Persecution and Social Resilience: The Case of the Ethiopian Pentecostals
Persecution has long constituted part of the spiritual repertoire of evangelical Christians in Ethiopia. Ever since its introduction by Western missionaries, the new Christian faith has provided an alternative model to the one that pre-existed it in the form of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (eoc). T...
| Published in: | Mission studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2017
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| In: |
Mission studies
Year: 2017, Volume: 34, Issue: 3, Pages: 309-326 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Ethiopia
/ Marxism
/ Pentecostal churches
/ Persecution
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| RelBib Classification: | CG Christianity and Politics KAJ Church history 1914-; recent history KBN Sub-Saharan Africa KDG Free church |
| Further subjects: | B
Pentecostalism
Evangelicals
church and state relations
Marxism
revolution
Orthodox Church
Ethiopia
Haile Selassie
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | Persecution has long constituted part of the spiritual repertoire of evangelical Christians in Ethiopia. Ever since its introduction by Western missionaries, the new Christian faith has provided an alternative model to the one that pre-existed it in the form of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (eoc). The new dimension of Christianity that is anchored in the doctrine of personal salvation and sanctification provided a somewhat different template of what it means to be a Christian by choice rather than belonging to a preset culture. This was antithetical to the conventional mode of culturally and historically situated Christianity, which strongly lays emphasis on adherence to certain prescribed rituals like fasting, the observances of saintly days, and devotions to saints. Its introduction by foreigners is often contrasted with an indigenous faith tradition which is considered to have a long history dating back to the apostolic times. The tendency of evangelical Christians to disassociate themselves from the local culture, as emblematic of holiness and separation from the world, viewed from the other optic, lent it the label mete, literally “imported” or “of foreign extraction”. The state support the established church had garnered for a long time, plus its massive influences, also accorded the eoc a privileged position to exercise a dominant role in the social, political, and cultural life of the country. |
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| ISSN: | 1573-3831 |
| Contains: | In: Mission studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15733831-12341521 |