JES,Vol.XXXVII,No.

l(June2004)

Abun Slama: Metropolitanof Ethiopia, 1841-1867

A New Go'az Biography*
To theMemoryofAlqa Azzz and his Student
ProfessorSergewHable Sellassie
Donald Crummeyand GetatchewHaile
Introduction
Abun Slama was theMetropolitan1
of theEthiopianOrthodoxChurchfrom1841
untilhis deathin 1867. His careerspannedthefinaldecades of theZmn Msafont
(1769-1855), a periodof radicaldevaluationof Ethiopia's monarchicalinstitutions,
of those institutions,
and the firstyears of the reconstruction
years in which the
were laid2. The years were turbulentand his
foundationsof Ethiopianmodernity
careerwas, accordingly,
deeplystrenuous.Duringmostof his episcopacyhe was at
- the leading princes of the late Zmn
odds with Ethiopia's political rulers
Msafsntand, then,King of Kings TeWodros(1855-1868), whose reignopened the
modernperiod in Ethiopianhistory. However, a briefperiod of rapprochement
betweenbishopand emperorin 1854-1855,and a followingperiod,untilaround1864
in theirrelations,foreshadoweda revivalof therelationsbetween
of formalpropriety
churchand state,whichhad characterized
earlierperiodsof nationalvigor,and which
weretoproveproductive,
duringtheensuingreignsof Tkl GiyorgisII (1868-1871),
YohannasIV (*1871-1889)and ManilokII (1889-1913), in creatingthemodernstate.
of theoriginsof twentieth
Thus, Salma is a significant
figureforan understanding
1 Ourdocument
himas liqpapppasat
, "archpope,"
"archbishop."The titlesby
designates
whichhe referred
to himself
in his correspondence
were: [Arabic]mu(rm9
metropolitan;
et al
poppas,pope[I, doc. 95, doc. 97, 148,152,163]. FortheArabic,see SvenRubenson
I. Correspondence
and Treaties1800-1854(Evanston/Addis
(eds.),ActaJEth'opica.Volume
Ababa: Northwestern
Press/Addis
AbabaUniversity
Press,1987),documents
83,
University
et al (eds.),Acta/Ethiopica.Volume
II.
103, 119, 125, 161 and 181; also SvenRubenson
Tewodros
and his Contemporaries
1855-1868(AddisAbaba/Lund:
AddisAbabaUniversity
Press/Lund
26 and 41. For theAmharicsee Acta, I,
Press,1994),documents
University
documents
onmostoftheseletters,
is inArabic.
95,97, 148,152and163. His seal,found
2
Forgeneralaccounts
oftheperiodsee: Mordechai
The
Era
Abir,Ethiopia.
ofthePrinces.
TheChallengeofIslamand theUnification
Christian
1
769-1855
of thes
(London:
Kingdom
Priestsand Politicians.
and Catholic
Protestant
Green,1968);DonaldCrummey,
Longmns
Missionaries
in Orthodox
Press,1972); and Sven
Ethiopia,1830-1868(Oxford:Clarendon
TheSurvivalofEthiopian
Educational
Rubenson,
(London:Heinemann
Books,
Independence
ofSlama'scareer,
withspecialreference
tohisrelations
with
1976). Fora usefuldiscussion
see SamuelRubenson,
"TheInteraction
between
theMissionaries
and
missionaries,
European
theOrthodox:
theCase of AbuneSelama,"pp. 71-84in Getatchew
Haile,et al (eds.), The
FactorinEthiopia(Frankfurt-am-Main:
PeterLangGmbH,1998).
Missionary

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HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
...
DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
ofEthiopia,

centuryEthiopiaand of the modernhistoryof the EthiopianOrthodoxChurch,his

role, in thisrespect,being graphicallyrepresented
by a folkpaintingat the Istituto
Italianoper l'Africae l'Oriente,in Rome. The painting,whichhas six panels,places
Slama at the centerof Ethiopianhistoryduringthe last half of the nineteenth
therulersTewodrosand Tkl Giyorgis;thetwo
century.The toptwopanelsportray
"
at the bottomportrayemperorsYohannas and Manitak. The two centralpanels
Abun Slama and a church3.(Please see Illustration1: Churchand State
represent
in Nineteenth
CenturyEthiopia.)
The Sources
of
Giventheturbulenceof thedecades duringwhichhe heldofficeand themaelstrom
within
which
he
Slama
cultural
and
forces
was,
served,
political,
religious
necessarily,a controversial
through
figure.For a long timehe was knownprimarily
fromhis own.
sources,comparatively
rich,generatedfromperspectivesverydifferent
These sourceswereproducedby chroniclers,
who reflecttheinterests
oflthechurches
of Gondr,4or, later,of EmperorTewodros,5or,yetagain,by Ethiopianconvertsto
- travelers,
and by foreigners
missionariesand consuls. Missionary
Catholicism;6

3 The

is reproduced
on thedustjacketandpage206 ofDonaldCrummey,
Landand
painting
to theTwentieth
Societyin theChristian
ofEthiopia.FromtheThirteenth
Kingdom
Century
Ababa: University
of Illinois Press/James
Ababa
(Urbana/Oxford/Addis
Currey/Addis
PitturaEtiopica
Press,2000). Reproducedhere fromIstitutoItalo-Africano,
University
Tradizionale
as Illustration
1 withthepermission
(Rome,n.d.),piate8, page43. Reproduced
oftheIstituto.
4
See, forexample,thetextspublished
by CarloContiRossini,"NuoviDocumenti
per la
Storiad'Abissinia
nelsecoloXIX,"AttidellaRealeAccademia
NazionaledeiLincei, Series8,
2 (1947),pp.357-416.
5 Dbtra
Tank (Amharictextpublishedas The Chronicleof King
Znnb,YTewodros
Theodore
intoItalian
, editedbyEnnoLittmann
ofAbyssinia
[Princeton,
1902];andtranslated
as M. M. Moreno,
"La cronacadi reTeodoroattribuita
al dabtara'Zanab',"Rassegnadi Studi
, 2 [1942],pp. 143-180); andAlqa WldMaryam,
Etiopici
MhafTarikZTewodros
edited
and
C.
Mondon-Vidailhet
witha Frenchtranslation
as
,
NdguaItyoppzya
published
by
de
Thodoros
II
Roi
des
Roi
un
manuscrit
Chronique
d'thiopie(1853-1868)d'aprs
original
(Paris,n.d.).
6 Abba Tkl
of Adwa,editedand translated
Haymanot
by CarloContiRossini,"Vicende
ai tempidi Ras Ali, eggiacUbie e Re Teodoro,
dell'Etiopiae delle missionicattoliche
secondoun documento
della Reale Accademiadei Lincei,Series5,
abissino,"Rendiconti
XXV(1916),pp.425-550.
This literature,
and unpublished,
is extensively
citedin theworkscitedabove,
published
footnote
andRubenson.
2, byAbir,Crummey

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No.1(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVII,

Illustration
1: Churchand Statein Nineteenth
CenturyEthiopia

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andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
DonaldCrummey
...
ofEthiopia,

and Catholic,reyeala keen interestin.Slama and his fate.

sources,bothProtestant
timeby Protestants
of the
Slama had been educatedin Cairo foran indeterminate
ChurchMissionarySocietywithwhomhe maintaineda desultorycorrespondence.8
Catholicmissionariesof theLazaristorder,led byGiustinode Jacobis,had,unlikethe
Protestants,succeeded in establishinga toehold in northernEthiopia duringthe
1830s. De Jacobisaccompaniedthedelegation,whichD^2z/waW9be, thenriiler
of northern
Ethiopia,sentto Cairo in 1841 to acquire thenew bishop.9 De Jacobis
was bitterlydisappointedat Slama's election and felt his fledglingmission
constantlythreatenedby the new bishop,who, forhis part,with equal bitterness,
resentedCatholic establishment
of a rival ecclesiasticalhierarchyand Catholicreand
re-ordination
of
baptism
Ethiopians already baptized and ordained by the
Orthodox
Church.10
Ethiopian
The manuscript,
whichwe publishhere,at long lastallows theperspectiveof Slama
himselfto emerge,and, togetherwiththe publishedtextsof some of his letters,
providesoriginaland valuableinsightsintothepoliticsnd institutional
development
of Ethiopiaat a crucialmoment.11It makes no mentionof Europeanmissionaries,
Protestant
or Catholic,suggestingthatits author'soverwhelming
concernwas with
internal
to
the
Orthodox
Church.
developments
Ethiopian
The documentitselfhas some distinctive
in Gte'oz
features.It is untitled.It is written
at a timewhen Amharicwas rapidlyreplacingthe classical language,at least/or
narrativetexts. Its subjectmatteris distinctive.It is theonlytextknownto us, from
beforethetwentieth
whichfocuses'exclusively
on one of thebishopsof the
century,
Slama's
known
to us throughtheir
Ethiopian Church,
predecessors being
in
the
chronicles
in
and
betweenEthiopia'and
the
appearances
royal
correspondence
8 Donald
PriestsandPoliticians,
C.M/045,100,
Crummey,
p. 86; Church
Missionary
Society,
from
102-103,Kruseto Secretaries,
Cairo,May20, June17 andJuly17, 1841. Fora letter
SlamatotheCMS missionary
etal.,ActaVolume
Lieder,see Rubenson
/,document
83,June
some cited below,to otherlettersare containedin Liefler's
10, 1844. References,
in the archivesof the ChurchMissionary
his
correspondence
Society.Slama mentions
education
in Englishschoolsin a letter
to QueenVictoria,
Acta, I,
April23, 1854:Rubenson,
Doc. 181.
9 Archivesof the Sacred
forthePropagation
of theFaith,RomeScritture
Congregation
nei Congressi.
Riferite
AfricaCentrale..., iv. 48 ff.,de Jacobisto Propaganda
Fide,Cairo,
toFransoni,
Cairo,June7, 1841;and89,de JacobistoPropaganda
May3, 1841;73,Bourville
June26, 1841. Thecareerofde Jacobisis diseased in Crummey,
Priests
Fide,Alexandria,
and Politicians
, ChaptersIV and V. For anotheraccountsee Kevin O'Mahoney,The
Ebullient
Phoenix.
A History
StudiesCentre,
oftheVicariate
ofAbyssinia
(Asmara:Ethiopian
1982).
10Slamadid
aboutde JacobisandtheCatholicmissionaries
ofletters.
ina number
complain
Acta, I: Doc. 67, Slamato Isenberg,
See, forexample,Rubenson,
June,1843;Doc. 83,
SlamatoLieder,June10,1844;Doc. 103,SlamatoButrus
VII,January
15,1848.
11For Slama's
see Rubenson,
et al., Acta,Volume
I and Volume//,as referenced
letters,
above,note2.

