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| Asked by:
Anonymous on Jan-16-2008 14:23:25 | |
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.png) | Who was the first nation to make Christianity its official religion? |
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2 Contributor: WiTaimre on Jan-21-2010 10:00:46 |
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This first Nation was Abessinia (Kush, Ethiopia)
- it is told in the Bible about the deacon St.Philippus wandering along a river met a high rank poltician (camerarius) of the Kandake (virgin-Queen) of Kush (Ethiopian nation) who read a Jesaja-scroll and told him some questions about the prophecy, was happy to hear about the events with Jesus, decided quickly - and Philippus was baptizing him at once - the Kushit nation had been Jewish since the time of King Salomo's sons by the Queen of Saba (region of Yemen today). Therefore this politician made his pilgrimage to Jerusalem - maybe sent by his Kandake.
Belief in Christ the Messiah is surely at first the believe of the house of Negus (King / Queen od Ethiopian Empire) and - "cuius regio cuius religio" - in this way the religion of that total nation.
Then and later on (until nowadays) a part of Ethiopian peoples stayed Jewish,
And in the 3rd century also the mainstream of the Ethiopian population followed the Christian mission of the both St.Frumentii (brothers, merchants, sent from Constantinople) - but in that time they already had accepted Christianity since that early times of the apostles, they only wished to have more Christian teachers.
So they were part of the later "Orthodoxe Eastern Community" but always a church of their own - sometimes even two (Erythrea, too, became one of their own in the time of independence)
They had no enemyship with their Yewish population - I assume because the land is wide and they need not to meet daily
- it is told, that in the time of beginning Islam the Prophet from Mekka sent a letter to all kings he knew, to follow his religion, but only the Negus of Ethiopia was polite and answered to him, saying thanx for the idea, but that they still believe in the same One Single G'D of Heaven and Earth, since Salomo the king - saying "believers of the Book" need no change.
Well, in zhis time they were reigned by a Yewish Negus for about 400 years, and the people were Christian Orthodoxe. The last of this dynasty was named Lalibela, reigning abou 40 years, he thought about the situation - with the Arabs situated nearby, and he didn't wish to make war with them. So he had a wise and clever idea.
In the highlands of Abessinia are the 50 springs of Blue Nile and each year these waters make the Nile's swelling and this makes Egypt the land of no famine - its nearly never too dry. The Abessinians could threaten in a soft and subtile way to dry him up.
They were famous stone-workers, wonderful and busy masons, in all the ancient time.
Each spring is little in the beginning - what would happen, if somebody comes and makes for each of the 50 springs another way to run off with all those waters?
So Negus Lalibela ordered to build the ensemble of 11 or 12 monolith churches (today this place is named Lalibela, honouring him)
- the greatest of these churches is 25 meters in square, imagine: in this same situation - this had been a mountains top! - each of these churches still is that mountain in situ - from the doors to the roofs to the altars inside the original massive ground.
This endured about 25 years to do it. They surely made some invitations to their Muslim neighbours to have a look at the progress of work - because last not least they coated it up with pure gold and nobody would have seen the masterpiece of monolithic constuction.
Everybody should know that they might able to dry up the Nile!
When having finished this work of wonders, the Negus Lalibela gave the gouvernement back to the Christian dynasty of Mengistu I, the old first Jewish Ethiopian king, Son of the Queen of Saba (The Emperor Haile Selassie was the last of them after 3'000 year).
So they won a 400 year's peace with their Muslim neighbours in two ways - diplomatcally philosophically and politely correct - with some "security-proof" in the backstage.
The Ethiopian patriarcs have always been two, one own from their nation and one sent from Constantinopel to reside besides him, so they always were sure of the correct common Christian belief. Unto 1414-1418 (Konstanzer Konzil) they even took part with their bishops in each Ecumenian Concile of the Church of Rome - they have noticed and made protocolls about these facts.
Since the times of Salomo a lot of Ethiopians still make the great pilgrimage to Jerusalem until today. There are scientists believing that the fascinating drum-dancing ritus performed by the black monks in Lalibela migth be exactly the same as in the temple of Salomo.
As late as 1518-1548, the first Muslim invaders fighted the Negus Lebne Dengel and his country and nation - they devastated the lands coming from its flat side to Somalia - and burnt, killed and robbed the great lands, and tried to catch him - in vain, 30 years long but never caught him. Once the fighters even entered the tent where he was just washing his feet, but he escaped because nobody knew how he looked like (when bathing his feet ...) *g*
- in that time he grew old, always hiding himself as the guarant of Christianity for all the nation - and died at the feet of an unconquered castle - and they managed to bury him secretly, but in honours, giving the throne to the legitime follower-Negus of him.
This next Negus wrote letters to the Christian kings in Europe to help his lands against those furious invaders - but they even did not remember, that there was still a Christian kingdom south of the Muslim regions. Only the early Jesuits began to study this language.
Late, but not too late came military help vom Europe (Portugese) and this war was finished.
Since that time there also always were some Jesuits living in and around the city of Gondar - they brought with them a famous "Healing prayer icone of St.Mary" - the model icone is inside the church Maria Maggiore, Rome, that one ist called "painted of St.Lucas" - it became the only image-model icone of St.Mary in Ethiopean Christian use.
(author: WiTaimre) | Report
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