Onesimos Nesib

Onesimus Nesib (* around 1856 in Oromia Region, † June 21, 1931 at Nekemte; actually Onesimoos Nasiib ) was an Oromo who converted to Lutheran Christianity and translated the Bible into Oromo. His birth name was Hika; the name Onesimus, after the biblical person, he took when he converted to Christianity.

Life

Onesimus was born near Hurumu in present-day Ethiopia and lost his father at the age of four years. In 1869 he was kidnapped by slave owners and had several owners until Werner Munzinger freed him in Massawa ( in present-day Eritrea). This could educate him in the port city in the Swedish Evangelical Mission Imkulu. There he proved to be a good student and was finally on Easter Sunday (31 March 1872) baptized. To further training he was sent for five years at the Theological College Johanne Lund Teologiska Högskola in Bromma, Sweden. When he returned to Massawa, he married Multiply Hailu.

He immediately tried to his people, to be, get Macha Oromo back, and to circumvent the restrictions on travel, the Emperor Menelik II had imposed on foreign missionaries, by going through the central Sudan to Wollega. His travel company came but only to Asosa, then was forced to return to the border town Famaka. There Onesimus had a fever. That's why they had to return to Khartoum, which they reached on 10 April 1882 broke out just as the Mahdi uprising. Onesimus recovered from the disease and returned to Imkulu mission. There he began the first of his many translations into Oromo, while he waited for further instructions. After 1886 a new attempt to reach Wollega had failed, he began the translation of the entire Bible.

Onesimus realized that his knowledge of his native language was not sufficient, because he had not lived with his people since his childhood. So he sought help from Aster Ganno (1874-1964), a young girl he had brought to Imkulu mission. Although it provided a large part of the material for the translation published in 1893, she received no recognition for their contributions.

Only in 1904 returned Onesimus back to Wollega, where he was received with great honor by the Governor Dejazmach Gebre Egziabher. Unlike its predecessor Onesimus preached his community in Oromo, did not understand the local Ethiopian Orthodox priest, and retired as their hostility to. This led, together with the appreciation by the Oromo cause the priests accused him to have spoken blasphemous about the Virgin Mary. In May 1906 he was sentenced to exile from Abuna Mattheos due to these allegations. Emperor Menelik II made this judgment, however, reversed, and let Onesimus to return to Nekemte, where, however, he was not allowed to preach.

Although Onesimus his public actions limited in the coming years to teach at his school in Nekemte, it continued to face exile until his Lij Iyasu in 1916 gave permission to preach his faith. Despite the dismissal of the Emperor Lij Iyasu designate the year after this decision was to continue, and Onesimus could spread and preach his translations until his death.

Onesimus Nesib is in the American Prayer Book Lutheran Book of Worship as a saint whose feast day is June 21 for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. For Evangelical Lutheran Holy commemorate see Augsburg Confession, Article 21 The Mekane Yesus Church has named in his honor their theological seminar in Addis Ababa to him.