got out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip kidnapped. And the eunuch saw him no more: and he went full on joy. "

At the point where the baptism is said to have taken place, a church was built with the baptismal font in front of the building. The font is named after the eunuchs. On a mosaic map of Madaba which is shown.

To date, the Ethiopian Church leads back to the eunuchs.