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Christian Egypt, Past, Present, and Future. London

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Christian Egypt, Past, Present, and Future. London 150 THE CHURCH OF ABYSSINIA. 340. Aretas, who had held a. high position in Ethiopia., had been appointed Governor of N a.gran. The leader in this disgraceful attack on the followers of Christ (possibly at the instigation of Abraham) was Dunaan, a Jewish sectary, who besieged Nagran, and tortured the Christians with every form of cruelty. Numerous a.uthoritiee1 bear testimony to the unflinching courage of Aretas, to his re­ fusal to submit to the rites of Judaism, and to his bold con­ fession of faith in the Trinity and in the Incarnation. It was not long before vengeance overtook Dunaa.n. The Emperor of A.xum, Elesbaa.n by name,2 at the request of the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria, Timotheus III. (520 to 536 A.D.) raised an army of 120,000 men, crossed the Red Sea in twenty-three ships, and utterly defeated the enemy. He restored Nagran io the Christians, and placed a son of the martyred Aretas on th~ throne, thus founding an Ethiopian Christian dynasty, which ruled over the Homer­ ites for several generations. The Ahuna Cyril was appointed, about 650 A.D., by Benjamin, Patriarch of Alexandria. He sent with Cyril a learned and saintly monk, named Tecla Haimanot, who was the founder of Monasticism among the Ethiopians, and has ever since been held in high honour by the Abyssinian nation. In the year 689 A.D. a priest arrived in Egypt, from " India," with a request that Simon, who had succeeded Isaac as Patriarch of Alexandria a few months previously, would consecrate a Bishop for his country, who might retum with him. There is some doubt as to whether the appeal ea.me from Abyssinia (which is frequently called India), or from a district further east, such as Maia.bar. The 1 Quoted by Ba.ronius (Ann. 522). I He is so ea.lied by the Greek &nd Latin authorities. The Ethiopie poet styles him Caleb, while the Syrian writers give his name &a Aidog or Adad. THE CHURCH OF ABYSSINIA. 161 .argument in favour of the latter supposition is that, accord­ ing to the constitution of the Ethiopian Church, the Metro­ politan (or Ahuna) must be chosen and consecrated by the Patriarch of Alexandria, although the Bishops (usually natives of Abyssinia) were chosen and consecrated by the Ahuna. It may, however, have been the case that a supply of fit men for the episcopal office had failed, and that the Abyssinians claimed the aid of the Patriarch in providing for their needs, in the same way as the Soudanese had .appealed to Simon's predecessor eleven. years before. The priest was informed that the consent of the Emir of Egypt would have to be obtained before the Patriarch could ,do what was asked of him. Meanwhile Theodore, the Gaianite1 Bishop, made overtures to the priest, and pro­ ceeded to consecrate a Bishop, who departed with the mes- 11enger and two other priests. After they had journeyed for twenty days, they were arrested, and condemned to the punishment of the loss of hands and feet. The Patriarch, -who was entirely blameless in the matter, was ordered to receive two hundred lashes for sending them off without leave, but he was able to prove his innocence, and was graciously pardoned. The unhappy Theodore, however, -was crucified.1 For the next hundred and fifty years the records of the Abyssinian Church are non-existent, and there is practically 110 means of ascertaining the progress of Christianity in Ethiopia. during that period. In the year 846 A.D., the Metropolitan of Axum, John by name, incurred the displeasure of the Queen of Abys­ -sinia, who was acting as regent during the absence of her husband on a. military expedition. She made a.n attempt l An heretical sect, named after Gaia.na.s, who set himself up as a rival to Theodosius in the Patria.rcha,te of Alexandria., in 536 A.D. :Seep. 43. I Butcher's Story of the Church of Egypt, vol. i. p. 392. 