Ha g i o g r a p h y

St. Gu d i n a Tu m s a

Samuel Yonas Deressa

A Life in Outline other students on April 20, 1958, in the Nekemte congre- gation. After that, he served God as a full-time pastor.11 In he son of Obbo Tumsa Silga, Gudina Tumsa was born 1966 Gudina also obtained a Bachelor of Divinity degree Tin 19291 at Boji in Karkaro, in the present administrative from Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, after three region of Mirab Welega in . Although Christian- years of study. ity was introduced to the community three decades before In the thirteen years of his ministry that followed his Gudina Tumsa’s birth, his nuclear as well as his extended return to Ethiopia, Gudina served as a parish pastor; synod family did not accept Christ as their personal savior until organizer in Kambata, the southern part of Ethiopia; gen- Gudina went to school in 1938. There he was converted eral secretary of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane to Christianity and started to preach the good news to his Yesus (e e c m y )12; and chair of the Council for Cooperation family as well as the surrounding community.2 of Churches in Ethiopia. It was a turbulent period for the Gudina’s first reaction to the traditional religion—the country. In 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie i was deposed and tradition that his parents had observed for many years— replaced by a Communist military junta known as the Derg was to cut down the ritual Hommi Tree, a tree considered and led by Mengistu Haile Mariam (b. 1937). Haile Selass- sacred by his parents and others who worshiped it.3 This ie’s death in 1975 is thought to have been ordered or car- action was widely criti- ried out personally by cized but Gudina faced Gudina was kidnapped outside the church Mengistu. The Derg, his critics fearlessly.4 which ruled Ethiopia When he had com- quarter together with his wife, Tsehai Tolesa, by until 1987, imprisoned pleted fourth grade, and executed thou- he was sent to to unidentified plainclothes gunmen. Tsehai was freed sands of Ethiopians the Swedish Mission’s without trial. school where pastors immediately on the outer edge of the city but her Gudina was one M. Lundgren and P. of the Derg’s many Stjärne were teaching. husband’s fate was not known for thirteen years. victims. On July 28, There he received an 1979,13 he was con- additional two years of elementary schooling through sixth ducting a Bible study at the church in Urael, one of the grade.5 Gudina then went to Nekemte in 1945,6 where he e e c m y congregations in Addis Ababa. After the church completed eighth grade. service, Gudina was kidnapped outside the church quarter He could not, however, afford a high school education; together with his wife, Tsehai Tolesa, by unidentified plain- his only option was to look for a job, and he started to work clothes gunmen. Tsehai was freed immediately on the outer at Tafari Makonnen Hospital7 as a gardener.8 He was later edge of the city but her husband’s fate was not known for employed by the same hospital as a translator for foreign thirteen years. personnel who could not communicate with the local peo- Mengistu’s regime came to an end in 1987. After a ple in their native language.9 When the people of Nekemte period of civil war, a new government was established by recognized Gudina’s spiritual and leadership ability, how- the forces of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Demo- ever, they proposed that he go to Nejo for theological edu- cratic Front in 1991. In the beginning of 1992, the mass cation in order to serve the congregation as their pastor. media began to report the deaths of several religious lead- Gudina was twenty-six when he went to Nejo with his ers. Abuna Theophilos, the patriarch of the Ethiopian family. His training in the Bible School there took three Orthodox church, and Shaika Taye Meshesha, the leader years, from 1955 to 1958.10 He was ordained along with six of the Ethiopian Muslims, were identified as having been

