A fascinating look at the cultural history and devotional arts of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Ethiopia's proximity to the Red Sea created a gateway for its peoples to trade networks, economic and cultural exchanges, and the greater Christian world. As networks spread, so too did cultural practices. Ethiopian Devotions employs a thematic approach to explore the unique religious architecture, distinctive visual arts, and religious literature and poetry of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church from the fourteenth through twentieth centuries.
Three sibling beliefs—Beta Esrael, Christianity, and Islam—in the Horn of Africa shared a founding figure (Abraham), reverence of the divine word, similar rituals, and pilgrimage sites. Introduced to the region by monks and merchants, Christianity became the official religion of the ancient state of Aksum around 350 CE. By the sixth century, essential Christian texts had been translated into Gǝ‛ǝz, the language of the people and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Ethiopia's rituals were further shaped in the fifteenth century by the establishment of a court church, written instructions and homilies, portable devotional icons, and formal iconography or visual language. Monks from various parts of the Eastern Roman Empire established monasteries that became centers of learning, maintaining libraries and scriptoria, and training scribes, painters, and metalworkers. In turn, they created murals, illuminated manuscripts, icons, processional crosses, and liturgical furnishings for both church and state, a symbiotic relationship that prevailed into the twentieth century.
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