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No.l(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVII,

the Patriarchateof Alexandria. However, it borrows its style, not from the
hagiographicaltradition,so closely associated with the indigenoussaints of the
Church,but fromthenarrativechronicletraditionclosely associatedwithroyaland
princelycourts.
Slama's Career: A SummaryAccount12
The settingfor Slama's episcopacywas not propitious. The two hundredyears
bitterdoctrinalcontroversies
weremarkedby increasingly
precedinghis appointment
withintheEthiopianOrthodoxChurchconcerningthenatureof Christ.The original
whichhad emergedin theearlierseventeenth
identified
partyof innovation,
century,
itselfwiththeslogan Qeb 'at,or Unction,and arguedthatChristhad become theSon
of God throughUnctionbestowedby God the Father. Othershewed to what they
Alexandrianline. This groupwas knownby thenickname
arguedwas a morestrictly
Karra, or "Knife,"or by its doctrinalslogan, Wld Qeb', "the Son [Himselfis] the
Unction."13
The controversies
betweenthesetwopartieswerediscussedin a number
of councilspresidedoverby theGondrkings,butto no resolution.In 1763 a third
This partywas
partyappearedat a councilheldat Amba Kayla,just outsideGondr.14
based in themonasticorderof Tkl Haymanot,which,since theseventeenth
century
had been based at Azzo, near Gondrand put forwardtheformulathatChristwas
the"Son [of God] by Grace,"or Wldb-$gga . (For thelocationof theprincipal
places mentionedin the text,please see Map 1: Abun Slama's Ethiopia.) An
alternative
formulation
was (Amharic)Y-$gga Log. In thenineteenth
centurythe
partieswerealso identified
by thenumberof "births,"whichtheyperceivedin Christ:
theUnctionists
and theKarra partyarguingforTwo Births;the"Son by Grace" party
arguingforThreeBirthsor SstLddt.15 Relationsbetweenthesepartieswas uneasy,
at best,and violentlyhostile,at worst. Slama's immediatepredecessor,Qeralos

12The
of Slama,probably
basedon a photograph,
was published
onlyknownportrait
by
AaronStern,Wanderings
witha Description
Henry
amongtheFalashasinAbyssinia
together
the
anditsVarious
Inhabitants
2.
of
(London,1862),p. 137. Pleasesee Illustration
13ForCountry
an exploration
ofthedoctrinal
controversies
andthepresentation
of twotextsbearing
on thetheology
oftheUnction,
see Getatchew
on thetheology
ofQeb'at or
Haile,"Materials
Studies.Proceedings
unction,"
pp.205-250inGideonGoldenberg
(ed.),Ethiopian
ofthesixth
international
14-17April1980 (Rotterdam/Boston:
Tel-Aviv,
A. A. Balkema,
conference,
1986).
14
di Abissnia,"
Bessarione
IgnazioGuidi,"Uno Squarciodi StoriaEcclesiastica
, 8 (1900),
pp. 10-25;idem.,AnnalesRegumIyasu II et Iyo'as. CorpusScriptorum
Christianorum
voi.6 (Paris,1912).
Orientalium,
Scriptores
iEthiopici,
Versio,SeriesAltera,
See Getatchew,
Priestsand Politicians,
2 andas ijidexed
"Materials;"
Crummey,
Chapter
for"Qebt","SstLedat","YaagLej", "Tawhedo"
and "Krr";andCrummey,
Landand
for"SonbyGrace,""SstLedt",and"Twahedo".
Society,
pp. 103-104andas indexed

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10

andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
DonaldCrummey
...
ofEthiopia,

Illustration
2: Portrait
ofAbun Slama

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JES,Vol.XXXVII,No.1(June2004)

11

(1815-1828), was banishedfromGondrto Tagray,because of his oppositionto

a "martyr"
Qeb 'at and $gga, and died in obscurecircumstances,
accordingto the
document,whichwe publishhere.16
Slama was consecratedbishopin 184 1 byButrusVII Patriarchof Alexandria.In his
he was probablyone of theyoungestmeneverelevatedto theposition
earlytwenties,
ofmetropolitan
of theEthiopianChurch. His electionwas in responseto a delegation
sentto Cairo by DggazmaWsbe, thenrulerof Samenand Tagray. Wabe's request
fora bishop undoubtedlyarose fromhis ambitionto become the dominantrulerof
Ethiopia,theprincipalobstacleto whichwas Ras Ali n, who dominatedthecentral
provincesof Ethiopia fromDbr Tabor. When Slama arrivedin Ethiopia in
November1841, he immediatelyfoundhimselfembroiledin the political/military
conflictsof thelateZmn Msafsnt. WithWabe, and Wabe's army,he marchedto
Dbra Tabor, whereWabe fought,and lost to,Ras Ali. Slama enteredGondron
February25, 1842. Four yearslaterhe was expelledfromthecityin May 1846. The
of his expulsionwereadherentsof the Y-$gga Lag school, led,
primaryinstigators
in Gondr,by 3<%geMaft?ntu,
and backedby thepoliticalauthority
ofNagu ahl
allase of Swa.17
The $gga school was unusuallyinfluential
in Swa, thanksto thelocationthereof
themonastery
of Dbr Lbanos. By thelate 1830s therewas theologicalferment
in
Dbr Lbanos factionsforwarding
some prettyradicalideas: "that
Swa, different
thehumansoul has knowledgeof good and evil in thewomb,and thatit,therefore,
praysand fasts;thatthe Blessed VirginMary died as a sacrificeor redeemerfor
mankind,forwhichshe deservedadorationequal to thatof theSon; and thattherisen
Christpraises the Father in his .humanity."18
These*views are reportedby the
document,whichwe publishhere,and confirmed
by a numberof different
European
travelers,missionariesand diplomats,who were presentin Swa at the time. In
November1841, ahla allase had capitulatedto themostradicalgroupand purged,

16Donald
"Doctrine
and Authority;
AbunSalama,1841-1854,"
Crummey,
pp. 567-578in
vol.I ofE. Cerulli(ed.),IV Congresso
Internazionale
di StudiEtiopici(Roma,10-15aprile
NazionaledeiLincei,1974). ForOrlos.seedo.571-572.
1972)(Rome:Accademia
17
"Doctrine
and Authority,"
of Ethiopian
doctrinal
Crummey,
p. 573. Slamacomplained
andespecially
oftheThreeBirths
ofJune15,1848,to dieCoptic
divisions,
school,ina letter
Butrus
VII: Rubenson,
Patriarch,
Acta.I, Doc. 103.
18This
is quotedfrom
"Doctrine
andAuthority."
passage
Crummey,
o. 571.
19As referenced
in Crummey,
loc.cit.: C. Rochetd'Hricourt,
Secondvoyagesur les deux
rivesde la merrouge(Paris,1846); C. W. Isenberg
andJ.L. Kropf,
Journals
(Lbndon,1843),
passim,butsee particularly
pp. 90-91,95-96,and226-227; W. C. Harris,TheHighlands
<f
Ethiopia(London:2nded. 3 vols.,1844),DI, ppi 190-191; IndiaOfficeArchives,
Bombay
SecretProceedings,
14 October1842 [j/cfor
189,2060A,Harristo Willoughby,
Ankober,
C. A 5/016,1, Krapfto Coates,Ankober,
184l?]; ChurchMissionary
14
SocietyArchives,
December1841; 2, KrapftoCoates,Ankober,
28 February
1842.

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12

: Metropolitan
HaileAbun
Slama
...
andGetatchew
DonaldCrummey
ofEthiopia,

Map 1: Abun Slama's Ethiopia

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JES,Vol.XXXVII,No.l(June2004)

13

fromtheprincipalchurchesof Swa, all clergyassociatedwiththestrictAlexandrian

doctrine.This eventprecededSlama's entryintoGondrby onlythreemonths.
Slama's firstfour years in Gondr were tense and marked by conflictwith
Mahzntu.20By withholding
his powersto ordainpriestsand to consecratetabots,
for the clergyexpelled fromSwa. In 1844 he
Slama triedto gain restitution
excommunicated
Sahl Sallase.21 Two yearslatereventscame to a head. In May
be lifted. Slama refused. On
1846, Sahl Sallase asked thathis excommunication
his
was
and
the
31st
residence
attacked
bishop takenintodetention. (For the
May
in
in the text,please see Map 2:
sites
and
churches
Gondr
mentioned
principal
Abun Slama's Gondr.) On June2ndhe was expelled to Tagray,eitheron the
orders,or at the acquiescence,of Stege Mnn, motherof Ras Ali.22 He spentthe
nexteightyearsin Tagrayin an uneasyrelationship
withDggazmac Wabe, who did
not want the bishop to interfere
withhis attemptsto cultivatethe link to France,
whichthe presencein Tagrayof the Catholic mission,led by Giustinode Jacobis,
offered.23
Eventsbegan to turnmore favorablyforSlama withthe death,in 1847 [Taqamt
1840 AM], of Nogus Sahl Sallase. In Juneof 1848, Slama wroteto Patriarch
Butrusthattheson of Sahl Sallase, "beforethedeathof his father. . . sentto [tell]us
thathe clingsto our faith."24In 1849 an emissaryfromthe wan courtreached
theProtestant
Lieder,thenew king:
Cairo,where,he informed
missionary

20Threeof his letters

havesurvived
fromtheseyearsin Gondr.Two of themdiscussthe
circumstances
thefailureoftheChurchMissionary
itselfin
surrounding
Societyto establish
at
the
same
time
as
de
Jacobis
was
a
Catholic
church
there.
See
Tagray
establishing
Acta, I, Doc. 62, Slamato C. W. Isenberg,
June1843;and Doc. 83, Slamato
Rubenson,
Lieder,June10,1844.
21Church
C.M7048.60a; AbunSlamato Lieder,4 Baoona
Missionary
SocietyArchives,
Theclaimis explicit.
1560(1844).
22The vividaccountin thedocument
whichwe publishis supported
of other
by a variety
sources:ContiRossini,"Nuovidocumenti,"
Nationale
pp. 385 etseq. See also Bibliothque
de Voyage;"Archivio
(Paris),Fondthiopien-Abbadie
267,folio135v,d'Abbadie,"Journal
della ProcuraGeneraledella Congregazione
della Missionepresso la S. Sede, Curia
Generalizia
de Jacobis
C.M.,Rome,GiornaleB. Giustino
, 6 vols.,typescript,
IV, pp. 12-17,
forJuneandJuly1846; andCongrgation
entries
de la Mission(Paris),Lettres
Manuscrites
de Mgr.De Jacobis,IL n.261,de Jacobis.
Guol.Nov.6. 1847.
23Slamaaskedthe
to excommunicate
Wabe becauseof his support
of de
CopticPatriarch
Jacobis:Rubenson,
Acta, I, Doc. 103,Slamato ButrusVII, January
1848.
He
further
15,
of themissionary
in a letter
of 1852to Antoined'Abbadie: Rubenson,
Acta, I,
complained
Doc. 149.
24
Rubenson,
Acta,I, Doc. 103.

