The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History (Library of Modern Religion)

Surrounded by steep escarpments to the north, south and east, Ethiopia has always been geographically and culturally set apart. It has the longest archaeological record of any country in the world: indeed, this precipitous mountain land was where the human race began. It is also home to an ancient church with a remarkable legacy. The Church of Ethiopia is the only pre-colonial church in sub-Saharan Africa; today it has a membership of around forty million and is rapidly growing. This book is the first major study of a community which has developed a distinctive approach different from all other churches. John Binns explains how its special features have shaped the life of the Ethiopian people, and how political changes since the overthrow of Haile Selassie have forced the Church to rethink its identity and mission. He discusses the famous rock-hewn churches; the Ark of the Covenant (claimed by the Church and housed in Aksum); medieval monasticism; relations with the Coptic Church; centuries of co-existence with Islam; missionary activity; and the Church's venerable oral traditions of poetic allegorical reflection.

• The 21: A Journey into the Land of Coptic Martyrs
• Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia: A Guide to the Remote Churches of an Ancient Land
• The Wife's Tale: A Personal History
• Ethiopia: The Living Churches of an Ancient Kingdom
• Birds of the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, and Socotra - Revised and Expanded Edition (Princeton Field Guides)
• The Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahido Church (Afroasiatic Studies)
• Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation