Catholicism in Ethiopia

Catholicism in Ethiopia<= /st1:country-region> and Eritrea

By Girmay Teklegiorgis

The Apostle Philip baptized the Ethiopian Eunuch who went on his way rejoicing. After this dramatic story in the A= cts of the Apostles (Acts 8:26—39), there is a strange silence about the Church in Ethiopia. This silence endured until the 4th century when St. Frumentius undertook the shepherding of this nation during= the reign of King Ezana. This king declared his country a Christian Nation and minted gold coins bearing the s= ign of the Cross. Norbert Brockman, S.M. writes that “Ethiopia has the distinction of being the first Christian kingdom in the world, and = the oldest.” In fact, Christianity was the state religion in Ethiopia from the time of King Ezana until 1975.

Once Christianity took hold in Ethiopia, it blazed a glorious trail creating a culture that has withstood many vicissitudes. Christianity al= so captivated the minds of her learned men and schools became places of biblic= al scholarship. The 5^{th and
6^th centuries saw the translation of the Bible into Ge’ez,=
the
vernacular of the period which has now become the sacred language of the Ethiopic Church. It was during these centur=
ies
that the Ethiopian
Church developed he=
r unique
and theologically rich Rite which was further enriched by the distinctive chants attribut=
ed to
St. Yared.}=

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Wondrous rock-hewn churches were fashioned in the shape of crosses, monasteries were established throughout the country and vividly alive icons graced the walls= of churches. <= o:p>

However, the 7^th century witnessed the advent and rise of the Islamic-Arab Empire, which expanded very quickly. The Red Sea, which had been under influence of the Axumite Ethiopian empire, fell under Arab control. This led to the rapid decline of t= he Axumite empire, and = Ethiopia lost her great wealth. As a r= esult of these upheavals, the E= thiopian Church remained cut= off from the rest of Christendom for centuries.

Because Ethiopia became Christ= ian before schism occurred in the Christian church, Rome assumed that there would not be any doctrinal differences between the two Churches. In fact, the difference is minimal and contact between Rome and the <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Ethiopian Church resumed in the 15^{th
century. Dominicans, Capuchin=
s,
Franciscans and Jesuits all made many attempts to unite the two churches.}Sometimes they used dialogue, refe= rring to doctrinal similarity, at other times they tried to impose the Roman Cath= olicism on the Ethiopians.

3D"[Pope Of the early missionaries, the Jesuits were probably the most influential and, to a cert= ain extent, successful. Their work reached its peak thanks to Pedro Paez, who l= ived in Ethiopia for 19 years (1604-1622), studied Ge’ez and Amharic and honored the l= ocal culture. He was a well-educated man whose humility, modesty and cheerfulness contributed to his acceptance among the Ethiopians. He wrote catechisms and other book= s in Amharic and Ge’ez. Also, using his skills as a builder, carpenter and blacksmith, he built churches = and palaces. Because of him, thousands of Ethiopians, including two emperors, accepted Catholicism.=

However, his successor was his opposite. Patriarch Mendez was narrow-minded and intolerant. He tried to force the whole country= into becoming Roman Catholic and replace the Ethiopian liturgy with Latin. His arrogant approach brought great civil unrest to Ethiopia resulting in its bor= ders being closed. This put a stop= to the Jesuits’ endeavors forever. Rome also suspended all efforts to = bring Ethiopia under its domain.

In 1839,though, a series of conciliatory letters between Pope Gregory XVI and = the governor of Tigray province, Dejach Wubie, and other religious people in Adwa, prompted the= Pope to appoint Justin De Jacobis, a Lazarist (Vincentian) monk, as Prefect Apostolic of Abyssinia/Ethiopia.

Justin De Jacobis = (Abune Yaqob) began his mission by studying the Ethiopian liturgy and local langua= ges of Ge’ez, Amharic and Tigrigna. He also showed a desire to adapt himself to the host country’s culture. He was determined to establish an authentic, indigenous Catholic Church there. His high regard for the local culture and use of native monks enabled him to establish a permanent root where so many of his predecessors= had failed.

He was also fortunate enough to make the acquaintance of some of the best sons= of Ethiopia, including the Blessed Gebre- Micael, a renowned theologian from Gonder. Abba Gebre-Michael converted to Catholicism in February 1844, and was ordained a Catholic priest in Alitena in 1851 by Abune Yaqob. Blessed Gebre-Micael’s invol= vement was a remarkable asset for Abune Yaqob and the future establishment of Catholicism in Ethio= pia. With the help of Abba Gebre-Micael= , he made the acquaintance of a number of very important monks who became pillar= s of his missionary work and without whom he would not have succeeded.

One of these monks was Abba Tekle-haimanot of Adwa, who later became Abune Yaqob’s biographer. Abba Tekle-haimanot Gelawd= ewos of Gual’a/Adigrat, and Abba Tekle-Giorgis Habtemariam of Alitena/Irob, both from the famous monastery of Gunda-Gunde located in Irob, also worked = with Abune Yaqob. These last two and their families made outstanding contributio= ns toward the successful expansion of Catholicism in their respective areas and eventually in the entire country.