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14

DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
...
ofEthiopia,

Map 2: Abun Slama's Gondr

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No.l(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVII,

15

... has commencedhis reignin a noble way, by havingrenouncedall the

heterodoxnotionsof his latefather,
deliveredhundredswho werethrownin
prison,because theywould not adopt his religiousviews, and returnedto
them theirproperty. He has also subdued himselfunder the spiritual
Amba Salameh.25
guidanceof theMetropolitan
ReconciliationbetweenAbun Slama, on the one hand,and Ras Ali and the new
and Catholicmissionary
rulerof Swa, on theother,is confirmed
by bothProtestant
sources.26
was therise,througha seriesof wars in thelat
Of equal, ifnotgreaterimportance,
1840s and early 1850s, of a new princelychampionof Alexandrianorthodoxyin
'
Daggazma Kasa of Qwara.27The originsof Kasa's pro-Wld Qeb policy are
obscure. He had receiveda churcheducation,butitwas probablyrooted,primarily,
in considerationsof statesmanship.Centralto Kasa's vision of a revivedEthiopia
was a revivedChurch,in which the authority
of the bishop was respectedand in
whichdoctrinalunityprevailed. The Ethiopia,whichKasa repudiated,was ridden
withsectariandivisionand contemptforepiscopal authority.Kasa was particularly
of itschurches,which,together,
opposed to Gondrand to theclericalestablishment
to
him
the
decadence
of
the
late
Zmn
represented
Msafont, thedefianceof both
and
and
the
alienation
of
land
and its revenue,whichhe
royal
episcopal authority,
deemedessentialto strengthening
thethrone.28
the centralprovinces,Kasa
Having establishedhis militarysupremacythroughout
Slama
back
to
in
Gondr
restored
his
June,1854,
and, in August
brought
authority,
of thesame year,held a churchcouncilat Amba ara, nearGondr. Consideringits
seftiinal
thecouncilis surprisingly
The chronicle,usually
importance,
underreported.
regarded,as official,merelytells us thatKasa passed the rains at Amba ara.29
AnotherEthiopiandocumentmentionsit.30It is thedocument,whichwe published
here,which providesus with,by far,the richestaccount of the council and the
"heresies,"which it condemned.31Closely associated withthe council was a re25
ChurhMissionary
C.M/048,79; Liederto Secretaries,
SocietyArchives,
Cairo,June5,
" 576.
"Doctrine
andAuthority
1849;quotedinCrummey,
p.
26
CMS, C.M/048,124,LiederReport,
Cairo,January
27, 1849;andde Jacobis,
"Giornale,"
IV,p. 64,March6, 1850.
27For
whom,see thestudybySvenRubenson,
KingofKings,Tewodros
ofEthiopia(Addis
Ababa/Nairobi:
HaileSellassieI University/Oxford
University
Press,
1966).
8 Thisvisionis
innumerous
withthechronicle
closesttoTewodros:
sources,
reported
starting
YTewodros
Tarik. See also WldMaryam,Chronique
de Thodoros.
Znnb,*
See also
Rubenson*
s accountof Tewodros'splundering
of theGondrchurches
in 1864 and 1866:
KingofKings
, pp.71-72.
29
Tarik
Znnb,YTewodros
, p. 18.
30Conti
"NuoviDocumenti,"
Rossini,
pp.408-409.
31 Somewhat
the mostsubstantial
corroborative
information
comes fromthe
ironically,
Catholicmissionary,
de IJacobis,who,in anticipation
of Kasa's new reign,had come to
Gondr:see hisletters
intheAnnalesde la Congrgation
de la Mission
, XX (1855),pp.526-

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andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
DonaldCrummey
...
ofEthiopia,

organizationof Kasa's court,which gave Slama precedenceover the oge, and

controlof theofficeof liq kahnat, or generalsupervisorof theclergy.32Finally,in
September,Kasa gave himselfthe elevatedtitleof nogusand marriedhis wife in a
Each of theseactionshelpedto defineChristiankingship
bindingchurchceremony.33
in laternineteenth
centuryEthiopia.
We stillknow verylittleabout theofficeof theliq kahnatand its changingstatus
and functionsthroughtime. But, fromlatercontroversies,
whichsurroundedit,we
know that it entailed extensive rightsto supervise parish clergy and enjoyed
considerablerevenues. In thelateZmn Msafsnttheofficeappearsto have been
under the ege. The policy of Tewodros's successors is not completelyclear.
Yohannss IV seems to have assignedit to his firstbishop,Atnatewos(d. 1876), but,
on Atnatewos'sdeath,re-assigneditto theoge. Yohannascontributed
profoundly
to thedevelopment
of themodernepisocopatein Ethiopiathrougharranging,
in 1881,
thearrivalof fourdifferent
bishops. Yet, he deniedthemthecontrolof thisparticular,
officealthoughhis thensubordinate,
in the
Msnibk, seems to have acted differently
case of Matewos,thebishopassignedto Swa.34
In enteringintoa churchmarriagewithhis wife,Tewodros set a lastingprecedent,
makingit normativeforthemonarchthepracticeof the clergy. This was a radical
historicaldeparture.Ethiopia'sgreatChristiankingsof the fourteenth
and fifteenth
centurieshad practiceda structured
and
was
the
normduring
polygyny, concubinage
the seventeenth
and eighteenth
centuries. Yet Yohannss-IV, ManitekII and Haile
Sellassie I all incorporatedchurchmarriageinto theiracts of makingthemselves
kings.35
The finalact in theinitialre-establishment
of churchand statewas thecrowningof
Kasa as Nsgu Ng Tewodros II by Abun Slama on February11, 1855. Of
16

527, datedGondr,July1854,and pp. 538-539,datedGondr,August24, 1854; also his

Giornale
datedJuly15through
, V, pp.30,32-34,37,40; entries
August18,1854. According
to de Jacobis,
JohnBell,a member
ofKasa's
who,intum,was informed
bytheEnglishman,
andtheSstLodt. De Jacobisclaimsthat
court,thesuppressed
partiesweretheTwafrado
adherents
We
EthiopianTawafrodo
objectedto Slama's strictAlexandrian
interpretation.
understand
in thiscontext,
to referto themoremoderate
with
Tawaijtado,
partyaffiliated
DbrLbanos,andnottheKarratendency,
referred
toearlier.
32 For the
see Donald Crummey,
and Imperial
changesin courtordering
"Orthodoxy
Reconstruction
i Ethiopia1854-1878,"
Journalof Theological
Studies
yNew Series,XXIX,
PartII (1978),pp.427-442;fortheliqkahnat
seethedocument
here.
published
ContiRossini,
"NuoviDocumenti,"
o. 409.
34
Nationale
Ya$e Yofrannos
TariktBibliothque
Alqa Lmlm,Ya$e Tkl Giyorgissnna
folios
27
and
27
bis.
See
also
G.
I
Miei
Anni
di
Missione
(Paris),
Massaia,
Trentacinque
Nell'Alta
Storiche
di Fra Guglielmo
Etiopia.Memorie
Massaja (Rome,12 vols.,1885-1895),
vol. IX, pp. 146-147; and AdugnaAmanu,TheEthiopianChurchbecomesautocephalous,
BA
AddisAbabaUniversity,
1969.
unpublished
35Fora fuller thesis, with
discussion, references,
sopCrummey,
"Imperial
Legitimacy,"
pp^i8-19.

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JES,Vol.XXXVII,No.l(June2004)

17

of episcopalauthority;
lastingconsequencewere: therecognition
episcopal sanction
as a keyelementin royalcoronation;and theestablishment
of doctrinalunitythrough
recognitionof the Wld Qsb 7Karra Christologya's normativeforthe churchas a
whole and the corresponding
suppressionof the Ya-Sgga Log/SostLodt doctrine
and itsproponents.
Alreadyby September,1856, Tewodfosand Slama came intoconflictover church
lands and over the relationshipbetween royal and episcopal authority.36These
conflictsbecame increasingly
bitterand intractable,
but,ironically,
theyservedto reenforceSlama's authority
among the Ethiopianclergy,forwhom he was now the
principalchampion. In 1864 relationsbetweenthetwo ruptured;Slama was exiled
to Tewodros's fortress
of Mqdla; and therehe died,on October25, 1867.37 These
developmentsobscure a more enduringlegacy. Each of Tewodros's successorsTkl GiyorgisII, Yohannss IV and ManitakII- followedthetemplatelaid downby
Tewodrosat thebeginningof his reignas themodel foran EthiopianChristianking:
doctrinalunityin a churchcenteredon episcopal authorityand the adoption,as
- church-sanctioned
normativefor kings, of the maritalpractices of the clergy
monogamy,a radical departurefromthe structured
polygynyof Ethiopia's great
Christiankingsof thefourteenth
and fifteenth
centuries.38
The firstmodernattempt
at reconstructing
church-state
relationsin Ethiopiaended in
shambles. But thetemplatewas compelling.The workof theCouncil of Amba ara
was completedby theworkof theCouncil of Boru Meda, presidedoverby Emperor
Yohannas IV in 1878; and the restoration
of the episcopacy was completedwith
Yohannas'sfourbishopsin 1881.39

36Conti
Rossini,"NuoviDocumenti,"
p. 412; Znnb.YTewodros
Tarik,pp. 29-30; and
WldMaryam,
Chroniaue
. no.25-28.
37
Priests
andPoliticians,
Crummey,
p. 141.
Forthepractices
of Tewodros'ssuccessors,
see DonaldCrummey,
"ImperialLegitimacy
andtheCreation
of a Neo-Solomonic
Cahiersd'tudes
Ideologyin 19thCentury
Ethiopia,"
, 109,XXVIII,1 (1988),pp. 13-43.Forearlierroyalpractice,
see TaddesseTamrat,
africaines
Churchand Statein Ethiopia1270-1527(Oxford: ClarendonPress, 1972),particularly
VI.
Chapter
39Foran accountof
BoruMeda,withreferences,
see Crummey,
and Imperial
"Orthodoxy
Reconstruction,"
pp.440-441.

