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Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Type Object Region East Africa Time c. 330

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, one of Africa's oldest Christian churches, traditionally established as a state religion in 4th-century Aksum…

Timeline

  1. c. 330–500Aksum · Tigray RegionAccording to tradition, Frumentius converted King Ezana of Aksum to Christianity, making the church the kingdom's state religion; Aksum became a center of East African Christian civilization and established links with the Coptic Church of Alexandria.
  2. c. 500–1200Lalibela and Lake Tana monasteries · EthiopiaBetween the 6th and 12th centuries the church developed a distinctive Ge'ez liturgy, thirteen-month calendar, and monastic system; monasteries on the Lake Tana islands and at Lalibela became centers of theological education and manuscript copying.
  3. c. 1200–1850Ethiopian highlands · EthiopiaThe church long kept its distance from Islamic powers and European colonial expansion, resisting the Adal-Ottoman alliance in the 16th century, maintaining Miaphysite faith and indigenous liturgy, and refusing pressure to convert to Roman Catholicism.
  4. 1959Addis Ababa · EthiopiaIn 1959 the Coptic Orthodox pope recognized the autonomy of the Ethiopian church and established a patriarchate; from the late 20th to the 21st century the church has engaged in social education and pastoral care for overseas communities, remaining influential in Ethiopian national life.

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