152 THE CHURCH OF ABYSSINIA. on the Bishop's life, whereupon he fled the country, ancf returned to his monastery in Egypt, reporting himself to Joseph, who was Patriarch of Alexandria at that time. As soon as the King ea.me ~ck from the war, and learned what had happened, he was much displeased with the action of his wife; and at once despatched a messenger to the Patriarch, expressing his regret, and entreating that the Metropolitan would return. John immediately went back f;o his See, and was welcomed with great cordiality both by the King and the populace. It has been recorded above1 that, in the year 882 A.D. Michael, Patriarch of Alexandria, was condemned by the Sultan, Ahmed Ebn Touloun, to pay a fine of 20,000 pieces. of gold. The sentence was absolutely illegal, and no attempt was made to put forward even a plausible excuse fo:r so monstrous a proceeding. The unhappy Bishop, however, at his wits' end to satisfy his tormentors (and thus save the Church from a fresh persecution), sold all the Church property he could lay hands on, including some land out­ side Fostat,1 which had belonged to a colony of Abyssinians. Though the Egyptian Christians were heavily taxed in order that the required sum might be raised, it does not appear that any levy was made on the Ethiopian Church for this purpose. In fact, from the early part of the ninth century, communication of every kind had been broken off between the Church of Egypt and her claughter Church in the South, owing to the constant wars and disturbances which had BO disastrous an effect on the progress of Chris­ tianity in Northern Africa. During that period the powers of the Metropolitan ot Abyssinia. were, so far as can be gathered, exercised by the reigning Kings, who not only regarded themselves aa 1 Seep. 75. 2 The name given by Amr to the new city which he built after captur­ ing Babylon, on the site where his tent had been pitched-fHtat being tile Arabic for tent. THE CHURCH OF ABYSSINIA. 153 supreme in all matters ecclesiastical, but on certain occa­ sions actually presumed to celebrate the Holy Communion.1 Soon after Cosmas III. succeeded to the Patriarchate of Alexandria (in 921 A.D.), an ambassador arrived from Abys­ sinia with a request that a new Ahuna might be conse­ crated. The messenger added that the King, who was of great age, and suffering in health, wished for the assistance of a Metropolitan, who would educate and control his two sons. In response to this appeal,, Cosmas proceeded to consecrate a man of considerable ability and piety, named Peter, who was received with great honour on his arrival at Axum ; and, on the death of the King, which occurred shortly afterwards, he was appointed regent of the king­ dom, the young princes being specially under his ea.re. The King had charged Peter that, when the lads grew up, he was to crown whichever of them gave promise of the greatest fitness for governing the kingdom. In course of time, the Bishop selected the younger of the two, and caused him to be proclaimed ruler. The elder acquiesced in the decision, and retired into private life. Unfortunately, however, this peaceful solution of a diffi­ cult problem was not destined to be carried out. Two wandering monks arrived in Abyssinia., and applied to Peter for pecuniary aid. On his refusal to help them, they set themselves to work ou1; a scheme of revenge. The lead­ ing spirit of the two, Menas by name, forged a letter pur­ porting to have been written by the Patriarch Cosmas, in which Peter was described as an impostor, who had never been consecrated by him, nor appointed Metropolitan of Axum. It proceeded to say that Menas was the true Ahuna sent by Cosma.s, and exhorted all good Christians to expel both Peter and the new King, and to place on the throne the elder brother, who was the rightful heir to the kingdom. Menas shewed the forged document to the latter, who, 1 Abu Salih (Churches of Egypt). 154 THE CHURCH OF ABYSSINIA. gladly availed himself of this pretext for asserting his -0wn claims. In the civil war which followed, the younger brother was taken prisoner, Peter was exiled, and Menas was made Metropolitan. The other monk, Victor, who seems to have been a mere tool in the hands of his com­ panion, escaped to Egypt, where he related the circum­ stances to the Patriarch. Cosmas immediately issued a sentence of excommunica­ -tion against Menas, and the King, in order to make his peace with the Patriarch, put the intruder to death. He then ,sent messengers to Peter to recall him, but, unfortunately, he had perished in exile. His chaplain, however, who had been with him to the last, was invited to Ax:um, and ,appointed Metropolitan. The King refused to allow him to travel to Egypt for the purpose of securing consecration, and confirmation of his preferment, from the Patriarch ; and he was kept as a kind of State prisoner, and compelled to discharge the functions of his office, and to acknowledge no superior authority but that of the King. This irregular •state of things, by which the Ahuna of Abyssinia retained an absolute independence of the Patriarch of Alexandria., -continued for about seventy years.1 It was not long before Abyssinia was again plunged into civil war, owing to the usurpation of the throne by two women in succession, who each endeavourea to secure her position by putting to death all the descendants of the -rightful ruler.
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