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The Orthodox Ethiopian Church's Understanding of Mission

CALVIN E. SHENK

' Introduction

In comparison to Protestant and Roman Catholic materials on mission there appears to be a dearth of Orthodox material. Fortunately this apparent lack has been corrected somewhat by such recent publications as Ion Bria, Ed., Martyria/Mission, The Witness of the Orthodox Churches Today ( 1 ), Ion Bria, Ed., Go Forth in Peace, Orthodox Per- spectives on Mission (2) and James T. Stamoolis, Eastern Orthodox Mission Theology Today (3). These materials are very helpful though more attention is given to the Eastern Orthodox than to the Oriental Orthodox. Yet from my acquaintance with one Oriental Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, there seemed to be many correlations between the two traditions. 'Further research confirmed this hunch with some particular variations (4).

Background on the Ethiopian Orthodox Church

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had its beginning when Christianity became the of- ficial religion of the Axumite kingdom in the fourth century. Meropius, a merchant- philosopher of Tyre, set out to visit India, accompanied by Frumentius and Aedesius. As they sailed down the Red Sea they stopped at a port on the African coast where local inhabitants m'assacred Meropius and the crew but took Frumentius and Aedesius to the King of Axum, Ella Amida. Later Aedesius was made cupbearer and Frumentius became treasurer and secretary. When the king died the queen asked the brothers to stay until the prince (Ezana) was grown; they stayed helping to govern and also teaching Ezana. Frumentius gave privileges to Christian merchants who came to the country to build churches and spread Christianity. When the young prince was grown, he and the imperial family were converted to Christianity. Aedesius returned to Tyre and Frumentius went to Alexandria to Patriarch Athanasius to ask him' to appoint a bishop for Axum. Athanasius decided to consecrate Frumentius. The consecration took place sometime around 346, whereupon he returned to Ethiopia to propagate the faith (5).

The introduction of Christianity as the state religion marked a turning point in ' Ethiopian history. Ezana collaborated with Frumentius in evangelizing the country, so that by the time of Ezana's death, Christianity was the official religion of Ethiopia and was firmly rooted in the culture (6). The diffusion of Christianity here did not follow the pattern of the Graeco-Roman world where Christianity was at first ac- cepted by the lower classes and only later by the ruling class. In Ethiopia Christianity was first introduced to the royal court and then gradually penetrated to the common people. The Church in Ethiopia, therefore, did not experience persecution from the state which occurred in many other countries. Rather, the support of the state contributed to the rapid expansion of Christianity (7). 5

The Ethiopian Church accepted the decisions of the three major councils (Nicea, Con- stantinople, Ephesus) but followed the Egyptian Coptic Church in rejecting the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon 451. It is, therefore, known as a non- Chalcedonian or Oriental Orthodox Church. Frumentius was succeeded by Bishop Minas, an Egyptian. Thus began the peculiar Alexandrian jurisdiction over the Ethiopian Church which lasted for sixteen hundred years.

The witness of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the centuries since these beginnings has been influenced by developments in each epoch of history. The strength or weakness, expansion or retreat of the state had implications for the Church. In this process the presence of African primal religions, Falashas (Ethiopia Jews) and Muslims were to have an impact on the understanding of mission.

Historical Understanding of Mission Until the Twentieth Century .

1. Monasticism and Mission

Orthodox literature on mission suggests that spirituality is a model for mission and that through the centuries the life and witness of monastic communities not only shaped the worship and theology of the Church but also had an impact upon apostolic ministries. Missionary activities were not the work of "missionary experts" but rather of monks (8). This can be illustrated in the Ethiopian Orthodox experience from the two most important periods of monastic activity - the Nine Saints and monasticism during the restored Solomonic Dynasty.

The main work of evangelization in the Axumite Empire was carried out by the Nine Saints who came to Axum about 480. This is known as the "Second Evangelization" of the Ethiopian Church. These saints, coming from different parts of the Eastern Roman Empire, were persecuted because they were non-Chalcedonian. Some went first to Egypt, where they lived in monasteries founded by Pachomius, before coming to Ethiopia. The mission of the Nine Saints was to accomplish two objectives: to disciple Christians and to convert non-Christians. With the help of Ethiopian sovereigns they sought to eradicate primal religion and to establish monasteries and churches. Emperors assigned new arrivals to suitable areas, made generous endowments to the communities and schools established by them, and protected them from local persecution. Confrontation with local religion met some resistance but the strong support of the emperor enabled evangelization to proceed quite peacefully.

The Nine Saints contributed to the development of the Ethiopic liturgy, the Geez (Ethiopic) Bible and other Ethiopian literature. Yared, a disciple of one of the Nine Saints, composed music in the Ethiopic language. These saints helped to train local candidates for church service and did much to strengthen the position of the Church in the country (9).

Aragawi, the most famous of the Nine Saints, did more than any of the others to promote Christianity. His teaching and miracles attracted many followers but he also experienced opposition and persecution. Today he is best known for founding the monastery at Debra Damo. Holy men coming from the Eastern- Church preached, performed miracles, and encountered suffering. In the 6th century some of them ex- perienced martyrdom (10). The Church in the sixth and early seventh centuries spread over a large part of the north and east, and to the south along trade routes. The ninth century also was a crucial period of expansion for the Christian kinqdom. Important developments of mis-