2007 November | Ethiopia Religion

Entries from November 14th, 2007

Missionaries in Ethiopia

No Comments · Missionaries in Ethiopia

Haile Selassie, in his decree in 1944, prohibited missionaries from attempting to convert Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, and they had little success in proselytizing among Muslims.
During the time, the focus of most missionaries was on adherents of local religions–but still with only small success. In the 1960s, there were about 900 foreign missionaries in Ethiopia, however [...]

The Religion of Islam in Ethiopia

8 Comments · Islam in Ethiopia

Islam arrived early in Ethiopia and majority of them are Sunnis, members of the largest sect of Islam. The Prophet himself taught his followers to respect and protect Ethiopians.
It was in 615 that Muhammed’s wife and cousin sought refuge at Axum with a number of other followers. This group was running away from Mecca’s leading [...]

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

4 Comments · Orthodox Tewahedo

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was established by the monks Frumentius and Aedissius in the fourth century, during the reign of King Ezana of Axum, who converted to Christianity along with many of his people.
The Ethiopian Church exists today as self-governing, though it shares the same faith with Egypt’s Coptic Church. Until 1955, the Patriarch, a [...]

Religion in Ethiopia

5 Comments · Religion Ethiopia

Until 1974, The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, an independent Christian Church headed by a patriarch and closely related to the Coptic Church of Egypt, was the state church of Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the only pre-colonial Christian church of Sub-Saharan Africa, it has a membership of about 40 million people (45 million asserted [...]

Ethiopia Religion