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18

andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
DonaldCrummey
...
ofEthiopia*

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No.l(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVII,

19

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20

DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
...
ofEthiopia,

aJrt-i*ii 9.
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No.!(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVII,

21

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22

DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
...
ofEthiopia,

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No.l(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVII,

23

?h M /rcfii<D'9 Ail iwy h*7-fe4CVJ Xrth

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24

DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama
: Metropolitan
...
ofEthiopia,

*fl l"7d::
2.ftA ""Ah* n.'S +4"n *fl-f*
xtjttn31 a>A/^
ath 1^-Poo. (|g
A2A *>Ah* T-P Xrth"A UIC"
>!-/" WiPo*
IK:: <o-t~hit fl+*A:: l*f,ffl.
V:: mau'A.^ao. hr'tvmfc^+^A MH
A9XAh:: P/t-lil 7T*/" ([A94r CM-::
ohrXrlt-H 3- 7T-/" **A -+ <1 A.n?A::
A+hA
y^"V':: ffllUP'".O +*C1V *0 rt^"7 aH^nim. nX,U- /".Pi32 (ftl
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(otxvsw H
ffl+JiPvi-n^ -flcy?"
a)-t-a)/n.
^">1
n.*A- h0 Kzih- KrifilV-b::
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toxrsiiTi
n> AJ>-33
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hr-A-*
hu?*
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vb/

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xih

IN
o.l (June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVIl,

25

a>li1 M ill"? i-f

a><n>JhK9^. H-ta'" 0,
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This content downloaded from 132.198.50.13 on Fri, 23 Jan 2015 06:11:55 AM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

26

DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
...
ofEthiopia,

Translation
Copied (iby Sergew Hable ellassie) froma note belonging to Alqa Azzz,
to be foundat the Libraryof the Holy TrinityChurch (in Addis Ababa).1
Afterhim2came Abba Qerolos3and enteredGondr.4When he confessed, "The
Son is unction," the clergy of Gondr sent him away. They broke his chair
and cross. A serious injustice was committedagainst him. He returnedto
Tsgray5 and lived in Adwa. He died at the hands of people and became a
martyr.He was number 106.
Afterthatcame a false bishop fromArmenia.6Dggazma1 Sb'a Gadis and the
mkwanmt%
of Tagray sent him away. He returnedto his countryand died of
excessivegrief.
1 In Amharic.
Teacherof SergewHable Sellassieand
Alqa Azzz was theOld Testament
Getatchew
HaileattheAddisAbabaHolyTrinity
School.
Theological
Yosabwhodiedin 1803.
Obviously
3
from1815 untilhis deathin 1828. On the metropolitans
Qeraloswas metropolitan
in thistext,see SalvatoreTedeschi,"Ethiopian
mentioned
in Aziz S. Atiya(ed.),
Prelates,"
The CopticEncyclopedia
(Macmillan,1991),vol. 4, pp. 999-1003;and IgnazioGuidi,"Le
listedeimetropoliti
Abissnia,"
Bessarione
detailsofthis
, 6 (1899),pp. 1-16. Theessential
accountof Qeralosare confirmed
by othersources: C. ContiRossini,"La cronacareale
Abissinadall'anno1800all'anno1840,"Rendiconti
dellaRealeAccademiadei Lincei, Series
nel
5, 25 (1916),pp. 889-893;C. ContiRossini,"NuoviDocumenti
perla Storiad'Abissinia
secoloXIX,"AttidellaReale AccademiaNazionaledei Lincei, Series8, 2 (1947),364-365;
Nathaniel
a
Pearce,TheLifeandAdventures
Pearce,Written
ofNathaniel
byHimself,
during
ResidenceinAbyssinia,
the
1810
1819
to
withMr. Coffin's
Accountof
from years
Together
His Visitto Gondar.EditedbyJ.J.Ifalls,Esq. (London:2 vols.,1831),II, pp. 66-67; and
ofDggazma Sb'a GadisWlduto BurrasVII,
Guidi,"Le liste,"pp. 13-14. Fora letter
Patriarch
of Alexandria,
of Qerslos,see Sven Rubenson,
et al
1827,complaining
February
I. Correspondence
and Treaties1800-1854(Evanston/Addis
(eds.),Acta/Ethiopica.Volume
Ababa: Northwestern
Press/Addis
AbabaUniversity
University
Press,1987),Doc. 22.
4 In the
the
forms
are
and"gwndr."
FortheEnglishversion
text,
we will
variably
"gondr"
usetheform
ofwhatthetextoffers.
Gondr,
regardless
5Thetexthas
always"tagre".
6 A number
ofArmenian
ecclesiastics
visitedEthiopia
intheearliernineteenth
Those
century.
whocamein Qeralos'stimeweresummarily
dismissed
fromTagray.However,in theearly
1820s an Armenian
ecclesiastic(almostcertainly
nota bishop)namedHovhannsvisited
welcomed
andsupported
wa,wherehe was warmly
byNoguahlallaseuntilhisdeath
in 1838: RichardPankhurst,
"TheHistory
ofEthiopianArmenian
Relations(ii)," Revuedes
tudesArmniennes
2275-278.
, NS, XIII (1978-1979),
pp.
7
"
"
inthetextis either
The.form
dggazmaor"dggazma."
8
"Rulers,"
"notables,"
"dignitaries,"
"nobility."

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JES,Vol.XXXVII,No.l(June2004)

27

Thenin 7334 Year of theCreation,in theYear ofMark,9whenthemonthly

epactwas
18 [and themtqo'was 12],10in 1834 AM,11in theYear of Mark [Sept. 1841-Sept.
1842 AD], Abun Slama, Archbishopof Ethiopia,came. He was youngin his age
but elderlyin his knowledge;his age was about 22 years.12The bishop of Ethiopia
and thebishopof theland of Seleucia13nominallydeserveto be called Archbishop.
For thetwo are honoredin name.14Abba Slama was number107 of thebishopsof
the Orthodo*faith. This Abba Slama, too, was of the Orthodoxfaith,like his
fathers.
Then, therewas unrestin Ethiopiabecause Dggazmac Wabe and Gou15 Barru
For
waged waragainstRas Ali.16Therewas a seriousquarrelamongthemakwan9nt.
theywere at odds even before.Daggazma Wabe came fromTagraywitha huge
army,bringingwithhima bishop,Abba Slama, and crowningkingAze Yohannas,17
son of King of Kings Tkl Giyorgisfromthescion of IyyasutheJust.18
He [Wabe]
marchedto thelandof Bgemdarand they[he and Ras Ali] metin waron 1 Ykkatit,
on a Monday[February7, 1842 AD].19The Galla weredefeatedas quicklyas an eye
9 In the

calendar,each yearin thefour-year

Ethiopian
cycleis givento one of thefour
Evangelists.
10In thetextthe
whichis usuallygiventogether
spacefortheremaining
daysofthemonth,
withthedaysoftheepact,is blank.
In thetext,theyearis referred
toas "after/since
theNativity
ofOurLordJesusChrist.We
willcall it AM (= <AmtMahrt"YearofMercy"orAnnoMisericordias.
It shouldnotbe
confused
jvithAnnoMundiorAnnoMartyrium.)
TheChurch
Kruse,inCairoatthetimeofSlama'selection,
Missionary
Societymissionary
andclosetotheevents,
givesSlama'sage as 21* CMS, CM/045,100,Kruseto Secretaries,
Cairo,May20, 1841.
13Theformer
nameofBaghdad,
capitalofIraq.
14See AbbaPaulosTzaduaandPeterL.
TheFethaNagast(TheLaw oftheKings),
Strauss,
AddisAbaba 1968,p.18; and IgnazioGuidi,Il "FethaNagast"o "Legislazione
dei Rei"
CodiceEcclesiastico
e civiledi Abissina
, Rome(text)1897,pp.23-24,and(tr.)1899,pp.2930.
15Inthetextheis either
"gou"or"gwau."
16We discusstheseconflicts
in ourintroduction.
Fortheprincipal
sources
briefly
primary
see: ContiRossini,"Cronacareale;"andContiRossini,"Nuovidocumenti."
Forsecondary
accounts
see: Mordechai
Abir,Ethiopia.TheEraofthePrinces.TheChallenge
ofIslanfand
the Unification
of the Christian
Kingdom1769-1855(London: LongmansGreen,1968);
DonaldCrummey,
PriestsandPoliticians.Protestant
ahd CatholicMissionaries
in Orthodox
, 1830-1868(Oxford:Clarendon
TheSurvivalof
Press,1972);andSvenRubenson,
Ethiopia
Educational
Ethiopian
Independence
(London:Heinemann
Books,1976)
17
"Yohannes".
Commonly
18
III was thegrandson
of IyyasuI, one of theleadingGondrine
rulers(r. 1682Yofcannas
1706),frequently
referred
toas "theGreat."
19FortheBattleof Dbr
Survival
The
Taborisee Rubenson,
, pp. 93-97withreferences.
account
inthismanuscript
is consonant
withother
accounts.

