Ethiopian Catholic Church

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Catholic Church in Ethiopia.
Alexandrian Rite
HeadquartersAddis Ababa
FounderSaint Mark the Evangelist, by tradition
Congregations207 (2010)
Members70,832 (2017)[3]
Ministers590[4]
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The Ethiopian Catholic Church

liturgical language
).

It holds to the Christological doctrines defined at the

Oriental Orthodox Church which comprises most Christians
in the country.

History

The Portuguese voyages of discovery opened the way for direct contacts between the Catholic Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In the 14th century, Catholic missionaries arrived in Ethiopia. On 28 August 1439, Pope Eugene IV sent a message of unity with the Catholic Church to Ethiopian Emperor Constantine I, but this effort was unsuccessful.[5]

With Islamic attacks up to 1531 threatening Christian Ethiopia, an appeal from the Emperor to the Portuguese brought support to defeat the

Fasilides in 1636 removed Mendes from the country, ended the union with Rome and removed or killed the remaining missionaries. For the next 200 years, Ethiopia was closed to Catholic Missions.[5]

In 1839, Italian

episcopal dignity until it was finally forced upon him in 1849.[6]

In 1919, the Pontifical Ethiopian College was founded within the Vatican walls by Pope Benedict XV with St. Stephen's Church, behind St. Peter's Basilica, as the designated church for the College.[1]

The

Metropolitan See[2] and Asmara (in Eritrea) and Adigrat (in Ethiopia) as suffragan eparchies.[5]

Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel

In 1995, two new eparchies,

Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia.[2]

In January 2015 Pope Francis established the Eritrean Catholic Church as a sui iuris Eastern Catholic Church, thus granting it autonomy from the Ethiopian Catholic Church.[7]

There are also

apostolic prefecture
.

Eparchies

There are four eparchies (bishoprics) in the country:[8]

A map of Ethiopian Catholic jurisdictions

Differences between the Catholic and Orthodox Ethiopian churches

Interior of the Medhani Alem Catholic Church in Adigrat

Doctrinal distinctions between the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Catholic Ethiopian Churches include recognition of the fifth-century Council of Chalcedon. The order of the diaconate is reserved for adult men in the Catholic Church, but boys are commonly ordained as deacons in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Ethiopian Catholic clergy also tend to dress in the Roman cassock and collar, distinct from the Ethiopian Orthodox custom.

See also

Notes

  1. Latin
    : Ecclesia Catholica Aethiopica

References

  1. ^ a b c Roberson, Ronald G. "The Ethiopian Catholic Church". Eastern Catholic Churches. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Addis Abeba". GCatholic.org. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  3. ^ "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
  4. ^ a b Roberson, Ronald G. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2010" (PDF). Eastern Catholic Churches Statistics. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  5. ^ a b c Roberson, Ronald G. "The Ethiopian Catholic Church". Eastern Catholic Churches. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. p. 1. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  6. ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Blessed Justin de Jacobis" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  7. ^ "Erezione della Chiesa Metropolitana sui iuris eritrea e nomina del primo Metropolita". Holy See Press Office. January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  8. ^ "Ethiopian Catholic Church Current Dioceses". Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Archeparchy of Addis Abeba (Ethiopian)". Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Eparchy of Adigrat (Ethiopian)". Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Eparchy of Bahir Dar - Dessie (Ethiopian)". Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Eparchy of Emdeber (Ethiopian)". Retrieved 12 October 2018.

External links

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