Foreign intervention and legacies in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church

Abstract

This paper examines foreign intervention and the legacies remain in the affairs of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC). It discusses the so-called Jesuit missionaries' intervention in the EOTC during the 16th and 17th centuries and some of their legacies. It also explores Italy's intervention in the EOTC in the 19th and 20th centuries and the legacies left in the EOTC. To deal with these issues, this article used a qualitative research approach, including primary and secondary data collection instruments. It shows that contradictory religious teachings, ethnocentrism, and ethnic division, which are evident in the contemporary ecclesiastics of the EOTC, are the legacies of the Jesuit missionaries and Italy in the EOTC. It concludes that the current contradictory and divisive religious teachings in the EOTC were initiated and originated by the Jesuit missionaries, and the ethnocentric tendency and ethnic-based division of top ecclesiastics of the current EOTC are the legacies of Italy. Currently, such divisions are consolidated and celebrated by Ethiopians, including the top authorities of the EOTC, but at least in part, their source is foreign intervention. Thus, the EOTC should disclose the roots of such destructive and divisive legacies to strengthen its unity.