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28

Slama
: Metropolitan
...
andGetatchew
HaileAbun
DonaldCrummey
ofEthiopia,

blink.20And Gou Barm returnedto his country,turninghis face fromthe fight

cannotfightotherthanin theircountry.The Galla
because (thepeople of) Goggam21
to theircountry.Ras Ali fledand traveleda journeyof threedays.
fledand returned
The thronewas withouta lord,unoccupied,for7 days. And Dggazma Wabe was
On
defeated,afterhe had defeated.He was arrestedwithhis son and his mkwandnt.
the seventhday, Ras Ali returnedto the thronewhence he fled, and made a
reconciliationthroughtheprayerof Abba Slama. DggazmaVJzbs was released,
of Ras Ali.
and returned
to his country.The whole worldadmiredthemagnanimity
All thistookplace in Dbr Tabor.22Whathappenedin Dbr Tabor was wonderful
and marvelousfor"God has reignedover all gods."23 What it [the scripture]calls
, thegods of theearth.
"gods" are themkwanmt
Abun Slama of the Orthodoxfaith
Then, afterhe reconciledthe two makwanmt,
came and enteredhis residenceGondr,forit was theseat of his bishopric. And in
thesecondyear,in theYear of Luke,in 1835 AM [Sept. 1842-Sept.1843 AD], when
theepactwas zero,AbunSlama wentdownto nda, theseat of bishops,to see the
and itslandscape.24He visitedthetombsof thebishops. He
beautyof itsarchitecture

20Theterm"Galla"herehasseveral
itrefers
Mostnarrowly
tothedynasty
founded
registers.
ofEthiopiafromDbr
thecentral
inthe1780sbyRas Ali I, or"theGreat,"ruling
povinces
of thedynasty
wereRas Ali II and his mother,
Tabor. The contemporary
representatives
a
brief
toA?e YohannasIII, forwhom,
her
title
who
claimed
Mnn,
marriage
through
Stege
18: ContiRossini,"Cronacareale,"pp. 884, 915; and idem."Nuovi
see above footnote
as the"WrrSk"
andwerefrom
referred
to themselves
documenti,"
p. 380. Thisdynasty
andalliesoftheWrrSk.
"Galla"refers
totheWllorelatives
Yjju. Moregenerally
Givenindifferent
forms,
e.g.,here"gwam."
22The author
bothto MountTaborandthe
mayhave,usedthenameas pun,sinceit refers
thathappened
onit.
Transfiguration
23A conflation
ofPs. 46: 9/47:8 andPs 94/95:3.
24
in
was thecountry
seatofthemetropolitans
theGondrera. (See
nda, Dmbiya,
during
the accompanying
Our
most
detailed
account
Map.)
nineteenth-century comes fromthe
Aaron
Stern:
witha
missionary,
Henry
Wanderings
amongtheFalashasinAbyssinia
together
and its VariousInhabitants
oftheCountry
(London,1862); see pp. 253-255foi;
Description
an accountof Stern'svisitto nda. ThereweremanyFlaSain thenda areaandAbu
Slama gave permission
formissionaries
supported
by the Churchof Scotland'sJewish
to establish
a missionthereon condition
thatanyconverts
wouldbecome
MissionCommittee
members
of theOrthodox
whichaccountsforStern'sparticular
interest.See the
Church,
accountin DonaldCrummey,
Priestsand Politicians.Protestant
and CatholicMissionsin
Orthodox
, 1830-1868(Oxford:Clarendon
Press,1972),pp. 130,133. It is possible
Ethiopia
thattheFrenchtraveler,
CharlesPoncetvisitedthedeposedmetropolitan
AbunSinodathere
in 1699. Poncetbriefly
describes
Sinodaat "Tenket,
a country
housebelonging
to
visiting

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No.l(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVll,

29

translated
therelicsof thebishops. The relicsof 12 bishopswerediscovered.One of
themwas foundshroudedin sen,25[thiswas] thecorpseremainso Abba Sinoda26
who was demoted. But theotherbishopswere found,on 24 Tsrr,shroudedin their
regal vestments. He put the relics ojf the threebishops in one coffin. Abba
^ww'YohannasandAbunaYosab,
Krastodolu,who was buriedin Dbr Qw9sqwam,
who were buriedat the churchof Saint Gabriel,were not at nda. He made a
thatthesoldiersand pages of Stege Mnn shouldnotreturn;he issued
proclamation
an excommunication
thattheymaynotenterhis monastery
of Gnda, and came back
and enteredhis seatGondr.
In less than2 months,thefence(?)27of his monastery
was broken,and poundedby
theorderof Stege Mnn,forexcommunication
was trivialforher;she was cruellike
Jezebel.28Abba Slama grievedverymuch. His griefand his prayercame to God.
For he has said in the Gospel, "When you ask the Fatherin my name, he will do
foryou."29 We herebybringthe storyof injusticesvisitedupon Abba
everything
and
how God helpedhimin thYear of Mark,on 24 Ganbot,on theholyday
Slama,
of AbunTdid Haymanot,and on theholyday of Our Lady Mary,called (theHoly
Family's)EntranceintoEgypt.
In themorning,thehighpriestsof Gondrand Swa held counsel by the ordersof
Ras Ali and his motherStege Mnn. The day was a Sunday.30They abolishedthe
Sabbathand the holy days. They said, "Let not thepeople be disturbedon a holy
day." So, theysurroundedthe residenceof Abba Slama as bees would surround
honey.31It [thescripture]
says,"Many dogs surroundedme, and fatbulls seized me.

him:"WilliamFoster,TheRed Sea and AdjacentCountries

at theEnd of theSeventeenth
(London:Hakluyt
Century
1949),p. 123.
Society,
Matmadeofpalmleaf.
26Foran accountofthe
between
AbunSinodaandAyeIyyasuI, see Foster,
specialrelation
Red Sea, pp. 123-124. Sinoda died in 1699:' Tedeschi,"EthiopianPrelates,"Coptic
loc.cit. Krastodolu
diedin 1735; Yohannasin 1761; andYosabin 1803. For
Encyclopedia,
see also Donald Crummey,
Land and Societyin the Christian
Krsstodolu,
Kingdomof
totheTwentieth
ofIllinoisPress,
Ethiopia:FromtheThirteenth
(Urbana:University
Century
2000),pp.92, 167,169.
Notclear,thetexthasapn "relics",
"bones","skeleton."
28See her
in
1
Ki.
18-21.
story
29Anallusion
toJn.15: 16.
30
1846.
"Doctrine
andAuthority:
AbunaSalama,1841-1854,",
31,
May
(DonaldCrummey,
E. Cernili(ed.),IV Congresso
Internazionale
di StudiEtiopici(Rome: 2 vols.,1974),I, p.
hasJune1.) Fora discussion
ofadditional
references
tothisincident,
which
54, mistakenly
theaccount
here,seeourintroduction.
support
Cf.Ps.117/1
18:12.

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30

andGetatchew
HaileAbun
DonaldCrummey
...
Slama:Metropolitan
ofEthiopia,

Theyopenedtheirmouthat me,likea lionwaitingto raven."32Abba Slama kepthis

gateshut. Theypoundedthegateof his fencewithstones. It did notbreak,itwas as
hardas theirheart.Whenthegatedid notbreak,theyboredthefence. Theywanted
to set his house on fire. But God preventedthemfromburningit. Whathad never
happened happened to him! And what had never beforehappened happened in
Ethiopia to Abba Slama. The sufferingsthatremainedfromStephn the first
to Peterthe last of themartyrs34
were visitedupon Abun Slama. Hge
martyr33
Mahzntuwas withthem[withthe attackers]while all thiswas being committed.35
Ail thishappenedwithhis consent.
Toward dawn, Abba Slama came out on his own volition,lest people of his
household die fromthe stormingwith stone. They took him to the palace,36he
walkingon footand the Qgeon mule. They banishedhim to Mnnagsa alone,
with(only) his Egyptiandisciples. He was banishedfortwo days. He set out on the
thirdday, on a Tuesday, as theyhad expelled him to persecutehim fromtheir
to Tsgray. (But) theyquicklyreturned
himafterhe reachednearDbr
synagogue37
Bsrhan,called Gdl Waha. They robbedhim of his scepter. HtegeMnn sacked
his propertyand his residence,for she was never satiatedwith money. What is
amazing is thatshe uprootedthe plants which were plantedat his residenceand
planted(them) at her church. But the plants dried. O my brothers,look at this
injustice.
Theythenexiledhimto theland of Wgra,as his tearsweresheddinglikethewater
of thekrmt}%For the injusticevisitedupon himand his troublecompareto (those

32Cf.Ps. 21: 12-17/22:

12-16.
33See his
inActs7: 54-60.
story
34
PeterI ofAlexandria
Archbishop
(300-311).
5 Fora briefaccountofMahzntu
see EnricoCernili,
"Gli abbatidi DabraLbanos,capidel
monachismo
secondole listerecenti
Orientalia
etiopico,
(sec. XVTII-XX),"
, NS, XIV (1945),
recordalmostexclusively
in associationwith
pp. 158-159. He appearsin the historical
Slama's expulsion
to Tagray,
in
Slama,to whomhe was an archenemy.
Shortly
following
1848 theGoggameprincesGouandBarruabducted
to Gogam: ContiRossini,
Mafo?ntu
"NuoviDocumenti,"
sourcesclaimthat
p. 395. He died in 1850. Catholicmissionary
Mahzntu
was verysympathetic
to themand,indeed,he seemsto haveprovided
themwitha
of
See
the
with
reference
to
the
Catholic
account,
degree protection.
sources,in
missionary
PriestsandPoliticians
, pp.74,75,and88-89.
Crummey,
Theterminthetextis "ayebet"
37An insinuation
thattheywereliketheJewswhopersecuted
Christandhis disciplesfrom
their
synagogues.
38The
JunetoAugust.
season,from
rainy

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JS,Vol.XXXVII,No.l(June2004)

