http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2015/june-web-only/why-christians-are-fleeing-africa-ethiopia-orthodox.html
"In 2011, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimated that
more than 75,000 citizens migrate annually to Libya, most with the
hope of making it to Europe. Italy is the leading Mediterranean nation
of reception, with about 10,000 Christian migrants from Ethiopia,
according to the Pew Research Center. Many get stranded; others die
trying"
Why Christians Are Fleeing One of Africa's Oldest and Largest
Christian Homelands
Beyond the search for a better life, evangelicals and Orthodox in
Ethiopia increasingly share even more.
Jayson Casper in Cairo/ June 18, 2015
April was a terrible month for Ethiopian migrants. Tescma Marcus and
his brother Alex were burned alive during xenophobic attacks in South
Africa. One week later, Eyasu Yekuno-Amlak and his brother Balcha were
dramatically executed in Libya by ISIS, along with 26 others.
One reason Ethiopians were involved in high-profile tragedies at
opposite ends of the continent: Their nation is the second-most
populous in Africa as well as the second-poorest in the world (87
percent of Ethiopia's 94 million people are impoverished).
Roughly two-thirds of Ethiopians are Christians. The majority of these
belong to the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; the rest
primarily to Protestant denominations such as the Ethiopian
Evangelical Church Makane Yesus (which recently broke ties with the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over theological concerns).
The Orthodox and Protestants have long had in common the search for a
better life. Increasingly, they share even more.
Veteran SIM missionary Howard Brant celebrates that “the two groups
are coming closer and closer together” in Ethiopia, which he calls
“one of the great success stories of evangelical Christianity.”
The martyred migrants in Libya, he said, likely belonged to the
Orthodox church. “But if they were strong enough believers to refuse
to deny Jesus on pain of death,” he said, “then God knows their
hearts.”
The Tewahedo church—like its Orthodox sister church in
Egypt—celebrates its history of martyrdom. It claims descent from the
Ethiopian eunuch converted by Philip in Acts 8, and dates formally to
the preaching of Frumentius in the early fourth century and the
acceptance of Christianity in A.D. 330.
The name means "unified" in Ge’ez, the ancient and still liturgical
language of Ethiopia. It refers to Christ’s one nature, both human and
divine. In A.D. 451, the Oriental Orthodox churches rejected the
Council of Chalcedon’s pronouncement of his two natures.
But despite joint confession of the A.D. 325 Nicene Creed, relations
with Ethiopian evangelical groups have traditionally been poor. The
Orthodox hold to an 81-book canon of Scripture, engage in deep
veneration of Mary, and believe the Ark of the Covenant is housed in
their St. Mary’s of Zion Church, said to be brought in the 10th
century B.C. and kept in secret.
Some evangelicals accept the ark legend as well, said Ralph Lee, an
expert in Ge’ez and Ethiopic theology who has partnered extensively
with the Orthodox. Despite these barriers, he believes there is much
room for cooperation.
“The gospels always come first and all is to be interpreted in their
light,” he said. “There are many within the church who are seeking to
help the laity develop a better understanding of their faith and its
meaning.”
Unfortunately, he says, there are others who do not fully realize the
importance. The Bible is widely available in Amharic, the national
language, and the Bible Society in Ethiopia works with all
denominations. But some Orthodox bishops oppose a vernacular liturgy,
and priests are generally not given an academic education in the
Scriptures.
One bishop, however, has authorized a Bible translation in the local
language of the heavily Orthodox region of Tigray, along the northern
border with Eritrea.
The Orthodox church’s late leader, Patriarch Abune Paulos, was hailed
by Lee and many Ethiopians as a champion of ecumenism, serving as a
president of the World Council of Churches until his death in 2012.
Over the last decade, the patriarch allowed an SIM missionary to teach
an AIDS prevention course in the Orthodox church's Holy Trinity
Theological College. Instructing priests and monks, they partnered to
launch an awareness campaign at a time many Ethiopians were still wary
of the afflicted and evangelicals alike.
