Frumentius was a Phoenician Christian missionary and the first bishop of Axum who brought Christianity to the Kingdom of Aksum. He is sometimes known by other names, such as Abuna and Aba Salama.
Saint Yared was an Aksumite composer in the 6th century. Often credited with being the forerunner of traditional music of Ethiopia and Eritrea, he developed the music of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Eritrean Orthodox Church, in a broader context the Coptic Orthodox Church and Syriac Orthodox Church the use in liturgical music, as well as the Ethiopian musical notation system. Additionally, he composed Zema, or the chant tradition of Ethiopia, particularly the chants of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches, which are still performed today.
The Church of Our Lady, Mary of Zion is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church which is claimed to contain the Ark of the Covenant.
Abune Tekle Haymanot was an Ethiopian saint and monk mostly venerated as a hermit. He was the Abuna of Ethiopia who founded a major monastery in his native province of Shewa. He is significant for being the only Ethiopian saint popular both amongst Ethiopians and outside that country. Tekle Haymanot "is the only Ethiopian saint celebrated officially in foreign churches such as Rome and Egypt." His feast day is 30 August, and the 24th day of every month in the Ethiopian calendar is dedicated to Tekle Haymanot.
The Nine Saints were a group of missionaries who were important in the initial growth of Christianity in what is now Ethiopia during the late 5th century. The names of the Nine Saints are:
- Abba Aftse
- Abba Alef
- Abba Aragawi
- Abba Garima
- Abba Guba
- Abba Liqanos
- Abba Pantelewon
- Abba Tsahma
- Abba Yem'ata
Debre Libanos is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Haymanot as Debre Atsbo and was renamed as Debre Libanos in the 15th century. He meditated in a cave above the current monastery for 29 years. The monastery's chief abbot, called the Ichege, was the second most powerful official in the Ethiopian Church after the Abuna.
Debre Dammo ,The monastery is known as Däbrä Dammo in Tigrinya, and as Däbrä Damo in later Amharic appellations. also spelled Debre Damo, Dabra Dāmmo or Däbrä Dammo), is the name of a flat-topped mountain, or amba, and a 6th-century monastery in Tigray Region of Ethiopia. The mountain is a steeply rising plateau of trapezoidal shape, about 1,000 by 400 m in dimension. It sits at an elevation of 2,216 m (7,270 ft) above sea level. It is north of Bizet, and north-west of Adigrat, in the Mehakelegnaw Zone of the Tigray Region, close to the border with Eritrea.
Iyasus Mo'a was an Ethiopian saint of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; his feast day is 5 December. In life he was an Ethiopian monk and abbot of Istifanos Monastery in Lake Hayq of Amba Sel.
Abune Theophilos, also known as Abune Tewophilos, was the second Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. He officially succeeded Abuna Basilios in 1971 after he had assumed the role of acting patriarch upon Abuna Basilios's death in 1970.
Ewostatewos was an Ethiopian religious leader of the Orthodox Tewahedo during the early period of the Solomonic dynasty of Ethiopian Empire. He was a forceful advocate for the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity. His followers, known as the House of Ewostatewos, have been a historic force in Tewahedo Orthodoxy.
Ethiopian ecclesiastical titles refers to the offices of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, a hierarchical organization. Some of the more important offices are unique to it.
Gulomakeda is one of the Districts of Ethiopia, or woredas, in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Its name partly comes from the legendary Queen Makeda, also known as the Queen of Sheba. Part of the Misraqawi Zone, Gulomakeda is bordered on the south by Ganta Afeshum, on the west by the Mehakelegnaw (Central) Zone, on the north by Eritrea, on the east by Irob, and on the southeast by Saesi Tsaedaemba. Towns in Gulomakeda include Fatsi, Sebeya and Zalambessa. Gulomakeda has many historical places like Debredamo. Wereda Gulomakeda has 2 preparatory schools Yemane senior secondary school and Zalambessa senior secondary school. Notable local landmarks in this woreda include ruins that have been dated to the Axumite Kingdom, as well as to the period prior to its rise. Archeological surveys conducted by Dr. Catherine D'Andrea of Simon Fraser University show that far from being a rural hinterland, Gulomakeda had large towns with elite groups who had access to exotic trade goods during that time. She also identified cultural links to ancient Eritrean settlements, which included Matara and the ancient Ona culture.
Abba Pantelewon was a Christian monk who is traditionally credited with founding Pentalewon Monastery located on the top of Mai Qoho Hill northwest of Axum in Tigray, Ethiopia. He is one of the members of the group known as the Nine Saints.
Abune Mathias is the sixth and current Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church since 2013. His full title is "His Holiness Abune Mathias I, Sixth Patriarch and Catholicos of Ethiopia, Archbishop of Axum and Ichege of the See of Saint Taklehaimanot".
Abuna Yemata Guh is a monolithic church located in the Hawzen woreda of the Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is situated at a height of 2,580 metres (8,460 ft) and has to be climbed on foot to reach. It is notable for its dome and wall paintings dating back to the 5th century and its architecture.
Arwe, also known as Wainaba, in Ethiopian mythology, is a serpent-king who rules for four hundred years before being destroyed by the founder of the Solomonic dynasty. His story comes in a number of versions, all of which have him as a tyrannical ruler who demands sacrifice. The myth is part of a wider tradition of serpent- or dragon-kings, such as the Babylonian dragon.
Christian monasticism in Ethiopia has ben practiced since the Aksumite era in the 6th century AD. The Nine Saints from the Byzantine Empire have played crucial roles in the development of monasticism in Ethiopia, which also continued during the Zagwe and Solomonic periods.
The persecution of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church has been surging over centuries. The church has encountered significant challenges throughout its history. Historically, notable persecutions attributed during Yodit Gudit era in 980, Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi invasion of Ethiopian Empire during the Ethiopian-Adal War (1529–1542) and the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936–1941). Still, the church faces significant persecutions where many Christians are killed by government forces and churches are burnt amidst political crisis. During the tension between Ethiopian Orthodox and the illegal Oromia synod, three people killed after unknown assailants opened fire in Shashamane in Oromia on 2 February 2023. According to witness, the Oromia police was the perpetrator of the attack. It is observed during Axum massacre in the Tigray War where 750 people reportedly killed in Axum Tsion feast day celebrated on 30 November.
Gebre Meskel also known as Gabra Masqal was a King of Axum who reigned in the 6th century. He was a son of Kaleb of Axum and brother to Israel of Axum. His reign is most notable for the compositions of hymns by the Ethiopian saint Yared.
