History
Saint Frumentius (Abune Salama Kesatie Berhan), the first Bishop of Ethiopia, was consecrated by Saint Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria around 341. Following the Council of Chalcedon in 451, the Coptic Church of Alexandria was no longer in communion with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
Between the 13th and 18th centuries, the Roman Catholic Church sent various missions to Ethiopia. Most of these were directed less at the conversion of non-Christians, but at securing the adhesion to the Holy See of the existing Church. They eventually failed due to the attachment of most Ethiopians to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which was strongly linked to national identity and whose Miaphysite theology was incompatible with that of Rome
The Portuguese voyages of discovery at the end of the fifteenth century opened the way for direct contacts between the Church in Rome and the Church in Ethiopia. In the mid-16th century, Ethiopian rulers allowed Jesuits to proselytize in the country. However, the conversion of rulers Za Dengel and Susenyos to Catholicism in the early 17th century led to uprisings. [2] Due to the behaviour of the Portuguese Jesuit Afonso Mendes, whom Pope Urban VIII appointed as Patriarch of Ethiopia in 1622, Emperor Fasilides expelled the Patriarch and the European missionaries under penalty of death, [2] who included Jerónimo Lobo, from the country in 1636; these contacts, which had seemed destined for success under the previous Emperor led, instead, to the complete closure of Ethiopia to further contact with Rome.
From 1839 Msgr. Justin de Jacobis, and subsequently Cardinal Guglielmo Massaia, resumed Catholic missionary activities. The Catholic communities currently found in Ethiopia are mostly the fruit of the vigorous work of the above-mentioned missionaries, de Jacobis, and Cardinal Massaja.
The Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the 13th among the Apostles.
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations further east, south or north. The term does not describe a single communion or religious denomination. Eastern Christianity is a category distinguished from Western Christianity, which is composed of those Christian traditions and churches that originally developed further west.
Patriarchate is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were established by the apostles as apostolic sees in the 1st century: Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria. Constantinople was added in the 4th century and Jerusalem in the 5th century. Eventually, together, these five were recognised as the pentarchy by the Council of Chalcedon in 451.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in sub-Saharan Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates back to the Christianization of the Kingdom of Aksum in 330, and has between 36 million and 51 million adherents in Ethiopia. It is a founding member of the World Council of Churches. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is in communion with the other Oriental Orthodox churches.
The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch. As the traditional "overseer" of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in Pauline Christianity from its earliest period. This diocese is one of the few for which the names of its bishops from the apostolic beginnings have been preserved. Today five churches use the title of patriarch of Antioch: one Eastern Orthodox ; one Oriental Orthodox ; and three Eastern Catholic.
The Coptic Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular Church in full communion with the Catholic Church. Along with the Ethiopian Catholic Church and Eritrean Catholic Church, it belongs to the Alexandrian liturgical tradition. Uniquely among the Alexandrian Rite Eastern Catholic liturgies, the Coptic Catholic Church uses the Coptic Rite and the Coptic language in its liturgy; the Ethiopian Catholic Church and Eritrean Catholic Church use the Ge'ez Rite.
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.
The Albanian Greek Catholic Church, or the Albanian Byzantine Catholic Church, is an autonomous Byzantine Rite particular church in full communion with the Catholic Church and the Pope of Rome, whose members live in Albania and which comprises the Apostolic Administration of Southern Albania. The Albanian Greek Catholic Church, with its Byzantine Rite, is closely linked to the Italo-Albanian Catholic Church sharing a significant commonality of history, identity and traditions.
The Melkite Greek Catholic Church, or Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catholic Church. Its chief pastor is Patriarch Youssef Absi, headquartered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition in Damascus, Syria. The Melkites, who are Byzantine Rite Catholics, trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, formerly part of Syria and now in Turkey, of the 1st century AD, where Christianity was introduced by Saint Peter.
Alphabetical list of Eastern Christianity-related articles on English Wikipedia
The Ethiopian Catholic Church or Ethiopian Eastern Catholic Church is a sui iuris (autonomous) Eastern Catholic church that is based in Ethiopia. As a particular church of the Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See. Established in 1930, the church is organised under a metropolitan bishop who exercises oversight of a number suffragan dioceses. In its liturgical services, it uses the Alexandrian Rite in the Geʽez language.
Christianity in Ethiopia is the country's largest religion with members making up 68% of the population.
Eritrea as a country and the Eritrean community are multi-religious. Eritrea has two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam.
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is one of the oldest branches in Christianity.
In the 9th century, Christianity was spreading throughout Europe, being promoted especially in the Carolingian Empire, its eastern neighbours, Scandinavia, and northern Spain. In 800, Charlemagne was crowned as Holy Roman Emperor, which continued the Photian schism.
The Malankara Rite is the form of the West Syriac liturgical rite practiced by several churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community in Kerala, India. West Syriac liturgy was brought to India by the Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Jerusalem, Gregorios Abdal Jaleel, in 1665; in the following decades the Malankara Rite emerged as the liturgy of the Malankara Church, one of the two churches that evolved from the split in the Saint Thomas Christian community in the 17th century. Today it is practiced by the various churches that descend from the Malankara Church, namely the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, and the Malabar Independent Syrian Church.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Catholic Church:
Ghébrē-Michael, CM was a priest of the Eastern Rite Ethiopian Catholic Church and postulant from the Congregation of the Mission.
The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The head of the Maronite Church is Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, who was elected in March 2011 following the resignation of Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir. The seat of the Maronite Patriarchate is in Bkerke, northeast of Beirut, Lebanon. Officially known as the Antiochene Syriac Maronite Church, it is part of Syriac Christianity by liturgy and heritage.
′ The following is a chronology of the Orthodox Tewahedo Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches from their base history to the present.
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