NATURAL INCENSE FROM ETHIOPIA


Christianity in Ethiopia





Ethiopia is the only Christian sovereign state in Africa to have endured continuously from the early centuries of Christianity to the present day.


According to tradition, the evangelization of Ethiopia is traced to the Holy Apostles Matthew and Bartholomew. The establishment of Christianity is traditionally attributed to the consecration of Frumentius as Bishop of Ethiopia by St. Athanasius of Alexandria. In 330, the Aksumite Empire converted to Christianity.


One of the most famous accounts of the Ethiopian Church is the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. Having heard of Solomon’s fame, the Queen of Sheba wished to see him for herself. She travelled to Jerusalem to meet Solomon (I Kings 10:13). According to Ethiopian tradition, the Queen of Sheba returned to her kingdom pregnant, and her son, Menelik I, the first legendary Emperor of Ethiopia, was the son of Solomon. It is also said that the young Menelik travelled to Jerusalem to learn from Solomon’s wisdom before returning to his homeland.


According to Ethiopian writings, he brought the Ark of the Covenant with him. It is believed that the Ark is still preserved in Ethiopia, in the city of Aksum.



The Islamization of much of the Near and Middle East separated Ethiopia from the rest of Christendom. The Kingdom of Aksum experienced a decline and gradual erosion, but this did not stop the Ethiopian Church from growing. The centers of Christian Ethiopia’s power gradually moved southward.


Between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Ethiopian Church saw one of its finest achievements take shape when King Lalibela (c. 1190–1225) founded a city that bears his name, a second Jerusalem.


Even today, we can see these monumental monolithic churches carved into the rock. Intended as a substitute for pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the site offered pilgrims the opportunity to contemplate a representation of the topography of the Holy City.



For centuries, along with the Coptic Metropolitan sent from Egypt, the Emperor was responsible for the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia. At the time, the Church in Ethiopia owned nearly a third of the country's land, as well as numerous buildings.


The Revolution of 1974 swept all this away, causing widespread looting, pillaging, and destruction. Everything was nationalized by the revolutionary committee, led by Mengistu after 1977. Land, property, and schools, including Catholic schools, were transformed into state property. Although many of its properties and schools have since been returned to the Church, everything is different now.


The Church, impoverished by these events, continues to face difficulties following the closure of its seminaries for seventeen years (until 1991), as well as the deterioration of many of its church buildings.