36 Sp r i n g 2012 murdered by the Derg in the late community. The church’s response called his theology “holistic” because 1970s, in addition to Gudina Tumsa. to the famine in Ethiopia—which the he thought that the Western churches At that time many people were look- North Ethiopia Synod presented to had lost the this-worldly dimension of ing for their lost friends or relatives the General Assembly on April 23, human existence. who had been victims of the Meng- 197315—and to the famine that struck In [Jesus’] ministry, we note that istu government. The transitional Kambata and Hadiya in 1974 made forgiveness of sins and healing government of Ethiopia publicly con- history, in the sense that the church of the body, feeding the hungry firmed that Gudina had been brutally took the initiative in working to meet and spiritual nurture, oppos- murdered by the Mengistu regime in the country’s social and economic ing dehumanizing structures 1979 and buried at a place called the crisis.16 and identifying himself with Ras Kassa compound, or Kassa Gibi. The e e c m y also sent a letter to the the weak were never at any time The exact date of the execution is not government bodies in 1974 request- divided or departmentalized. known, only the year. Thirteen years ing “complete religious freedom” and He saw [the human being] as a after his abduction, Pastor Gudina equality among all religious groups whole and was always ready to Tumsa was officially declared dead in Ethiopia.17 The letter appears to give help where the need was on April 29, 1992, after his body had be a protest against the government’s most obvious.21 been exhumed from the place where suppression of other religious groups he had been secretly buried in 1979. by favoring the Ethiopian Orthodox At that time, Gudina consciously took church. At the same time, the resolu- up the theme of justice and demanded tion passed by the e e c m y ’s executive a change in the church’s salary scale: Gudina and the e e c m y committee on September 20, 1974, low salaries were to be raised and Øyvind Eide, a former missionary states that the position of the church higher ones reduced. “Sharing with of the Norwegian Missionary Soci- should be based on biblical theology our brothers and coworkers whatever ety and presently a retired profes- when it comes to concern for human is made available to our church in the sor in Stavanger, Norway, published equality, dignity, and standing for interests of the Kingdom of our God a significant book about the violent truth. The resolution reminds us that and Savior” was Gudina’s challenge persecution that ended Gudina’s life, this church places a high value on theo- to the institutional church.22 Revolution and Religion in Ethiopia: The logical reflection in regard to political Gudina regarded the role of the Growth and Persecution of the Mekane Yesus and economic issues.18 The fact that church as a paradigm or model in advo- Church, 1974–85. Eide dedicated the the church organized four seminars cating justice for the underprivileged. book to Gudina and the other Ethio- on Christianity and socialism, held in The church stands for the liberation pian martyrs: “In memory of Gud- February, April, and November 1975, of human beings from oppression, dinaa Tumsaa [sic] and all those who and October 1976 respectively19 tes- but with clear criteria: human rights, suffered during the persecution.” tifies to the same reality. These semi- justice, the rule of law, and grassroots Written sources from Gudina’s own nars were devoted to “the relationship democratic participation. The church hands, however, are scarce. Many of his between socialism and Christianity in regards “its continuing task to be the writings were casualties of war. Some areas such as social justice, equality, full liberation of the whole [person]. It of his books and personal papers were spirit and concern for the poor.”20 welcomes the opportunities which the lost when the ship carrying them was new situation provides for building a sunk during an Israeli air attack on the more just society.” It understands self- Gudina the Theologian harbor of Port Said in Egypt during reliance and land reform as decisive the 1967 Six-Day War. In addition, all Gudina was influenced by a series of because it has itself taken action about his sermons and other personal papers American and German theologians, them.23 were lost, destroyed, or stolen after his particularly Reinhold Niebuhr, Mar- Gudina emphasized the church’s murder when the e e c m y office build- tin Luther King and the civil rights role as paradigm and advocate: “We ing was taken over by the Mengistu movement, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. welcome the prospect of participa- government in 1981. Gudina’s theology was not a vision tion by the people at all levels of deci- Gudina’s institutional leadership but a process of transformation, as sion making, where the power of the and theological thought began to with Bonhoeffer who called to repen- people is channelled from bottom to emerge after 1959, when the e e c m y tance a church perverted by and com- top. We aspire for justice, respect for was recognized as a legitimate church promised under the Nazi regime after human rights and the rule of law. Ide- by the Ethiopian government.14 After 1933. Gudina’s ministry in Ethiopia, ologies cannot be considered as abso- its recognition, the church played however, led him to stress the “contrast lute. Complete allegiance is due to major roles in the sociopolitical and between the traditional African idea God and God alone.”24 economic aspects of the Ethiopian of life and the Western one.” Gudina In another passage, Gudina refers

