The obscure divine: Ambivalence in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Abstract

AbstractThis article presents a look at contemporary research on Orthodox Christianity in Ethiopia while specifically examining the controversial debtera. The debtera, who figure among the Ethiopian Orthodox Church clergy preforming both Orthodox and occult services, are a telling societal phenomenon. This article should not be read strictly as a summary of the academic literature of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but rather it introduces a new category—“debteric studies”—in the hopes of expanding the limits of existing research in the field as well as by calling attention the cultural relevance of the duality that the debtera embody. While tracking the trajectory of “debteric studies”, a discourse on secrecy, knowledge, and ambivalence also emerges. Studying the debtera reveals that he both incites rules and the transgression of those rules. He is considered to be on the margins of Ethiopian society, but, at the same time, his presence and the need for his capabilities remains ubiquitous. This article argues that furthering “debteric studies” may also contribute more generally to the study of ambivalence within religious structures.