The courage and loyalty of Abba Gebre-Michael and other Ethiopian followers bec= ame the solid foundation of all Abune Yaqob’s apostolic work. It is said = that he never made a serious decision without consulting of his Ethiopian follow= ers. He wrote that “A local priest of mediocre instruction and virtue is w= orth more than a foreign priest of ordinary instruction and virtue”[1].

Blessed Gebre-Micael died a martyr’s death on August 29, 1855.

Abune Yaqob was eventually expelled from Adwa, and his two resolute followers, Abba Teklehaimanot of Gual’a and Abba Teklegiorgis of Alitenaoffered their respective birth places as alternatives. Abune Yaqob had= seen Gual’a before and had liked it so he chose it. He was given refuge in Gual’= a with the help of Abba Teklehaimanot Geladiewos and his family. In December 1844,= he purchased a piece of land there and constructed a residence and a seminary.=

After Gual’a was established and the Lazarists started to become successful= , a new wave of persecution was set off against Abune Yaqob and his followers. = The new residence was sacked and the Lazarists were mercilessly persecuted. As a result, Abba Teklegorgis of Irob renewed his suggestion that the best place= for an initial Catholic foundation was his native Irobland, an autonomous regio= n. He stressed the facts that the Irob-Buknaita would offer free land for the mission, that there was already a church without a priest, and that the peo= ple would glady accept the Lazarists. Consequently, Abune Ya= qob together with Abba Teklegiorgis and his father Mr. Habtemariam, left for Alitena in the summer of 1845

As Abba Teklegiorgis predicted, the leader of the region, Hanta Tsa’ru Tesfahannis, and 60 of the council of elders not only welcomed Abune Yaqob enthusiastically, but also fervently vowed that they would defend the missionaries and never change their faith .[2] They never did change and even today the majority of Catholics in Tigray are the Irobs. The council also demanded Abune Yaqob make a similar solemn promise that the Lazarists would never leave the area even if conditions improved in other parts of the coun= try. Thus, Abune Yaqob found in Alitena a fruitful field in which to grow the de= ep roots of Catholicism which eventually spread throughout the entire region.<= o:p>

Despite persecution, by 1846, Abune Yaqob had established a seminary housing thirty= in Gual’a. By that time, t= he Lazarists had also established four churches with their own clergy and many faithful lay people. The following churches were established in the Agame region alone: St. John the Baptist in Gual’a, Kidane-Mehret and St. Gabriel in Sa’essi and Lideta Le-Marim (Our Lady) in Alitena. There were also some Catholics and a parish priest in Inticho who shared a church with local Orthodox.

Nevertheless, about two years later, all establishments (Gual’a, Saessie, Inticho, etc.) were destroyed and the believers were forced to abandon Catholicism a= nd reconvert. Alitena was also sacked, but the intruders could not reconvert t= he believers. The priests and so= me other Catholics like Mr. Geladiewos, the first lay Catholic who together wi= th his family had protected Abune Yaqob and his followers in Gual’a, fled to= Halay, Eritrea. From that time onwards, the Halay community became a firm bastion of Catholicism and helped to establish other important Catholic communities in Hebo, Akhrur, Keren etc. By that time, th= ere were about five thousand Catholics in the country including 15 priests, some monks waiting to be ordained and 10 seminarians.

On June = 19, 1847, Abune Yaqob was appointed bishop of the Prefecture of Abyss= inia which was raised to the Vicariate of Abyssinia. = Rome divided Ethiopia into = two vicariates: Apostolic Vicaria= te of Abyssinia, which comprised Tigray, including today’s Eritrea, Gonder, Wello, Shewa and Gojam, a= nd the Vicariate Apostolic of Galla, which comprised Oromia and the rest of southe= rn Ethiopia. The first vicariate was assigned to Abune Yaqob and adopted the Ethiopic Rite. Mgr W. Massaia, a Capuc= hin missionary, was appointed to the second vicariate and he followed the Latin Rite. Abune Yaqob’s determination to found an authentic Ethiopic Rite Catholic Church was made official when on July 6, 1847 Rome granted him permission to carry ou= t all sacred functions according to the Ethiopic Rite.

Abune Yaqob died at 3 PM on July 31, 1860 in Ala’gade, Erit= rea and was buried at Hebo on August 3, 1860. When he died there were about 12,000 Catholics in the vicariate he founded. The most important thing that Abune= Yaqob did was to establish a viable Ethiopian Catholic Church of the Ethiopic Rit= e in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

He succeeded where the others had failed because he loved the people and honor= ed their culture by studying the local languages and liturgy. He was tolerant and patient. He wa= s canonized on October 26, 1975.

Sketch of an angel by St. Justin de Jacobis. Taken from his sketch book.