The Ethiopian Movement is a religious movement that began in southern Africa towards the end of the 19th century, when two groups broke away from the Anglican and Methodist churches. One of the main reasons for breaking away was that the parent denominations were perceived to be too much under white control, with not enough scope being given to African leadership. Categories: Africa geography stubs | Southern Africa ... The Anglican Church of Southern Africa (formerly the Church of the Province of Southern Africa) is the Anglican province in the southern part of Africa, including dioceses in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Saint Helena, South Africa and Swaziland. ... The Methodist Church of Southern Africa is a member church of the World Methodist Council. ...

The Ethiopian movement was based on their interpretation of a Biblical passage (Psalm 68:31): "Ethiopia shall soon stretch forth its hands unto God" (in the original Hebrew, actually כוש Cush). The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... This article is about the Nubian civilisation. ...

The term was later given a much wider interpretation by Bengt Sundkler, whose book Bantu prophets in South Africa was the first comprehensive study of African Independent Churches (AICs). An African Initiated Church is an independent church or religious movement which demonstrates syncretism or partial integration between aspects of Christian belief and African culture. ...

History

In about 1888 an evangelist, Joseph Mathunye Kanyane Napo, seceded from the Anglican Church to form the Africa Church or African Church, which was composed mostly of black Anglicans who were dissatisfied with white control of the Anglican Church. The Anglican Church of Southern Africa (formerly the Church of the Province of Southern Africa) is the Anglican province in the southern part of Africa, including dioceses in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Saint Helena, South Africa and Swaziland. ...

In 1892 a minister of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, Mangena Maake Mokone, broke away from that denomination and formed the Ethiopian Church, mainly because of dissatisfaction with segregation in the church and the lack of fellowship between black and white ministers. His preachings included the theme of "Africa for the Africans", which was later taken up by the UNIA-ACL. 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... The Methodist Church of Southern Africa is a member church of the World Methodist Council. ... Preaching is the most important element in the protestant churches. ... The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) is, according to its 1929 constitution, a social, friendly, humanitarian, charitable, educational, institutional, constructive and expansive society, and is founded by persons desiring to the utmost to work for the general uplift of the people of African ancestry of the...

A group of black former Anglican and Methodist leaders gathered around Mokone, including Kanyane Napo, Samuel James Brander, James Mata Dwane and several others. Two relatives of Mokone, Kate and Charlotte Maneye were studying at the Wilberforce University in America, and Kate wrote to Mokone to tell him about the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which her sister Charlotte had joined. This lead the Ethiopian Church to decide to join the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) in 1896, and James Mata Dwane was sent to the USA to negotiate the union. Wilberforce University, located in Wilberforce, Ohio, was founded in 1856. ... The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church, is a Christian denomination founded by Bishop Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ...

There were conflicting views of Dwane's mandate, however, and Dwane (who had originally been a Methodist), through conversations with Anglicans, came to believe that the AME Church did not have bishops in the apostolic succession, whereas the Anglicans did. Dwane and his followers thereupon left the AME Church and formed the Order of Ethiopia, in association with the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now Anglican Church of Southern Africa). Most of them were in the Eastern Cape. This article is about a title or office in religious bodies. ... In Christianity, the doctrine of Apostolic Succession (or the belief that the Church is apostolic) maintains that the Christian Church today is the spiritual successor to the original body of believers in Christ composed of the Apostles. ... The Order of Ethiopia was a group from the Ethiopian movement in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa that came into association with the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa) during most of the 20th century. ... The Anglican Church of Southern Africa (formerly the Church of the Province of Southern Africa) is the Anglican province in the southern part of Africa, including dioceses in Angola, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Saint Helena, South Africa and Swaziland. ... Capital Bhisho Largest city Port Elizabeth Premier Nosimo Balindlela Area - Total Ranked 2nd 169,580 km² Population  - Total (2001)  - Density Ranked 3rd 6,436,761 38/km² Languages Xhosa (83%) Afrikaans (9. ...

Charlotte Maneye married the Revd Marshall Maxeke, and they did missionary work for the AME Church in South Africa, and in 1908 they founded the Wilberforce Institute in the Transvaal, modelled on her American alma mater. The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church, is a Christian denomination founded by Bishop Richard Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1816. ...

