Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE BIRTH OF CHRISTIAN ETHIOPIA
Sometimes finding out what happened in Ethiopia just last week can be tough, so when it comes to finding out
what happened nearly 2000 years ago it goes without saying that fact, fiction and an utter disregard of scientific
logic are part of the parcel. The story of how Christianity first arrived in Ethiopia is no exception to this rule.
The man credited with bringing Christianity to Ethiopia is a certain St Frumentius, better known in Ethiopia
today as Abuna Selama. Born a Christian in early-4th-century Lebanon, legend has it that when still young Abuna
and his brother Edesius travelled by boat down the Red Sea to Ethiopia. By all accounts the shores of the Red Sea
at that time were filled with people up to no good. As if to prove this point, when the boat they were travelling on
stopped at a harbour the locals massacred all aboard except the two boys, who were taken as slaves to the king of
Aksum. Quickly gaining the trust of the king they were eventually given their freedom, but when the king died the
queen begged the brothers to stay and help bring up her son, and future king, Ezana. Abuna Selama in particular
used his position to influence the young Ezana and convert him to Christianity. When Ezana was old enough to
become king, Selama travelled to Alexandria in Egypt where he requested the patriarch to send a bishop to
Ethiopia. Instead, the patriarch consecrated Selama and sent him back to Aksum, where he baptized Ezana, built a
number of churches and set about converting the masses.
Abuna Selama may have brought Christianity to Ethiopia (actually there were already Christian traders living
in Ethiopia before Selama's time), but he didn't make much headway converting the rural masses. It wasn't until
the 5th century when a group of wandering monks known as the Nine Saints arrived from the Levant and, using a
potent mixture of magic, giant snakes and other show-stopping stunts, impressed the locals to such an extent that
they quickly converted to Christianity.
Know Your Ethiopian Saints
In Ethiopia the air seems to be saturated with the stories of saints, magic, ghosts and mon-
sters. For the majority of Ethiopians (of all faiths) these tales are not wild legends, but sol-
id fact. Don't be surprised if, on asking about the history of a church, you end up listen-
ing, spellbound, to a story so unlikely that you assume it's nothing but an ancient legend,
only for the storyteller to turn around and announce that the events recounted happened
just a year or so ago.
As a traveller, it's important that you don't
dismiss these stories out of hand. Ethiopians,
like many Africans, live a life very different
from those in the West. It's a life lived close to
the rhythm of nature, in which the dead are
never far away. Every Ethiopian has their fa-
vourite saint, and there's hardly an Ethiopian
church not adorned with colourful, vibrant murals. In most cases the paintings follow a set
pattern, depicting the important personalities of Ethiopia's peculiar pantheon of saints of-
Brush up on the history, culture and latest happen-
ings of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church on
www.ethiopianorthodox.org
,
the Church's official
website.
