The Coptic and Ethiopian churches reached an agreement on July 13, 1948, which led to autocephaly for the Ethiopian Church. Five bishops were immediately consecrated by the Coptic pope of Alexandria and the patriarch of All Africa, who were empowered to elect a new patriarch for their church, and the successor of Qerellos IV would have the power to ordain new bishops. [30] This promotion was completed when Coptic Orthodox Pope Joseph II consecrated an archbishop of Ethiopian origin, Abuna Basilios, on January 14, 1951. In 1959, Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria crowned Basilios as the first Patriarch of Ethiopia. She accepts this gift with a hug and a kiss, and then everyone goes to her waiting vehicle and goes to the next Ethiopian wedding ceremony. With the bridal car leading the procession, all vehicles have the usual flowers hanging from the windows, with passengers all singing traditional Ethiopian wedding songs. David Daniels has suggested that the Ethiopian Church had a stronger influence on the Reformation than most scholars acknowledge. For Martin Luther, who led the Reformation, Daniels says, “The Ethiopian Church gave legitimacy to Luther`s emerging Protestant vision of a church outside the authority of the Roman Catholic papacy” because it was “an ancient church with direct ties to the apostles.” [22] According to Daniels, Martin Luther saw that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church practiced elements of faith, including “communion in both forms, folk writings, and married clergy,” and these practices became common in Lutheran churches. The Ethiopian Church also rejected papal supremacy, purgatory, and indulgences, with which Lutherans disagreed, and the Ethiopian Church was, for Luther, the “true precursor of Protestantism.” [22] Luther believed that the Ethiopian Church maintained true apostolic practices that Lutherans would adopt when reading the Scriptures. [23] Ras Tafar Haile Selassie was himself a member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and refuted the heretical claims of the new Rastafari religious movement, which had begun independently of him in the African diaspora of America. [66] A major representative of the movement, Bob Marley, was baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in 1980, shortly before his death.
[67] [68] Union with the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria continued after the Arab conquest of Egypt. Abu Saleh reports to the 12th century. The patriarch sent letters to the kings of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and Nubia twice a year, until Al Hakim ceased this practice. Cyril, the 67th patriarch, sent Severus as bishop, with the order to abolish polygamy and impose the observance of canonical ordination for all churches. These examples show the close relationship between the two churches throughout the Middle Ages. [19] In 1439, under Zara Yaqob, a religious discussion between Giyorgis and a French visitor led to the sending of an Ethiopian embassy to the Vatican. [19] Before praying, they wash their hands and faces to be pure and give the best of themselves to God; Shoes are removed to recognize that one is praying before a holy God. [55] [56] Ethiopian Orthodox believers take off their shoes when entering a church temple,[53] in accordance with Exodus 3:5 (in which, while looking at the burning bush, Moses was commanded to remove his shoes while standing on holy ground). In addition, the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church supports Sabbatarianism by observing the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) in addition to the Lord`s Day (Sunday),[57] although the emphasis is more on Sunday because of Christ`s resurrection. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን,[1] Yäityop`ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches. The Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church, one of the few Christian churches in sub-Saharan Africa born before the European colonization of the continent,[5] dates back to the adoption of Christianity by the Aksum Kingdom in 330,[6] and has between 36 and 49.8 million followers in Ethiopia. [2] [3] [4] She is a founding member of the World Council of Churches.
[7] The Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church is in communion with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches (the Eritrean Tewahedo Orthodox Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Syrian Malankara Orthodox Church, the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church).