Many of the original Ethiopianist leaders, however, became dissatisfied with the AME Church, and found black American domination of the church leadership as irksome as white British domination.¹ In 1904 Samuel James Brander formed the Ethiopian Catholic Church in Zion, which combined the Anglican and Methodist strands of the Ethiopian tradition. It initially included Kanyane Napo and Daniel William Alexander among its leaders, but both of them appear to have later broken away to revive Napo's African Church. During the period 1900-1920 many different Ethiopian denominations were formed, which were heirs of the Ethiopian tradition.

Ethiopianism

Ethiopianism is rather dififcult to define. It was not really an ideology, a theological school, or a political programme. It was rather a cluster of ideas and traditions and assumptions about being Christian in Africa that were share by a group of Christian leaders in the period from 1890-1920. There was no sharp boundary to the movement, but it shaded off into other groups.

Most of the featrues of the Ethiopian movement have already been mentioned:

1. the use of the name Ethiopia, Ethiopian, Cush or Cushite in the names of churches
2. the aim of a united African Christianity, based on the idea that "Ethiopia shall stretch out its hands to God"
3. Anglican-Methodist ecclesiastical polity and theology
4. In spite of many schisms, the Ethiopianist leaders formed a network, and interacted with each other more than they did with leaders of other traditions.

Wider meaning of Ethiopian

The description above is of the Ehtiopian movement itself, but writers like Bengt Sundkler used Ethiopian in a wider sense to include all African independent church denominations that had broken away from Western-initiated Protestant groups like the Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists, as well as the Anglicans and Methodists. An African Initiated Church is an independent church or religious movement which demonstrates syncretism or partial integration between aspects of Christian belief and African culture. ...

Sundkler therefore classified bodies like the African Congregational Church and Zulu Congregational Church as "Ethiopian", though they did note really participate in the Ethiopian movement itself. The independent churches of the Congregational tradition formed as separate network from the Ethiopian one, with less contact between the networks.

Note

1. Ethiopianist refers to those who adhered to the ideas of Ethiopianism, to distinguish them from those who live in Ethiopia, or who belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተክርስትያን Yäityopya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia that was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...

2. Ethiopianism is consider by scholars to be the origins of the rastafari movement, and William David Spencer (author of Dread Jesus) suggest that its theological goal, popularized by Marcus Garvey, was that god was black. ^[1] Haile Selassie I Rasta, or the Rastafari movement, is a religion and philosophy that accepts Haile Selassie I, the former Emperor of Ethiopia, as God incarnate, whom they call Jah. ... Dread Jesus, published in 1999, is a book witten by William David Spencer. ... Marcus Garvey in 1924 Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr. ...

Reference

1. ^ Spencer, William (October 28, 1999). Dread Jesus. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 11. ISBN 0-281-05101-1. 

See also

• Marcus Garvey
• UNIA-ACL
• Order of Ethiopia
• African Initiated Churches
• Ethiopia
• South Africa
• Alexander Bedward

Marcus Garvey in 1924 Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr. ... The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA) is, according to its 1929 constitution, a social, friendly, humanitarian, charitable, educational, institutional, constructive and expansive society, and is founded by persons desiring to the utmost to work for the general uplift of the people of African ancestry of the... The Order of Ethiopia was a group from the Ethiopian movement in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa that came into association with the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa) during most of the 20th century. ... An African Initiated Church is an independent church or religious movement which demonstrates syncretism or partial integration between aspects of Christian belief and African culture. ... Alexander Bedward b. ...

Bibliography

• AFRICANS SEEKING BASIS FOR BELIEFS New York Times (1857-Current file); Apr 30, 1970; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2001) pg. 65
• Hayes, Stephen. 2003. "Issues of 'Catholic' ecclesiology in Ethiopian-type AICs", in Frontiers of African Christianity edited by Greg Cuthbertson, Hennie Pretorius and Dana Robert. Pretoria: University of South Africa Press, pp 137-152. ISBN 1-86888-193-8
• Sundkler, Bengt G.M. 1961. Bantu prophets in South Africa. London: International African Institute.

External links

• African Initiated Churches