Ethiopian Christianity - by Philip F Esler (Paperback)

About the Book

Esler concludes with thoughtful reflections on the long-standing presence of Christianity in Ethiopia and hopeful considerations for its future in the country's rapidly changing politics, ultimately revealing a singular form of faith found nowhere else.

Book Synopsis

In Ethiopian Christianity Philip Esler presents a rich and comprehensive history of Christianity's flourishing. But Esler is ever careful to situate this growth in the context of Ethiopia's politics and culture. In so doing, he highlights the remarkable uniqueness of Christianity in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Christianity begins with ancient accounts of Christianity's introduction to Ethiopia by St. Frumentius and King Ezana in the early 300s CE. Esler traces how the church and the monarchy closely coexisted, a reality that persisted until the death of Haile Selassie in 1974. This relationship allowed the emperor to consider himself the protector of Orthodox Christianity. The emperor's position, combined with Ethiopia's geographical isolation, fostered a distinct form of Christianity--one that features the inextricable intertwining of the ordinary with the sacred and rejects the two-nature Christology established at the Council of Chalcedon.

In addition to his historical narrative, Esler also explores the cultural traditions of Ethiopian Orthodoxy by detailing its intellectual and literary practices, theology, and creativity in art, architecture, and music. He provides profiles of the flourishing Protestant denominations and Roman Catholicism. He also considers current challenges that Ethiopian Christianity faces--especially Orthodoxy's relations with other religions within the country, in particular Islam and the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. Esler concludes with thoughtful reflections on the long-standing presence of Christianity in Ethiopia and hopeful considerations for its future in the country's rapidly changing politics, ultimately revealing a singular form of faith found nowhere else.

Review Quotes

This is a remarkable achievement, fully achieving its aim of presenting a picture of a fascinating and much understudied branch of Christianity and in addition completing the picture with the recent arrivals of Protestantism and Catholicism. Philip Esler displays a prodigious range of reading and considerable familiarity with Christian life in Ethiopia today.

--Paul Gifford "Journal of Contemporary Religion"

...A valuable survey of the Christianity of this region of Africa.

--John Binns "Journal of Ecclesiastical History"

'(T)his book, with its broad description of the history and practice of Christianity in Ethiopia will be a guide which will be valued by those who encounter and are fascinated by the kind of faith that they find.'

--John Binns "Journal of Ecclesiastical History"

...this volume is timely and can serve as a primer on grasping the essence and nature of the Ethiopian Christianity. Challenging, yet accessible with its helpful illustrative images and maps, it raises innumerable critical missiological and theological issues.

--Daniel Dama "Mission Studies"

We wholeheartedly recommend [Ehtiopian Christianity] as a primer to readers about this fascinating country, peoples, history, and theology.

--J. K. Elliott "The Journal of Theological Studies"

About the Author

Philip F. Esler is Portland Chair in New Testament Studies in the School of Education and Humanities at the University of Gloucestershire.