agape
In Christian theology, Christian love, especially as distinct from erotic love or simple affection; a communal meal in token of Christian fellowship, as held by early Christians in commemoration of ...
Aksum
A town in the province of Tigré in northern Ethiopia. It was a religious centre and the capital of a powerful kingdom during the 1st–6th centuries ad. According to ancient Aksumite tradition their ...
Amhara
Ethnic group of Ethiopia.The Amhara, one of the two largest ethnic groups of Ethiopia, occupy central and western Ethiopia. Traditionally, the Amhara have been the country's dominant people—all but ...
Anglican Bishopric in Jerusalem
In 1841 a bishopric was set up in Jerusalem by the joint efforts of England and Prussia to serve Anglicans and Protestants in the Middle East. The bishop was to be nominated by England and Prussia ...
Axum
In N. Ethiopia. In the early 6th cent. it emerged as a major Christian power, and even after the disappearance of the kingdom of Axum in the 7th cent. the Churches have retained their prestige ...
Bl Giuseppe Allamano
(1851–1926), founder of the Consolata Missionaries. In 1880 he was appointed guardian of a Marian shrine in Turin. On recovering from a severe illness in 1891, he vowed to found a missionary society ...
Blue Nile
One of two main tributaries of the Nile River, which originates in Ethiopia.Known as the Abay (or Abbay or Abbai) in Amharic and as al-Bahr al-Azraq in Arabic, the ...
Christianity in Africa
There has been a Christian presence on the African continent for nearly as long as people have considered themselves followers of Jesus Christ. Missionaries and traders have been credited for ...
Christianity in Africa
Apart from Egypt and the Mediterranean coast (Roman ‘Africa’, on which see the next entry), Christianity had by the 4th cent. penetrated to Nubia (where it died out in the 16th cent.) and Ethiopia, ...
Clothing in Africa
As elsewhere, clothing in Africa has long served more than one purpose. In addition to satisfying human needs for covering and adornment, textiles and clothing provide media for artistic expression ...
Consolata Missionaries
A RC missionary congregation of men and women founded at Turin in 1901 and 1910 respectively by Bl Giuseppe Allamano. It received final official approval in 1923. It is characterized by devotion to ...
Coptic Church
One of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. According to tradition the Church in Egypt was founded by St Mark; Alexandria was one of the chief sees in the early Church. The Egyptian Church suffered ...
Diocletianic Era
The reckoning of time from the year of Diocletian's accession (ad 284). It is also known as the ‘Era of the Martyrs’.
Ethnicity and Identity in Africa: An Interpretation
What is ethnicity in Africa? One thing is certain: it is very often misunderstood. Many people, including many contemporary Africans, suppose that in the precolonial period, all Africans lived in ...
Haile Selassie
(1892–1975),emperor of Ethiopia 1930–74. In exile in Britain during the Italian occupation of Ethiopia (1936–41), he was restored to the throne by the Allies and ruled until deposed by a military ...
Henry Aaron Stern
(1820–85),missionary to the Jews. Born of Jewish parents at Unterreichenbach in Hesse-Cassel, he was educated at Frankfurt and Hamburg. Having entered on a commercial career he went to London ...
Hiob Ludolf
(1624–1704),also spelt ‘Leutholf’, German orientalist. A native of Erfurt, after studying there and at Leiden he travelled extensively to increase his linguistic knowledge. In 1649 in Italy he met ...
Liturgy of St Mark
The traditional Greek Eucharistic Liturgy of the Church of Alexandria, formerly used by the Egyptian Melchites. Behind the various forms lies a primitive local Egyptian text in which the great ...
Menelik II
(1844–1913)Emperor of Ethiopia (1889–1913). Originally ruler of Shoa (1863–89), with Italian support he seized the throne after Emperor John IV died. He made the Treaty of Ucciali (1889) with Italy, ...
