IDEOLOGICAL VIOLENCE TOWARDS THE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX TEWAHIDO CHURCH IN THE POST-1960s

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC) is one of the religious institutions in Ethiopia. EOTC has faced some challenges, which have created both physical and epistemic violence on it. This study analyses the two historical events that the EOTC and its believers faced with epistemic and physical violence. It argues that Ethiopian elites and intellectuals used ideologies and new experiences inappropriately to analyse the existed contexts in these two historical events, which in consequence created violence on the EOTC and its believers. Investigating these historical events that made violence on the EOTC is very important as the EOTC and the believers have been facing with violence so far. Through thematic analysis, this study concludes that considering the EOTC as the past feudal regimes’ tool that oppresses some ethnic groups in Ethiopia; and viewing the EOTC as an Amhara’s institution have been continuing. The study integrates how elite’s inappropriate use of ideologies or new experiences for analysing the existed contexts, which caused violence on EOTC and its believers.

‘Modernism’ and the Ethiopian Orthodox Sunday School Movement: Indigenous Movements and their International Connections

This article traces the history of twentieth-century Ethiopian Orthodox student movements formed in response to modernity, especially the influential Maḫbärä Qəddusan, ‘Association of Saints’, established in 1991 when Ethiopia's Communist regime fell. It explores parallels in Egyptian and Indian miaphysite Churches; balances the prevailing narrative of explosive Pentecostal growth which has obscured the influence of such movements; provides insight into networks that have stimulated renewal and responses to contemporary challenges through strong engagement with traditional literary and intellectual heritage; and explores training and publications promoting contemporary reflection on this heritage, the revival of important religious practices and the targeting of influential ecclesiastical and public positions.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church and its role in the State before 1974

The aim of the study is to consider the role and place of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church in preserving the ancient traditions and culture of the peoples of Ethiopia. The history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is closely related to that of the Alexandrian Orthodox Church, but for a significant part of its history it fought for autocephaly, which was achieved only under Emperor Haile Selassie I. The most important function of the Church in Ethiopia was education and spread of literacy, the preservation and transfer of knowledge in the field of religion and public administration. The objective of the study is to analyze how this function was implemented during the first half of the XX century. The research is based on the documents of the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation and of the Ethiopian Microfilm Laboratory EMML.