The pioneering collaboration led to Lee and other foreigners being
invited into Orthodox seminaries, where they have taught for several
years. But residual distrust among the non-academic wing of the church
has at least temporarily restricted further cooperation.
“Some evangelicals believe the Orthodox are not fully Christian,” said
Lee, “and some in the Orthodox church have resisted—rooted in a
deep-seated suspicion of foreigners.”
Ethiopia takes pride as an African nation that did not fall to
colonialists, despite the best efforts of Italy. But World War II
ended its ambitions, after which Emperor Haile Selassie allowed
foreign missions to work among Ethiopian animists for the medical and
educational benefits derived in the less developed—and
non-Orthodox—southern regions of the nation.
After the Marxist revolution of 1974 and expulsion of the foreign
missionaries, Ethiopian churches witnessed explosive growth. Today,
per the most recent census, nearly a fifth of the population is
evangelical (19%, compared to 44% Orthodox).
The constitution guarantees religious freedom, but non-Orthodox must
register with the government. There is a sense the “Pente,” so called
for the charismatic leanings of these churches, are still foreign.
But like the Orthodox, Muslims are recognized as an indigenous
community. Woyita Olla, deputy general secretary of the evangelical
Kale Heywet (“Word of Life”) Church (which evolved from SIM work),
says relations with Muslims are good.
“The incident in Libya has no religious basis,” he said. “It is a
brutal, inhuman act that has no support among Muslims or Christians.
We are all condemning it.”
Olla works closely with Muslims on the national interreligious council
of Ethiopia, even as he cherishes the right of each community to
evangelize the other. Muslims compose about a third of the population,
and are said to have arrived in the seventh century when the Christian
king of then-Abyssinia welcomed the persecuted followers of Muhammad.
Following the Orthodox lead, Kale Heywet announced a week of prayer
and fasting following the killings in Libya. Olla agrees
interdenominational ties are strengthening, as the nation is coming
together.
But according to one Ethiopian Christian medical worker who preferred
not to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation, Ethiopia is
coming together in frustration.
“Children and the elderly are physically sick from what they have seen
from ISIS,” he said. “But there is also anger at the government for
not controlling immigration and creating more job opportunities.”
Tens of thousands of Ethiopians joined a government-sponsored rally
three days after the killings. By the end, riot police had to subdue
parts of the crowd.
“We may have some weakness in handling domestic issues,” said Girma
Bekele, an Ethiopian adjunct professor of global missions and
development studies at Wycliffe College in Toronto, Canada. “But to
any foreign aggression the country is always strong and united,
irrespective of ethnic or religious identities.”
Bekele was saved during the period of Marxist oppression and joined
Kale Heywet. He hopes that improving religious relations will push all
Ethiopian churches toward justice and concern for the poor.
And he has circulated a pastoral letter, acknowledged by Brant and
Ethiopian leaders back home, hoping to contribute.
“The massive exodus from the country by any means and at any cost
speaks strongly about the need to struggle against the crisis of
poverty,” he wrote. “The plight of the poor, the great majority, is
and must be at the heart of national discourse.”
In 2011, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimated that more
than 75,000 citizens migrate annually to Libya, most with the hope of
making it to Europe. Italy is the leading Mediterranean nation of
reception, with about 10,000 Christian migrants from Ethiopia,
according to the Pew Research Center. Many get stranded; others die
trying.
The nation’s Ministry of Justice announced it is drafting a new law to
combat human trafficking, and is working to repatriate Ethiopians in
Libya.
Bekele calls for more, including the rescue and economic reintegration
of migrant Ethiopians threatened also in Yemen and the Sinai. But
while he laments the state of his country, he looks to his once and
future church in hope.
“I am optimistic this national grief will usher in a new paradigm for
the church in Ethiopia,” he said, “as leaders work tirelessly to
transform it into missional dialogue.
“We have endured challenge from within and without, and must stand in
prayer as a resilient Christian nation, worthy of its 1700-year
heritage.”
Received on Thu Jun 18 2015 - 13:18:28 EDT