Women and Ordination in Ethiopia: In the Case of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Mekane Yesus*

Abstract

Since the inception of the Evangelical Church of Mekane Yesus (EECMY), women have been part and parcel of the holistic ministry; however, their role has only been limited to providing social welfare activities for a long time. Meanwhile, a communist regime took power in the 1974 revolution and caused severe trials and persecution of evangelical churches, and prominent Mekane Yesus congregations opened for charismatic moves. Such upheavals loosened the stringent structures of the church, allowed women to serve freely and fearlessly, and showed their worthiness amid a brutal government crackdown. Subsequently, the issue of elevating women to ordination began to rise and took several years to realise. This article mainly discusses this historical process from the wider Lutheran tradition as well as in comparison with other Ethiopian mainline evangelical denominations; and how they resolved it constitutionally after intense and long debate by utilising key participant informants, bulletins, magazines, and research work.