Lu t h e r a n Fo r u m 37 to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s concept of It has been stated that a Chris- first time in Ethiopian history a Coun- “the church for others.” Here Gudina tian is a citizen of a given country cil for Cooperation of the Churches, says: and as such under the laws and to which even the Orthodox church policies of that country. Because belonged.31 Deriving from the poor, the he is under the laws of the coun- Gudina had sympathized with Church rededicates itself to liv- try of which he is a citizen, it is the general aims of socialism since ing for others, serving the whole his duty to pray for the peace of 1975, but he rejected it as an intel- human person, meeting his spiri- that country and cooperate with lectual ideology. “Nationalism has its tual and physical needs. Through his fellow-citizens for its well- own place,” he said, “but it can never its health, educational, and other being. The only limitation to replace the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” services, the e e c m y has contrib- his cooperation or obedience to At the e e c m y ’s General Assembly at uted meaningfully to the devel- the laws of his country is if he Nejo in April 1976, he expressed the opment of Ethiopia and has at is commanded to act contrary to incompatibility of Christian faith with the same time prepared people the law of God (Acts 5:29).27 Marxist atheism only three days after for change. It sees its continuing the National Democratic Revolution- task to be the full liberation of The church must set an example for ary Program of Ethiopia (n d r p e ) had the whole [person].25 the rest of society in its own life. been proclaimed as the new “social Gudina quoted i i Corinthians 5:15 myth” based on scientific socialism The e e c m y has been practicing to Christian Krause, at that time the and a proletarian vanguard leading democracy since her establish- contact person from the Lutheran the revolution—a clearly Marxist- ment in her present form. Our churches and missions for the e e c m y : Leninist agenda.32 congregations have been and are Christ “died for all, that those who live For the world’s Christian leaders at the source of authority. No one might no longer live for themselves but large, Gudina remains a martyr and commands power at any level for him who for their sake died and teacher, “[l]ike the evangelist Stephen, of this church unless he/she is was raised.” Krause reported to Eide: [who] was faithful to his Lord and Sav- elected. The democratic system “This had become the key sentence iour and dedicated to the extension of being introduced into our coun- for him in prison.” Gudina added: his kingdom, as to the well-being of try has been in practice in the “Never ever will I escape.”26 his people. He passed from this life to e e c m y for years. This must be Gudina in fact referred to Bonho- eternal life much in the same manner appreciated and acted on.28 effer’s book The Cost of Discipleship in as Stephen did.”33 LF citing i i Corinthians 5. He had just The church is the model for overcom- quoted that passage in his spiritual ing class struggles and enmity between Sa m u e l Yo n a s De r e ss a is a Pastor last will and testament, “The Role of different religious and ethnic groups: of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church a Christian in a Given Society,” a few “Such dialogue, trust, and love must Mekane Yesus and a Ph.D. student days before his abduction and assas- be extended to those outside our par- at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, sination: ticular fellowship, to Christians of dif- Minnesota. ferent confessions and to persons of As someone [Bonhoeffer] has other faiths and ideologies.”29 Notes said, when a person is called 1. Eide considers 1932 the year of Gudi- to follow Christ, that person is na’s birth. See M. Øyvind Eide, Revolution and called to die. It means a redirec- Gudina the Martyr Religion in Ethiopia: The Growth and Persecution of tion of the purpose of life—that the Mekane Yesus Church 1974–85, 2nd ed. (Ath- Why was Gudina Tumsa murdered? is death to one’s own wishes and ens: Ohio University Press, 2000), 59. Christian He had been arrested twice before Krause used the same date in his presentation personal desires and finding the his murder, in 1978 and 1979. In the during the second missiological seminar held greatest satisfaction in living for interrogations that followed his earlier in 2003 at Mekanissa Gibii, the proceedings and serving the one who died for of which were published in 2009. I assume arrests, Gudina was accused of par- us and was raised from death (i i Gubina’s birthdate to be 1929. See my article, ticipating in political resistance in the Corinthians 5:13–14). “The Rev. Gudina Tumsa: His Early Life and form of cooperation with the Oromo Ministry,” in The Life and Ministry of Gudina In the concluding paragraph of Gudi- Liberation Front, a group formed in Tumsa, 2nd ed. (Addis Ababa: Gudina Tumsa na’s last will, he states with crystal opposition to the Mengistu regime by Foundation, 2008), 4. Gudina himself gave his birth year as 1928 when he completed his reg- clarity that he was ready for the sake members of the , the istration form at Luther Theological Seminary 30 of the people to violate the laws of an largest ethnic group within Ethiopia. in 1963 (g t f archive e i 01, vol. 1). Nevertheless, Ethiopian government based on fun- Gudina denied the charge. He was according to Gudina’s family, 1929 is the most damental injustice. also accused of creating a forum for probable date. political opposition by founding for the 2. Wajira Silga, November 31, 1995, inter-

