Ethiopian Christianity: A continuum of African Early Christian polities

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Ethiopian Christianity: A continuum of African Early Christian polities
 
Creator Rukuni, Rugare Oliver, Erna
 
Subject Theology; History; Antiquity Church history; Ethiopian Christianity; Byzantine Christianity; Imperial Christianity; Self-definition; Monophysite; Miaphysite
Description The 4th century CE was definitive for Early Christianity as there emerged an imperial orthodoxy establishment. This was the inception of an era of a Christian polity characterised by symbiotic ties between the imperial establishment and a developing charismatic political Christianity. The established narrative is one overshadowed by the Byzantine influence even in Africa through Alexandria and Carthage. There were, however, dynamics that conceived an African Christian polity, by extension Ethiopian Christianity posed relevance as a complexly diverse Christian political entity. The investigation reviewed 4th-century CE Christianity with regard to the influence of an African Christian polity and, additionally, how it was implied upon relations with the imperial orthodox establishment. Ethiopia became the case in consideration. This was established through descriptive research using document analysis to formulate literature reviews. The development of a Christian political matrix was a dominant feature of Early Christianity, especially after the emergence of a mutual enterprise under imperial orthodoxy. The formative manner of the political characteristic of ecclesiastical leadership was composite to the council resolutions and expansion policy. Inadvertently, the thin line between imperial geopolitical policy and custody of Christendom diminished. Ethiopia intrinsically saw the development of its own Christian political entity, one that curtailed the challenges of ethnic enculturation and schism between charisma and hierarchy. Perceivably, the complexity of the religious political matrix of Ethiopia as derived from its interaction with Byzantine Rome, Alexandria and the Arabian Peninsula was the source for its prolonged existence, thereby establishing basis for further investigation.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2019-05-23
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip application/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hts.v75i1.5335
 
Source HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 75, No 1 (2019); 9 pages 2072-8050 0259-9422
 
Language eng
 
Relation
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https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/5335/12723 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/5335/12722 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/5335/12724 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/5335/12721
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2019 Rugare Rukuni https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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