31

visitedupon) his fathers

theProphetsand theApostlesand his brothers
theMartyrs.39
He cursedtheheavenand earth,like theProphetElijah. And it happenedaccording
to his curse,because therewas no blessingof grainanywhere.And when it rained,
therainwas notrainof mercy.
The one who did all thisis ahl allase, theMr 'od Azma of wa.40 He gave
and to theclergyof (the church
bribesof manybsrr [silverpieces] to theofficials41
Barhan.42
For takingbribesblindsthe
the
of
Dbr
B'ata,
of)
exceptingonly
clergy
the
has
told
us.43
because
of these bribes,they
of
the
as
book
Then,
wise,
eyes
a
false
The
book
Abba
Slama
over
cause.
with
quarreled
says,however,"Strivefor
thetruth."44
(But) theyignoredthissayingof thebook. Theyexpelledhimfromhis
residence,as we have said earlier.
And in theYear of John,ahl allase died.45So, therewas unrestin wa. All this
happenedbecause of the griefof Abba Slama of the Orthodox,faith. B'ata was
sackedby thearmyofRas Ali. He [Ali] tooka greatdeal of grain,withoutmeasure.
Azzo was disgraced;he tooka greatdeal of grain.46The houses of thepriestsand
39Thisaccountoftheconfrontation
between
Slama,on theonehand,andHgeMah?ntu
andfollowers
ofStegeMnnn,
ontheother,
andofSlama's banishment
is elaborated
onby:
ContiRossini,"NuoviDocumenti,"
385-387.
Even
the
Catholic
de
pp.
missionary, Jacobis,
who had reasonto be hostileto Slama and favorable
to Mafrzntu
was shockedat the
circumstances
underwhichSlamawas expelledfrom
Gondr:letter
ofNov.6, 1847,citedin
PriestsandPoliticians
jCrummey,
, p. 89.
40"Shoa"and"Shwa"arethecommon
forms.
41The wordis azzao
as well as civiltitle,meaning
(pluralof azza), an ecclesiastical
"commander".
42Forahla
see Crummey,
PriestsandPoliticians
^allase's rolein theseevents,
, pp. 52-53,
and
idem.
"Doctrine
and
573-574.
B'ata
DbrTabb,Gondr,was
89;
pp.
Authority,"
founded
I (r. 1705-1706);DbrBarhandllasebyhis
byNoguNagtTklHaymanot
in
1694.
For
Dbr
Barhandllasewas themostprominent
father,
IyyasuI,
manyyears
churchin Gondranda bastionof WaldQeb doctrine.Forthesechurches,
see Crummey,
LandandSociety
, as indexed.
43Cf.Sirach20: 29.
44Sirach4: 28.
45Forthedateof 12
T^<pmt1840(AM) = October
22, 1847see GbrSellas,TarikZmn
Msnilok
zDagmawi
NdguaNg zltyoppaya
(AddisAbaba,1959AM),p. 43. See alsoR.
H. KofiDarkwah,
andtheEthiopian
Shewa,Menilek
! 975),p.
Empire(London:Heinemann,
35. For the changingcircumstances
in wa on the deathof ahla allase,*see our
introduction.
46Thetext
1
ofgrain."
mayalso be read: "He wentdownto Azzo andtooka greatamount
Thiseventis alludedto inContiRossini,"NuoviDocumenti,"
p. 393. Azzowas theGondr
seatoftheof(age,theabbotofDbrLibnos.

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32

HaileAbun
DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
Slama:Metropolitan
...
ofEthiopia,

deacons were sacked,just as theresidenceof thebishop was. As theprophetsays,

"He will requiteeach accordingto his deeds".47 They did not know theirsins and
theirdisgrace. For theirheartwas undertheshadowof thejealousy of theJews.48At
the 6thhour (of the day), he excommunicatedthe people of Gondr. They are
buttheydid notknowtheirsinsand of theirexcommunication,
excommunicated;
just
as theJewsdid not know theirsins.49 But theJewsand the clergyof Gondrwill
knowtheirsin on theDay of Judgment.
Dggazma Wabe receivedAbba Slama. He grievedforthe injusticeinflictedon
him. He kepthim in Tagrayin happinessand peace untilhe developed a grudge
againstAbba Slama; he [Abba Slama] ascendedDbr Damo and hid himselffrom
him.50 He broughtAbba Slama down witha shallow reconciliationand in guile,
whichis craftiness.51
He [Wabe] tookhis dominion(fromhim) and neverreturned
it
to him. Abba Slama enduredthisuntilthemercyof Christwas at hand.
On thesecond year,in theYear of Luke,"God, theLord of vengeance,"52
passed his
He
is
called
of
because
he
His
judgment.
"(Lord) vengeance",only
judges.
judgment
against3 tegeMnn was like this: In 7339 Year (of theCreation) [Sept. 1846-Sept.
1847 AD], God raisedDggazmaKsisa., to oppose his enemies,themkwansnt
.53 He
appointedhimover all thecountries.Stege Mnn'marchedup to his countryQwara
to fightDggazma Kasa. He capturedStege Mnn and disgracedherin thehands
of theQamant.54She was stungwitha spearat herthigh.She was greatlydisgraced;
47Job34: 11.
48Anallusiontoreferences
suchas

Mk.15:11.
AnallusiontoLk23:34.
50Forthis
"
see ContiRossini,"NuoviDocumenti,"
sequenceofevents,
pp.387,396-397.This
sourceclaimsthatthesourceofconflict
between
WabeandSlamawas theprotection
offered
de Jacobis.See alsoRubenson,
Acta, I, Doc. 103,Slama
byWabetotheCatholicmissionary
to ButrusVII, January
of Slama's
15, 848. Foraccountoftheseyearsfromthestandpoint
relations
withProtestant
andCatholicmissions,
see Crummey,
PriestsandPoliticians
, pp.8991 andreferences.
51Amharic
"tmkol."
52Ps. 93/94:1.
53Fora
sourced-based
accountofthesedevelopments,
see Rubenson,
detailed,
KingofKings.
Tewodros
Haile SellassieI University/Oxford
ofEthiopia(AddisAbaba/Nairobi:
University
III especially
38.
Press,
1966),
Chapter
page
54Foran accountofthisethnic
withitsdistinct
Cushitic
see F. Gamst,The
group,
language,
andWinston,
Qemant.A Pagan-Hebraic
Peasantry
ofEthiopia(NewYork: Holt,Rinehar
andwestern
hinterland
ofGondr,
inthe
1969). TheQamanttodayarefoundinthenorthwest
districts
of Lay Armaaho
andCaiga and,
earlierweremorewidespread
in
Q*Wa.
perhap^,
thereferences
are few,Kasa/Tewodros
seemsto.havehad a specialrelation
with
Although
them.

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No.l(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVH,

33

clothes. She worea singledressonlyand was banished

theystrippedherornamented
to Qwara,just as Abba Slama was banished. Ras Ali made reconciliationwith
Dggazma Kasa; so thelatterreleasedStege Mnn. Ras Ali receivedhis mother.
She was demoted;she leftthe land of Dnbiya grieving.That griefwas futile,like
thegriefof sinnerson theDay of Judgment.55
On thesecond day, in theYear of John,Gou Etorru
marchedto Gondrwithhis
father.He puton a goldencoronet. He removedAbba Mahzntufromhis chairand
demotedhim. He tookhimaway in disgrace. He strippedhis vestmentand coronet.
All this happened because of the injusticecommittedon Abba Slama. Abba
Mahzntuwas banishedto Dbr Soma.56 He came out (dead) in theYear of John
[Sept. 185 1-Sept.1852 AD], after5 years. Theybroughtdownhis corpsefromDbr
Soma and tookitto Dbr Dima; he was buriedthere.All thishappenedas a resultof
griefand injusticevisiteduponAbba Slama.
Then God judged againsttheGalla a severejudgment,as theprophethas said, "God
knowshow to makejudgment."57On thesecondyear,in theYear of Matthew[Sept.
1847-Sept.1848 AD], Dggazma Gou came fromDamot and appointedhimself
over Dmbiya. (But) Daggazma Kasa defeatedDggazma Gou at Guranba.
Dggazma Gou died by a spear and was buriedat (the churchof) GuranbaSaint
Michaelon Saturday,on Hadar 19 [November27, 1852] The house ofRas Ali went
on waningand thehouse ofDggazma Kasa gainingstrength.
Again, Ras Ali dispatchedAligaz Barru with (an armyof) the Blw [Muslim]
Galla58 (againstDggazma Kasa); thelatterdefeatedthemand killedthem.(Aligaz)
was buriedin Cnkr,59
on Tuesday,on 5 Miyazya[April12, 1853]. Thenhe [Kasa],
marchedto Goggamand came to Bsn^.60He said to him[toRas Ali], "Come out!"
Theymetin battle. Manypeople died. Ras Ali was defeated.He was putto shame;
he fled,althoughhis armywas large and the armyof Dggazma Kasa was small.
The powerof God helpedthelatter.The dynastyof Ras Gugsa, thatruled55 years,
was overthrown.

55Cf. "The
ofJames(Jacob)of Serug"in MarcosDaoudandMersieHazen,The
Anaphora
Church
Liturgy
oftheEthiopian
(Cairo,Egypt:1959),p. 291(parae96).
Thesedevelopments
tookplace at thebeginning
of 1848 AD: ContiRossini,"Nuovi
" 395. See also
Documenti
p.
Rubenson,
KinsofKinzs*d. 39.
57Ps 9:17/16.

Possibly,"withtheGala(armv)ofBlw."
59Kasa/Tewodros
had hadhis earlyeducation
at themonastery
of CnkrTklHaymanot,
forwhichseeRubenson,
28-29.
,
King
of
Kings
pp.
60Bana.

