The second persecution was from 1898 to 1935 in relation to evangelism work started at Boojjii Karkarroo (western Oromiya Region) in 1898. Rev. Gebre Ewostateos from the Orthodox Church learned Afan Oromo from Onesimos in Eritrea. Since he had been a priest of the Orthodox Church, he was conducting the worship service on Sundays and holidays at Bojjii St. Mary’s Orthodox Church. During the worship service, he served the Orthodox priests who came from Gojjam in Amharic language and the local Oromo people in Afan Oromoo. The task of Gebre Ewostateos was not only preaching the gospel but also educating the people at the school and in the villages. His service was so fruitful for the surrounding people. Rev. Gebre Ewostatewos was using Geez, Amharic
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When the Italian troops invaded Ethiopia in 1936, all the foreign Missions (except the Italian Catholics) took a clear pro-Ethiopian stand. This caused a lot of trouble for the Mission work and the Italians forced Western missionaries to leave Ethiopia. The Italian governor was sending elders and relatives of the imprisoned Christians to advise them to deny their faith in order to be released from prison. The local Orthodox Church priests came together from all direction and were trying their best to make their imprisonment more difficult. Thereafter, Evangelical believers were forced to establish their own Church during the year 1939-1949. It is worth mentioning great leaders during this period of time were the late Emmanuel Abraham, and Dafa Djamoo. However, after the Italians were defeated in 1941, the EECMY and other evangelical got relative peace. But the local Orthodox Church leaders oppose the building of Churches and Houses by Evangelicals. The Orthodox Church had not only excluded the evangelical believers from membership, but also was hindering them from building their own church and from calling their own ministers for church ministry. The church was denied baptism for their children. Burial place for the dead was also forbidden and building church building on their own piece of land was forbidden as well. The landlords also confiscated the farmland and coffee plants of the …show more content…
They eventually ended up in establishing Lutheran congregations at different part of the country. After holding series of consultations and meetings among the leaders of these congregations, a consensus was reached to form one denominational church. As a result, a draft of constitution was articulated and a general assembly was called for the formation of the new denominational church. Consequently, a national Lutheran church known as “The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus" (EECMY), on January 21, 1959.
The sixth long and severe persecution happened during the Ethiopian Communist Regime from 1974-1991. During those days, schools of Church were closed, a significant number of priests was imprisoned and many died. Churches were closed and church properties were confiscated and many believers killed and others were jailed.
Berhanu Ofgaa in his doctoral dissertation
When the Italian troops invaded Ethiopia in 1936, all the foreign Missions (except the Italian Catholics) took a clear pro-Ethiopian stand. This caused a lot of trouble for the Mission work and the Italians forced Western missionaries to leave Ethiopia. The Italian governor was sending elders and relatives of the imprisoned Christians to advise them to deny their faith in order to be released from prison. The local Orthodox Church priests came together from all direction and were trying their best to make their imprisonment more difficult. Thereafter, Evangelical believers were forced to establish their own Church during the year 1939-1949. It is worth mentioning great leaders during this period of time were the late Emmanuel Abraham, and Dafa Djamoo. However, after the Italians were defeated in 1941, the EECMY and other evangelical got relative peace. But the local Orthodox Church leaders oppose the building of Churches and Houses by Evangelicals. The Orthodox Church had not only excluded the evangelical believers from membership, but also was hindering them from building their own church and from calling their own ministers for church ministry. The church was denied baptism for their children. Burial place for the dead was also forbidden and building church building on their own piece of land was forbidden as well. The landlords also confiscated the farmland and coffee plants of the …show more content…
They eventually ended up in establishing Lutheran congregations at different part of the country. After holding series of consultations and meetings among the leaders of these congregations, a consensus was reached to form one denominational church. As a result, a draft of constitution was articulated and a general assembly was called for the formation of the new denominational church. Consequently, a national Lutheran church known as “The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus" (EECMY), on January 21, 1959.
The sixth long and severe persecution happened during the Ethiopian Communist Regime from 1974-1991. During those days, schools of Church were closed, a significant number of priests was imprisoned and many died. Churches were closed and church properties were confiscated and many believers killed and others were jailed.
Berhanu Ofgaa in his doctoral dissertation