Ethiopian Catholic Church

The Ethiopian Catholic Church[a] or Ethiopian Eastern

Catholic Church is a sui iuris (autonomous) Eastern Catholic
church that is based in Ethiopia. As a particular church of the Ethiopian Catholic Church
Catholic Church, it is in full communion with the Holy See.
Established in 1930, the church is organised under a metropolitan
bishop who exercises oversight of a number suffragan dioceses. In
its liturgical services, it uses the Alexandrian Rite in the Ge'ez
language (a local liturgical language).

It holds to the Christological doctrines defined at the Council of

Chalcedon and accepts the universal jurisdiction of the pope.
These points distinguish it from the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church, an Oriental Orthodox Church which Cathedral of the Holy Saviour,
comprises most Christians in the country. Adigrat
Classification Eastern Catholic
History Orientation Eastern
Christianity
The Portuguese voyages of discovery opened the way for direct Theology Catholic theology
contacts between the Catholic Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church. In the 14th century, Catholic missionaries arrived in Polity Episcopal
Ethiopia. On 28 August 1439, Pope Eugene IV sent a message of Governance Metropolitanate
unity with the Catholic Church to Ethiopian Emperor Constantine Pope Francis
I, but this effort was unsuccessful.[5]
Archbishop Cardinal
With Islamic attacks up to 1531 threatening Christian Ethiopia, an Berhaneyesus
appeal from the Emperor to the Portuguese brought support to Demerew
defeat the Adal Sultanate in the Ethiopian–Adal War. Jesuit Souraphiel[1][2]
missionaries came with the Portuguese to Ethiopia. These
Region Ethiopia
missionaries focused their conversion activities on the country's
governing class, including the Emperor, to have the Ethiopian Liturgy Alexandrian Rite
Orthodox Church unite with the Catholic Church. The Emperor Headquarters Addis Ababa
Susenyos was converted primarily by Father Pedro Páez. In 1622,
Susenyos made Catholicism the state religion. The next year, Pope Founder
Saint Mark the
Gregory XV named Afonso Mendes, a Portuguese Jesuit, Evangelist, by
Patriarch of the Ethiopian Church. A formal union in 1626 was tradition
declared when Patriarch Mendes came to the country. With Congregations 207 (2010)
Mendes trying to Latinize the Ethiopian church, Susenyos used
Members 70,832 (2017)[3]
force to impose the Latinization. Public backlash resulted. In 1632,
Susenyos died. His successor Fasilides in 1636 removed Mendes Ministers 590[4]
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 Lazarist and Capuchins missionaries arrived, albeit within certain limitations imposed on
them due to strong public opposition. That same year, Justin de Jacobis was appointed first Prefect
Apostolic of Abyssinia and entrusted with the foundation of Catholic missions in that country. After
laboring with great success in Abyssinia for eight years, he was appointed titular Bishop of Nilopolis in
1847, and shortly afterwards Vicar Apostolic of Abyssinia, but he refused the 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 Latin Church had become established in the south of Ethiopia in areas that had not been Christian and
that were incorporated into the modern country only at the end of the 19th century. The Italian occupation
of Ethiopia in 1936 gave rise to an increase in the number of Latin-Church jurisdictions, but the expulsion
of foreign missionaries at the end of the Second World War meant that the Ethiopic Rite clergy had to take
responsibility for areas thus denuded of Catholic clergy. Accordingly, in 1951, the Ethiopic Rite Apostolic
Exarchate of Addis Ababa was established, and the ordinariate for Eritrea was elevated to the rank of
exarchate. Ten years later, on 20 February 1961, an Ethiopic ecclesiastical province was established, with
Addis Ababa as the Metropolitan See[2] and Asmara (in Eritrea) and Adigrat (in Ethiopia) as suffragan
eparchies.[5]

In 1995, two new eparchies, Barentu and Keren, were established in

Eritrea,[4] and the Latin-Church apostolic vicariate was abolished. Eritrea
thus became the only country where all Catholics, whatever Church of their
canonical ascription, belong to an Eastern Catholic jurisdiction.[1] In 2003,
one more eparchy was created in Endibir in the 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]
Metropolitan Archbishop of
There are also Latin Church jurisdictions in the south of Ethiopia, none of
Addis Abeba Berhaneyesus
them raised to the rank of diocese. Eight are apostolic vicariates and one is
Demerew Souraphiel
an apostolic prefecture.

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

Archeparchy of Addis Abeba[9] (metropolitan see)

Eparchy of Adigrat[10]
Eparchy of Bahir Dar–Dessie[11]
Eparchy of Emdeber[12]

Differences between the Catholic and

Orthodox Ethiopian churches
A map of Ethiopian Catholic Doctrinal distinctions between the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo
jurisdictions 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
Christianity in Ethiopia
Catholic Church in Ethiopia
Interior of the Medhani Alem Catholic
Religion in Ethiopia
Church in Adigrat
List of Catholic dioceses in Ethiopia

Notes
a. Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊክ ቤተ ክርስቲያን; Latin: Ecclesia Catholica Aethiopica

References
1. Roberson, Ronald G. "The Ethiopian Catholic Church" (http://www.cnewa.org/default.aspx?I
D=64&pagetypeID=9&sitecode=HQ&pageno=2). Eastern Catholic Churches. Catholic Near
East Welfare Association. p. 2. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
2. "Metropolitan Archdiocese of Addis Abeba" (http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/diocese/addi
0.htm). GCatholic.org. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
3. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2017" (https://web.archive.org/web/20181024215818/http://
www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat17.pdf) (PDF).
Archived from the original (http://www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistic
s/eastcatholic-stat17.pdf) (PDF) on 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2019-06-19.
4. Roberson, Ronald G. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2010" (https://web.archive.org/web/2
0150923222256/http://www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-eastcath-statistics/eastcath
olic-stat10.pdf) (PDF). Eastern Catholic Churches Statistics. Catholic Near East Welfare
Association. Archived from the original (http://www.cnewa.org/source-images/Roberson-east
cath-statistics/eastcatholic-stat10.pdf) (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved
28 December 2011.
5. Roberson, Ronald G. "The Ethiopian Catholic Church" (http://www.cnewa.org/default.aspx?I
D=64&pagetypeID=9&sitecode=HQ&pageno=1). Eastern Catholic Churches. Catholic Near
East Welfare Association. p. 1. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
6. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Blessed Justin de Jacobis" (https://en.wikisource.org/wik
i/Catholic_Encyclopedia_(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" (http://
press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/de/bollettino/pubblico/2015/01/19/0048/00098.html).
Holy See Press Office. January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
8. "Ethiopian Catholic Church Current Dioceses" (http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/rite/det2.ht
ml). Retrieved 12 October 2018.
9. "Archeparchy of Addis Abeba (Ethiopian)" (http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/daddi.h
tml). Retrieved 12 October 2018.
10. "Eparchy of Adigrat (Ethiopian)" (http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dadig.html).
Retrieved 12 October 2018.
11. "Eparchy of Bahir Dar - Dessie (Ethiopian)" (http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dbah
d.html). Retrieved 12 October 2018.
12. "Eparchy of Emdeber (Ethiopian)" (http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/demde.html).
Retrieved 12 October 2018.

External links
Article on The Ethiopian Catholic Church by Ronald Roberson on the CNEWA website (http
s://cnewa.org/eastern-christian-churches/toc/the-catholic-eastern-churches/from-the-oriental-
orthodox-churches/the-ethiopian-catholic-church/)
Video of an Ethiopian (Ge'ez rite) Catholic Mass (http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7
192739740385199016&q=Ge%27ez&total=21&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plin
dex=0)

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