38 Sp r i n g 2012 view with Habtamu Bula. 13. The Amnesty International report for 23. Gudina Tumsa, “Pastoral Letter, The 3. Ibid., 7. April 1986 gives the date as July 23, 1979. Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus in the 4. Tsehai Tolesa, July 31, 2007, interview. 14. The Ethiopian Orthodox church, Ethiopian Revolution,” in Essential Writings of 5. Ibid. which had existed in Ethiopia for centuries and Gudina Tumsa, 82. 6. The date is calculated from the fact considered itself the indigenous form of Chris- 24. Ibid., 83. that Gudina was ten years old when he started tianity in the country, had initially opposed 25. Ibid., 82. school plus his six years of education (four years recognition of the e e c m y as a church, main- 26. Ibid. in Boji and two in Nejo) up to that point. taining that it was only an “organization” that 27. Gudina Tumsa, “The Role of a Chris- 7. Tafari Makonnen is the birth name of was led by Europeans. “Ethiopia” was the last tian in a Given Society,” in Essential Writings of Emperor Haile Selassie i (1892–1975). part of the e e c m y ’s original name; it was called Gudina Tumsa, 11ff. 8. Fekadu Kumera, A Historical Survey to the Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus in Ethi- 28. Motivation for Policy Decisions, §8, 1980 (unpublished manuscript; Addis Ababa, opia” (e c m y ) until 1978. See Eide, 54, 87. WaD, 79. Italics in original. 1988), 65. 15. Unpublished church officers’ minutes, 29. Tumsa, “Pastoral Letter,” 83. 9. Ibid. 73–68, 73–86. 30. The Oromo account for about 34% of 10. Johnny Bakke, Christian Ministry: Pat- 16. Eide, 65. the Ethiopian population as of 2012. terns and Functions Within the Ethiopian Evangelical 17. President’s report on the executive 31. Eide, 260. Church Mekane Yesus, Studia Missionalia Upsa- committee meeting, June 7, 1974. 32. Ibid., 108, 126. liensis 43 (Oslo: Solum, 1988), 152. 18. Executive Committee Minutes, Sep- 33. Excerpted from Emmanuel Abra- 11. Fekadu Gurmessa, The Central Ethiopia tember 21, 1974. ham’s speech on the day that the bones of Synod (unpublished, 2008), 66. 19. Eide, 116. Gudina Tumsa were recovered, June 29, 1992. 12. The e e c m y was formed in 1959 as 20. Ibid., 117. Emmanuel Abraham (1913– ) is a colleague of the result of a merger of Lutheran and other 21. Gudina Tumsa, “Serving the Whole Tumsa who served Haile Selassie as a diplo- churches established by missionary work in Man,” in Essential Writings of Gudina Tumsa mat from 1943 to 1959 and as president of the Ethiopia. Mekane Yesus means “House of (Addis Ababa: Gudina Tumsa Foundation, eecmy from 1963 until 1985. Abraham also Jesus.” The e e c m y is a member of the Lutheran 2007), 122. served on the executive committee of the l w f World Federation and currently claims about 22. Motivation for Policy Decisions by from 1957 to 1984 as the e e c m y delegate. five million baptized members. For more infor- the Executive Committee (unpublished docu- mation, see www.eecmy.org. ment), 1975, Doc. 6a, §6, WaD, 79.

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