The Ethiopian eunuch, who was baptized by the apostle Philip, brought Christianity to Ethiopia. In 328 AD, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church was established at the synodal level. Frumentius, a Syrian by birth who grew up in Ethiopia at the Axum palace, served as the church’s first bishop. He left for Alexandria and came back after Saint Athanasius installed him as bishop. He is referred to as Abba Salama Kassate Berhan by the devout in Ethiopia (Father of Peace and Revealer of Light). One hundred and fifty years later, nine saints arrived in Ethiopia from the Middle East and Asia Minor. They propagated St. Cyril’s One-person, One-nature teaching and brought monastic life to the region. They also translated several holy texts into Geez from Aramaic and Hebrew. Over the ages, the church has suffered immensely as a result of numerous religious persecutions. Throughout her forty-year reign, Queen Yodit severely harmed the church’s existence in the ninth century. Even more devastating was the 16th-century invasion by Mohammed the Left-Handed. The church was persecuted once more in the 17th century by Alphonzo Mendez, a Jesuit, and his supporters. In the bloody five-year battle against Mussolini’s invasion from 1935 to 1940, thousands of faithful people died along with a number of bishops. Many church texts were removed and almost 2,000 churches were destroyed. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has had autocephalous status since 1950.