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34

HaileAbun
DonaldCrummey
andetatchew
Slama:Metropolitan
...
ofEthiopia,

Ras Ali moved to the east, in the directionof his homeland. All thisvictorytook
place in one year,in theyearof Matthew.The end of his defeatwas Wednesday,23
Sne, the holy day of the mightymartyrSaint George [June29, 1853].61 All this
happenedbecause of the griefand the injusticevisitedupon Abba Slama of the
Orthodoxfaith. God helpedAbba Slama; and his enemies,the clergyof Gondr,
wereputto shame.
Thus, in 1846 AM [= Sept. 1853 - Sept. 1854 AD], Daggazma Kasa broughtAbba
Slama of the Orthodoxfaithwhencehe was exiled and broughthim in to Gondr,
the residencyof his bishopric. The clergyof Gondfreceivedhim withsongs and
to
hymns.Theyreceivedhim,withhappinessandjoy, on 24 Ganbot,-corresponding
the (same) day he left[May 31, 1854].62 Abba Slama of theOrthodoxfaithcame
fromhis countryin the Year of Mark; in Mark he leftGondr; and in Mark, he
returned(to it). The whole worldadmiredthismatterverymuch. One said, "Say to
God, yourdeed is terrible."63
Gloryto God who showedus thismatter;amen.
Afterthis,Daggazma Kasa returned
fromGoggamwitha greatamountof booty. At
thattime,Dggazma itemi, theprinceof Goggam,was takencaptiveby his hand.
He [Kasa] camped in Wyna Dga (in a place) called Ambaara.64Being there,he
summonedour MetropolitanSlama fromGondrto him. He came out of his camp
and received him with humilityand affection. They stayed togetherone week
relatedto theOrthodoxfaith.
discussingmatters
At thattime,thekingassembledfrommanymonasteries
therenownederudite,halfof
whomsaid, "JesusChristis theSon of thenaturof theFatherby theunctionof the
Holy Spirit,"and half of whom said, "He was anointedas he has paid tribute,"

61Rubenson
refers
tothisdefeatas theBattleofAyaal.Fora discussion
ofitssignificance,
withreferences,
seeKingofKings,p. 43.
62Theaccountin
"Doctrine
andAuthority,"
hasMay31st.At
Crummey,
p. 576,erroneously
thetimeofSlama'sre-entry
intoGondr,
undertheaegisofKasa,Kasa was stillinGoam.
63Ps. 65/66:3.
64 For thelocationof
Ambarara,
please see theaccompanying
Map 1: AbunSlama's
Ethiopia.TheCouncilofAmbaara,whichourdocument
proceedstodiscuss,was a turning
of Ethiopiaanda starting
pointin thenineteenth-century
history
pointforthere-construction
oftheEthiopian
It didnotdefinitively
resolvethedoctrinal
someof
monarchy.
controversies,
whichpersist
to thepresent,
butitdidseta precedent,
whichwas re-affirmed
the
by Council
ofBoruMedain 1878,ofparticular
tothevariousteachings
oftheThreeBirth,
Yopposition
"Doctrineand Authority*,"
and idem
and
$gga Log sect. See Crummey,
., "Orthodoxy
Reconstruction
in Ethiopia1854-1878,"
Journal
Studies
Imperial
, NS, XXIX,
of Theological
Pt.2 (1978),pp.427-442.

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JES,Vol.XXXVII,No.l(June2004)

35

althoughthebook says,"He was anointedbecause he was incarnated."65And with

thisunctionhe becametheSon of God by grace. Theycall thisgrace,"a thirdbirth."
They also said, "When he [Christ]fastedin the wilderness,Satan came to tempt
him.66 At that time, the Holy Spirit helped him, just as he helps the just.67
Furthermore,
theysaid, "Afterhis ascension,he bringspraise to his Father,forit is
his obligationin his humanity,
just as anyone of thesaints,"althoughthebook says,
"He rested from the obligation of a messengerand returnedto his previous
position."68
Theyalso said, "childrenknowthegood and theevil whiletheyare in their*mother's
womb. With this knowledge,theyeitherbelieve or deny while theyare in their
mother'swomb,beforetheyare born. Those who believe,God bringsto receiving
Christianbaptism."69(They maintainedthis) takingsupportfromthe words of the
ProphetDavid who says,"I trusted(in you) whileI was at thebreastof mymother.I
was cast on you since (I was in) thewomb; since in thebellyof mymotheryou are
my God."70 (They said), "But those who do not believe while in theirmother's
womb,God does notbringto receivingbaptism,because the sin theycommittedin
theirmother'swombbarsthem." Theysaid thistakingsupportfromthewordsof the
same David who says,"The sinnersare rejectedfromthewomb. While in thebelly
theyerredand spoke lies."71
65BerndManuel
'berdenrechten
Glauben' des
Weischer,
QrellosI: Der Prosphonetiko
vonAlexandrien
an Theodosius
II (= Afrikanische
, vol. 7) (Hamburg,
Kyrillos
Forschungen
'
einerist'desKyrillos
von
1973),p. 178-180;idem.,QrellosIII: Der Dialog Das Christus
Alexandrien
vol.2) (Wiesbaden,
1.
(=
Aethiopistische
Forschungen,
1977),
p.
76,
66Mt4: 1-11.
67Or "the
righteous."
68Unidentified.
Thewidespread
existence
ofthisview- thattherisenChristin hisglorified
humannaturepraisestheFather in Swa in the 1840sis notedalso by themissionary
J.
Krapf: Journalsof the Rev. Messrs.Isenbergand Krapf Missionariesof the Church
in theKingdom
in
Missionary
Society,DetailingtheirProceedings
of Shoa, and Journeys
in theYearsJ839, 1840,1841,and 1842(London,1843),p. 227,
othrPartsofAbyssinia,
forFebruary
13,.1840; see also theaccountin ChurchMissionary
entry
SocietyArchives,
December14,1841.
C.A5/016,
1; KrapftoCoates,Ankober,
69For this
in Swa in theearly1840s,see also CMS Archives,
controversy
C.A5/016,1;
to
December14,1841; alsoW. C. Harris,TheHighlands
Krapf Coates,Ankober,
ofEthiopia
months
CourtofShoa)
(beingtheaccountofeighteen
ofa British
Embassyto theChristian
to Krapfitwas an edictfrom
(London,2nded.,3 vols.,1844),III, pp. 158,190. According
"thethisparticular
which
Echague,"almostcertainly
HffgeMab?ntu,
doctrine,
concerning
led Nogu ahlallase,on Nov.24, 1841,to establish
a particular
sectoftheThreeBirth
Dec. 14, 1841. The various
partyin wa: CMS, GA5/016,1; Krapfto Coates,Ankober,
maneuvers
thisactarerecounted
preceding
inCrummev.
PriestsandPoliticians
: on.50-51.
70Ps 21:10-11/22:9-10.
71Ps. 57:4/58:3.

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

36

andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
DonaldCrummey
...
ofEthiopia,

They also said, "The motherof God (died) for redemptionof sinners,while the
apostles and all the saintsand martyrsdie forthinkingabout sin, fortheyare not
freefromthinking
of sin. Therefore,
perfectly
judgmentof deathwas passed against
them."72
They also commita serious heresy. They give the body and blood of Christto a
corpse,aftertheman'ssoul is departed.73
Such is thecreedand ordinanceof thosewho maintain,
"The Son of God was bornby
Grace througha thirdbirth."
Now let us go back to theoriginaltheme. WhenD ggazmaKasa assembledthese
two parties,he asked them about the issue, saying,"Who was the Apostle of
to theland of 'g'azi?"74 Theysaid to him,
Ethiopia? And who broughtChristianity
"It was Abba Slama, theIlluminator."He said to them,"Fromwhose See was Abba
Slama the Illuminatorordained?" They said to him,"From the See of Mark the
Evangelist." (He asked), "Has therebeen anyone of theArchbishopsof Alexandria
who preached a thirdbirthby grace or naturalbirthby the unctionof the Hol
Spirit?" Theysaid to him,"But thisis notin Alexandria,ratherour fathersherehve
taughtus." He said to them,"If yourwordsare a truewitness,thenstaywithwhat
72

thiscontroversy:
"whether
theHoly
Krapf(CMS, C.A5/06,loc.cit.)explicitly
reports
formankind
ornot;"and"Respecting
thedeathofMary,itis saidbyone
Virgindieda victim
thatshediedas an offering
forthesinsoftheworld. . KrapfandIsenberg,
Journals
,
party,
as whether
p. 96, entryforAug. 20, 1839. Othersourcesreportthecontroversy
"equal
adoration
andherSon . . . thequoteis from
[is] duetotheholyVirgin
Harris,
, III,
Highlands
pp. 190-191; butit is equallyreported
by Krapf{Journals,
pp. 90-91); and by C. E. X.
Rochetd'Hricourt,
SecondVoyage
surlesdeuxrivesde la MerRougedanslepaysdesAdels
et le royaume
de Choa (Paris,1846),p. 227. Although
condemned
at theBoruMedaCouncil
of 1878,somemanuscripts
oftheLiturgy
stillpreserve
theformula
"w-masl
wldaamioko
of and prostration
forherwithherSon [are meet]."),e.g.,EMML
("adoration
w-sdgdt"
Haile and WilliamF. Macomber,
A Catalogueof Ethiopian
2969, ff.14b-15a, Getatchew
AddisAbabaand
Manuscripts
Microfilmed
fortheEthiopian
Manuscript
Microfilm
Library,
Vol.VII:ProjectNumbers
2501-3000
fortheHillMonastic
Manuscript
Library,
Collegeville,
,
1983,p. 282.
Collegeville,
(Minnesota)
Thispractice
is notreported
incontemporary
butthereare,indeed,many
sources,
European
of funeralritual,whichincludedirections
to perform
suchan act:
Ethiopian
manuscripts
kzbur"("Makethem[thecorpses]tastefrom
"yalksfowwomu
sm-sgahu
qoddusw-sm-dmu
His holybodyand His honoredblod",e.g., EMML 3562, ff.4a, Getatchew
Haile, A
Catalogueof EthiopianManuscripts
Microfilmed
for theEthiopianManuscript
Microfilm
AddisAbaba andfor theHill MonasticManuscript
Vol.IX:
Library,
Library,
Collegeville,
3501-4000
, Collegeville,
ProjectNumbers
1987,p. 42.
(Minnesota)
anerudite
atthistime.
reference
Ag'azi= Ethiopia(n),
bya political
figure

This content downloaded from 132.198.50.13 on Fri, 23 Jan 2015 06:11:55 AM

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JES,Vol.XXXVII,No.l(June2004)

