The mystical tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (free post)

Never colonized, never spoiled

In the predominantly white Western world in recent years it’s become almost axiomatic to claim that “religion” — usually undefined in any formerly customary sense — is a “bad thing,” that (in the words of the late Christopher Hitchens) it “poisons everything.” That non-religious and anti-religious persons say such things is hardly surprising, but it becomes comical when quite obviously religious persons do as well. So, we sometimes see the ludicrously self-contradictory spectacle on social media and elsewhere of Evangelical Christians asserting that Jesus was “against religion” or the Zen Buddhist practitioner (who regularly chants sutras and dings gongs) claiming that Zen Buddhism isn’t at all religious in character, and so on. In contrast to this frankly weird Western trend (and nowhere else is more consistently myopic than the West, by which I mean “culture” and not geography), we have the rest of the world to consider. In one of the videos below, when one young, bright, and talented Ethiopian is asked why so many contemporary young people in his country are flocking to their churches and in many cases becoming priests and monastics, whereas in the West so few do, his simple reply is (as best I can recall), “We’ve never been colonized [by the West], and so we love and respect our tradition.”

Ouch.

We can hope and pray that Ethiopia remains uncolonized by the West. They have resisted Western inroads for centuries, despite periods of turmoil, repression, and violence in their history. Theirs is an ancient, proudly African heritage and — to the annoyance, no doubt, of wannabe secularizing colonizers of the West just waiting in the wings to swoop in and rescue these people from their “religious” backwardness — an unabashedly spiritual and mystical one, too.

I quite nearly gave this post the title, “So, you think you know Christianity…” This is because what we see in Ethiopia is utterly unique. It is a Christian (miaphysite) tradition with roots extending at least as far back as to the fourth century, and even to the first (see Acts 8:26-40). Its links to Judaism date, it is said, to the Queen of Sheba’s visit to Solomon (whose child, the story goes, she bore, establishing Ethiopia’s Solomonic monarchy). Its Christianity is fully integrated with the culture, having absorbed Middle Eastern influences and its own ancient pre-Christian religious practices. At the heart of the Ethiopian Tewahedo (a Ge’ez word meaning “unified,” in reference to Christ’s “composite” nature) Church, one of the so-called Oriental Orthodox churches, is a rich, living and jubilant liturgical life, monasticism, and a mystical tradition unlike any other. All I can do here is offer you a handful of immersive videos and let its tradition’s magic work on you.

Again, may God protect them from the sort of flattening, irreligious, non-mystical, nihilistic “enlightenment” the modern West so highly values, but has so little to show for it in the way of depth, heart, meaning, and soul.

*****

“ Isolated by mountains, Ethiopia is a center of spirituality. Here, faith is a driving force in the lives of many. This episode explores the depths of Ethiopia's religious beliefs. In the holy highland town of Lalibela, young Kibkab Woldemariam studies each day in hopes of becoming a priest. In the hills above Lalibela, Abba Defar labours at bringing to life his vision of a cathedral hewn from mountain rock. Will Kibkab Woldemariam be rewarded for his studies with the honour of participating in the annual procession for the holy day of Timkat? And will Abba Defar ever complete his mammoth symbol of faith in the Ethiopian highlands?”

*****

“In Ethiopia, Afua Hirsch traces a proud 3,000-year history as significant as any civilisation in the west. A beacon for the black diaspora, Ethiopia's story is one of defiant independence, of kings and communists.”

*****

“[David] Adams makes the pilgrimage from Lalibela to Gondar in the northern wilds of Ethiopia, and paddles by papyrus kayak across lake Tana. His quest: to find the Ark of the Covenant.”

*****

“Nearly all of Ethiopia’s old-growth forest has disappeared. This film tells the story of Ethiopia’s church forests–pockets of lush biodiversity that surround hundreds of churches—and the efforts to protect them. Directed by Jeremy Seifert. This film premiered in the seventh issue of Emergence Magazine on "Trees" with an accompanying essay by Fred Bahnson. Read or listen to the essay here: http://www.emergencemagazine.org/stor...”

*****

“This is the most extreme baptism you’ll ever see. In Ethiopia, belief in a higher power leads villagers in the Tigray region to climb a huge, vertiginous mountainside to reach their church. They believe it's vital and beneficial for their children to be baptised here, despite the obvious dangers. Just 40 days after giving birth, Ngisti must climb 400 metres to have her new son Dawit baptised.”

*****

“A fascinating glimpse of the music culture and ancient traditions of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Christian culture – where music, religion and everyday life are bound closely together.

“In the documentary "And David Danced: The Magical Music of Ethiopia", the filmmakers capture their impressions of music festivities, rituals and ceremonies stamped with Ethiopia’s links to far older civilizations than that of the Christianity it has embraced, to the Jerusalem of King Solomon and the Egypt of the Pharaohs.

“The musical journey begins in the medieval settlement of Lalibela at the time of Timkat, the greatest ceremony of the year. Lalibela is a place surrounded by myths. It is the site of eleven rock-hewn churches, built in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century, often ranked among the wonders of the world. Here the liturgies are celebrated in the same ceremonies that were performed thousands of years ago. At the end of the celebrations, a daptara, one of the learned shamans of the priest caste, sets off to visit other holy places and to give healing and comfort to those in need.

“The first stop is a village where a young, childless couple seeks help. Rituals, including an exorcism, the sacrifice of a sheep, and the recitation of magic poems, are carried out. The film captures fragments of life, telling its own story of rituals, festivities, people and beautiful landscapes.”