Autorités ecclésiastiques et territoire : évolution des notions de paroisse et de diocèse en Ethiopie contemporaine. (Church Authorities and Territories : Evolving Concepts of Parish and Diocese in Contemporary Ethiopia)

Abstract

During the 20th century, the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwahedo Church has experienced a major reorganization. Political power and higher ecclesiastic authorities have provided the Church with a national hierarchy and new central decision-making body. This paper aims at explaining repercussions of this centralization process on the ecclesiastic jurisdictions. Breaking with old ecclesiastic traditions, the Ethiopian Church established new ecclesiastic jurisdictions for which territorial limits defined alone extent of authority.