Gondar - Phi Kappa Psi

In the 12th century Ethiopia emerged from the dark ages under the
leadership of a new Zagwe (Zague) dynasty. The Zagwes were from central
Ethiopia and of dubious background. Later ecclesiastical texts accuse them of
not being of the pure Solomonid lineage -- that is not being descended from
Menelik, the son of the biblical king Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who
supposedly founded the royal house of Ethiopia. In part to establish their
religious credentials, in part to stake a claim to God’s favor, in part to create a
focus for religious devotion inside Ethiopia and particularly at the Zagwe capital,
in part to re-direct the energies of pilgrims from Jerusalem, and in part out of
genuine religous devotion. King Lalibela had a set of ten churches built in his
capital of Roha, which has since be renamed Lalibela. These churches, carved
out of the living rock, deserve to be one of the wonders of the world and are a
remarkable monument to the skill and craftsmanship of the 13th century
Ethiopians.
In the sixteenth century Ethiopia was nearly overrun by the armies of the
Muslim general Ahmed Gran who waged jihad on Ethiopia with great success.
He took control of the country, but when he was killed by a Portuguese musket in
an Ethiopian counter-attack in 1543 the incipient Muslim state in Ethiopia simply
fell apart for lack of leadership. Portguese military support was critical to the
success of the counter-attack, though it had not been enough to prevent Ahmed
Gran from overrunning Ethiopia in the first place.
John Bermudez, a Portuguese who had been visiting Ethiopia during
Ahmed Gran’s conquest, and who had slipped through to appeal for Portuguese
aid, took advantage of the death of the abuna to claim that the dying patriarch
had appointed him successor, and that the pope has appointed him Archbishop
of Ethiopia when John Bermudez had been in Europe. There is no evidence that
either claim was true, but the Portuguese in Ethiopia believed him and pressured
king Galawdewos to adopt the Latin Roman Catholic Liturgy. A mission of Jesuits
was sent out to further pressure the Ethiopian court, which resisted any thought
of joining the Roman Catholic Church
The following century, king Suseynos (1607-32) became Catholic in the
hope of an advantgeous militry alliance with the west, but his successor drove
the Catholic missionaires out of Ethiopia again when they tried to assert fullblown
Catholicism. Alphonsus Mendes, who was sent out as patriarch of
Ethiopia, demanded that all Ethiopian Christians be re-baptized, and the priests
re-ordained, though he permitted the married priests to remain married. He
prohibited the Ethiopian custom of circumcision, and insisted that Saturday be
turned from the Sabbath as observed by the Ethiopians to a fast day as observed
by Ethiopian Christians.
Orthodox Christianity lost considerable ground in ninetheenth century
Ethiopia, in part due to the expansion of the pagan or Muslim Galla, especially in
the southern regions of Ethiopia, which had been a Christian stronghold. Many of