Right in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia has a history deeply intertwined with Christianity. As one of the oldest Christian nations in the world, Ethiopia claims faith that can be said to predate the arrival of Christianity in Europe – even if just by a few years. This deep-rooted tradition has fostered a unique variety of Christian spirituality that remains vibrant and very much alive today.
The story of the Ethiopian eunuch told in the book of Acts (Acts 8, 26-40) offers a glimpse into the early seeds of Ethiopian Christianity. The text claims that “a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure” met the missionary Philip on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Philip explained the Gospel message and the eunuch, filled with joy, converted and was baptized. This encounter is believed to have sparked the spread of Christianity in Ethiopia.
In hisAdversus Haereses,St. Irenaeus claims the eunuch “was sent into the regions of Ethiopia, to preach what he had himself believed, that there was one God preached by the prophets, but that the Son of this (God) had already made (His) appearance in human flesh, and had been led as a sheep to the slaughter; and all the other statements which the prophets made regarding Him.”
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