St Mary of Debre Tsion, Battersea is a church in Battersea, South London affiliated with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It was formerly known as the Church of Saint Philip when run under the administration of the Church of England.
St Mary of Debre Tsion, Battersea is a church in Battersea, South London affiliated with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It was formerly known as the Church of Saint Philip when run under the administration of the Church of England.
The church, which was designed by Sir James Knowles for the Park Town Estate [1] and built by Colls & Sons, opened as St Philip's Church in 1870. [2] It amalgamated with the parish of St Bartholomew, Wickersley Road, in 1972 [3] and then amalgamated with The Ascension, Lavender Hill in 2000. [4] The church is Grade II listed. [5] When it was an Anglican church, it had a William Hill & Sons organ; [6] in 1992 this was removed and reinstalled in the chapel at Reading School by Bower & Co. [7]
The church was rented out to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church from the early 2000s, declared redundant by the Church of England in 2007 and acquired by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in 2010. [1] It was renamed St Mary of Debre Tsion, Battersea after the Monastery of Mount Zion (Monastery of Debre Tsion in Ge'ez language), located on Tulu Gudo Island on Lake Zway in Ethiopia. [8]
The Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt, servicing Africa and the Middle East. 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 thirteenth among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular, and today the Coptic Pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. With approximately 25 million members worldwide, it is the country's largest Christian denomination.
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 centuries, and has a current membership of about 36 million people, the majority of whom live 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 Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church which is claimed to contain the Ark of the Covenant.
The Amhara Region, officially the Amhara National Regional State, is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Regional Government of Amhara. Amhara is the site of the largest inland body of water in Ethiopia, Lake Tana, and Semien Mountains National Park. Amhara is bordered by Sudan to the west and northwest and by other the regions of Ethiopia: Tigray to the north, Afar to the east, Benishangul-Gumuz to the west and southwest, and Oromia to the south.
Abuna is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as well as of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It was historically used solely for the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Ethiopia during the more than 1000 years when the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria appointed only one bishop at a time to serve its Ethiopian flock. When referred to without a name following, it is Abun, and if a name follows, it becomes Abuna.
Debre Libanos (Amharic: ደብረ ሊባኖስ, is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone. 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.
Kaleb, also known as Saint Elesbaan, was King of Aksum, which was situated in modern-day Eritrea and Ethiopia.
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.
Abuna Aregawi was a sixth-century Syrian monk and member of Nine Saints, who exiled from Roman Empire to Ethiopia. Tradition holds that he founded the monastery Debre Damo in Tigray Region of Ethiopia, which is said to have been commissioned by Emperor Gebre Mesqel of Axum.
Eritrea as a country and the Eritrean community are multi-religious; Eritrea has two dominant religions: Christianity and Islam, with most estimates placing the Christian share of the population at approximately 60%. Eritrean Christians are primarily followers of Oriental Orthodoxy, with a much smaller segment following Roman Catholicism-Eritrean Catholicism, and less than one percent of the population following P'ent'ay Evangelicalism.
Abuna Dioskoros, also called Aba Woldetensae, was the bishop of the dioceses of South West Shewa and Chebona Gurage diocese of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Abba Absadi is a saint of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. He was a disciple of Ewostatewos, and his best-known disciple is Abba Filipos. He founded the monastery of Debre Mariam in 1374, which is located in modern-day Eritrea. He was captured by the soldiers and tortured on the wheel, then he was thrown on the stove. He endured all the tortures patiently and then was beheaded.
Abuna Basilios was an Ethiopian-born first Archbishop or Abuna, and later the first Patriarch, of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
The Ascension of The Lord, Lavender Hill, is an Anglican church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, situated on Lavender Hill, in Battersea, South West London. It is thought to be the first church in England dedicated to The Ascension of The Lord. Built to the designs of the architect James Brooks, its foundation stone was laid in 1874, and it was consecrated in 1883.
Abune Zena Markos (1937–2010) was an archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
The Kidane Mehret Church in Jerusalem, popularly known simlly as the Ethiopian Church, is part of the Debre Genet monastery, whose name means "Monastery of Paradise".
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.
Adadi Mariam is a rock-hewn monolithic church located approximately 66 km southwest of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A popular tourist destination, the site is believed to have been built in the 12th century.