37

ourfathers
theArchbishopsof Alexandria,fromMarktheEvangelisttoAbba Petros75
and (our metropolitans)fromAbba Slama, the Illuminator,to the presentAbba
Slama,have taughtus." He declareda proclamationwithsound of thehornsaying,
"Do notdeviatefromthefaithof theseour fathers
archbishopsand metropolitans."
Then,on 13 Nhase, on the holy day of Mount Tabor, on whichthe Fatherwas a
witnessforhis Son, saying,"This is mySon whomI love; listento him,"76
he [Kasa]
enteredthe Palace, and assembledall the clergyof Gondr,fromthejunior to the
senior,and said to them,"Come to be bound,all of you,by thewordsof our father."
Theyall stoodup and wereboundby thewordsof our father.He, too,bound (them)
saying,"The Wordhas become flesh;and thefleshhas become divineby union(with
theWord). Withthisunion,of theWordwiththeflesh,and thefleshwiththeWord,
he [Christ]is77one body and one nature. In his humanityhe knows like theFather
and theHoly Spirit;and by theunion,he is theSon of thenatureof theFather.He is
divinein his humanity."78
He bound all, frommorningto the9thhour(of theday),
lest theysubtract from,or add to, thisfaith. At the 9thhour,a proclamationwas
again issuedwiththesoundof thehorn. All theclergyunanimouslysaid, "We praise
God thepraised,"79
And thecentralwall of quarrelwas demolished.Peace and amity
prevailed.
Afterthis,in the second year,in the Year of Luke [Sept. 1854 - Sept. 1855 AD],
Dggazma Kasa marchedto thecountryof Somento fightwithDggazma Wabe,
thePrinceof Somen and Tsgray. Dggazma Wabe, too, came fromTagraywitha
It is a
largearmy.-Theymetat a battleon thetop of a hill in Somen,called Gwalit.80
seat of ice. The armyofDggazmaWsbe was defeatedquickly. At thattime,of his
, Dggazma Mahzntu,the Princeof Goggam and Damot; ambi
mightymakwanmt
al wld,81Dggazma Hstu;FitawrariAmbaye; and Abeto Lmma Gumdw82
feil. Dggazma Wabe himselfwas takencaptivewithhis son and his makwansnt.
Of his weapons,nothingwas spared,but(wereassembledin thehand of Dggazma
Kasa.
75Thisis
of Alexandria.Forletters
fromEthiopiato Butrusspanning
ButrusVII, Patriarch
theperiod1827to 1849,see Rubenson,
etal, ActaAEthiopica.
L Docs. 22, 103,119.
Volume
76Feastof
Mt 17:5.
transfiguration,
77Thewordfor"is" is in
nw.
Amharic,
78Thisis a statement
oftheWldQeborKarradoctrine.
79Cf.Ex 15:
1,21.
80For an accountof theBattleof
Drsge,Feb. 9, 1855,and a criticaldiscussionof the
see Rubenson,
sources,
pertinent
Ethiopian
KingofKings,pp.44-45.
81Thetexthas "
a translation
to Ga'az oftheAmharic
ambi
abywldu",obviously
epithet
al wMdu"Wldu [who]saidno,"giventoDggazma3tu,Wabe's son,whenhe-refused
tosubmit.
82AlsoanAmharic
"Cuthimoff."
epithet,
meaning

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38

: Metropolitan
DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama
...
ofEthiopia,

Afterthisevent,on thethirdday,on a Sunday[February11, 1855],Dggazma Kasa

was anointedwithregal ointmentby the hand of our MetropolitanSlama.83' He
became NogusNgst. His regalnamebecame Tewodros. The place wherehe was
anointedwas the churchof Dggazma Wbe, which is (in) Drsge, called $9rha
ofDggazma Wbe, called Hay,W/Tzn,85
Betel,and
$syon.84Thenthefortresses
In
were
broken.
them
were
his
his
found
treasures
and
countless
anfara,86
many
money;theypassed to others,in orderthatwhathas been said by themouthof David,
"Theyheap up; buttheydo notknowforwhomtheygather,"87
maybe fulfilled.
Afterthis,he [Tewodros]returnedand wentto the land of Wllo. He. stayedthere
untiltheseason of krmtwas over. Afterthepeople of Wllo fellunderhis feetin the
Year of Yohannas,in themonthof Tsqsmt,King of KingsTewodrosenteredtheland
of Swa withour Metropolitan
Abba Slama.88 All thepeople of wa receivedthe
and thekinghappilyand peacefully. At thattime,Hayl Mlkot,the
metropolitan
kingof wa, rested(eternally)of an illness. He was buriedat Dbr Bgga'. His
mkwanont
tooktheson of Hayl Mlkotand fledto theborderof thecountry.The
mkwanmt
of thekingpursuedthemand encircledthemfromanotherdirection.They
met in battle. The makwanmt
of Swa were takencaptives.Some of themescaped
fromthe fight,takingManitak(withthem). They surrendered
to the kingon their
own volition.
Then thekingand themetropolitan
wentdown to Dbr Lbanos.89Theypaid tribute
to thetombof Tkl Haymanot.There,Abba Slama celebratedthecommunion.The
83For an accountof the
in additionto Rubenson,
loc.cit.,see also Crummey,
coronation,
PriestsandPoliticians
, pp.97-98.
84"TheHallofZion."
85Notclear.
86
anfsra.
87Ps 38: 7/39:6.
88
Taqamt,Year of Yohannas(= Oct./Nov.
1855). Foran accountof thiscampaign
through
Wlloto awa, see Rubenson,
to
KingofKings, pp. 52-53,whoseaccountrests,in addition
sourcesfor Tewodrosalreadycited, also on Alqa Wld Maryam,Mhaf Tarik
ZTewodros
witha French
NeguItyoppya
[editedandpublished
by C. Mondon-Vidailhet
translation
as Chronique
de Thodoros
II Roi des Roi d'thiopie(1853-1868)d'aprsun
manuscrit
(Paris,n.d.)]andonGbrallase,DagmawiMsnilok.
original
89The Amharic
languagesourceson thevisitbyTewodrosand Slamato awa andDbr
Lbanosadd littleto thisaccount: see Znnb,YTewodros
Tarik
, p. 24; WldMaryam,
, pp. 8-10 (Wld Maryamuses thisvisitto reprisethe relations
between
MhafTarik
Slamaandtheclergy
ofSwa); Gbrdllase,DagmawiMdnilsk
, Chaps.15,16,17.

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No.l(June2004)
JES,Vol.XXXVII,

39

kingand his armyreceivedthebodyand blood of Christfromhis hand. The people

of Dbr Libanos wereboundby his wordslesttheydeviatefromhis faith.
Then theyreturnedfromthereand camped at Dbr Borhan. All the clergyand
assembledand werebound by his wordslesttheydeviatefromhis faith.
makwanant
Afterthathe [theking]appointedHayl Mika'el overthewhole countryof wa; he
and enteredGoggam,and crossed
titledhimmr'od azma Then,thekingreturned
overto Bgemdsr.90
A while later,Bge Wld Maryamand the clergyof Gondrquarreledwithour
Slama,saying,"The officeof thehighpriestbelongsto us."91The king
Metropolitan
summoneda conferenceforthemon thisissue. At thattime,Hage Wld Maryam
and theclergyof Gondrlostby thejudgmentof theking,thattheofficeof thehigh
priestwas not theiroffice. Our MetropolitanSlama won in accordancewiththe
FothaNgst, thattheofficeof thehighpriestwas his office.92The kingdeclareda
proclamation,saying, "Our MetropolitanSlama has won, and Hage Wld
princes
Maryamhas lost withevidencefromtheFgthaNgst". Many mkwandnt,
and renownederuditewerewitnessesto thismatter.
If we were to recountthe eventsin detail sequentially,the storywould be long.
we wrotea fewso thatthestorymightnotbe long.93
Therefore,
90Tewodros
crossedtheAbbayintoGoggaminMarch,1856,andhadreturned
to Gondrby
ofthatsameyear:Rubenson,
cit..p. 53.
July
op.
91Thisis theofficeofthe
fora discussion
ofthestruggle
liq kahnat.See ourintroduction
between
thebishopsandthezageforitscontrol.
92 This
is referred
to by no othersource. Znnband the"Nuovi
particular
controversy
Documenti"
ofquarrels
ataboutthistimebetween
AbunSlamaandtheclergy
giveaccounts
of Gondr,on the one hand,and EmperorTewodros,on the other: Dbtra Znnb,
Tarik(Amharic
textpublished
as TheChronicle
YTewodros
,
ofKingTheodore
ofAbyssinia
editedbyEnnoLittmann
intoItalianas M. M.
[Princeton,
1902],pp. 29-30; andtranslated
"La cronacadi reTeodoroattribuita
al dabtara'Zanab',"Rassegnadi StudiEtiopici
Moreno,
,
2 [1942],pp. 168-169); and ContiRossini,"NuoviDocumenti,"
p. 412. Thesequarrels
concerned
whatkindofdeference
theclergyowedto thekingandthedisposition
of church
lands. TheGondrerahadseentheconversion
ofmanylandsfrommilitary
to ecclesiastical
tenuresand Tewodrossoughtto reversethif
trend. Duringthiscontroversy,
as in fhe
discussed
to theFgthaNg ("TheCodeofKings").
above,thepartiesreferred
controversy
The dialoguebetweenclergyand King,whichwas partof thiscontroversy,
has a striking
resemblance
tothedialoguereported
73. FortheFathaNg, see the
above,notereference
reference
innote14above.
bibliographical
93Formoreextended
discussions
of thedeclining
relations
betweenTewodrosand Slama,
see Rubenson,
PriestsandPoliticians
, pp.68-72; Crummey,
KingofKings
, pp. 118-120,125,
"TheInteraction
between
theMissionaries
and
129,131,and135-136;andSamuelRubenson,
theOrthodox:
theCase ofAbuneSelama,"pp. 71-84in Getatchew
Haile,AaslvLandeand

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40

DonaldCrummey
andGetatchew
HaileAbun
Slama:Metropolitan
...
ofEthiopia,

Aftera long time,thespiritof Satanchangedtheheartof theking. He became lover

of womenand haterof good things.He setchurcheson fire.94Because of this,there
developed a quarrel between the king and the metropolitan. He banished our
to a certainhill called Mqdla, forno crimeor blame,fora long time,
metropolitan
in suffering
and illness,as his tearsshed likethewaterof thekrmt.At thattime,he
boundtheentirearmyof thekingwiththepain of excommunication
so thattheymay
not obey his words. There,he rested(eternally),afterhe reigned26 years since
one, in the
[18]48 (AM). He departedfromthedecaying(world)to thenot-decaying
Year of John,on the fifteenth
the
month
of
of Tsqsmt,on a Friday,at the 9thhour
[October25, 1867].
On the seventhmonthafterAbba Slama rested,King Tewodros rested there
suicide[April12, 1868].
committing
Abba Slama workedmiraclesand wondersafterhis death,as thebook says, "The
because God did notneglecttherewardforhis.
justjudges criminalsafterhis death,"95
the
and
oppression.May
prayer blessingof crurMetropolitanSlama abide in us all,
thechildrenof his household,fromworldto world;amen.

SamuelRubenson
FactorinEthiopia(Frankfurt-am-Main:
PeterLang
(eds.),TheMissionary
GmbH,1998).
94Thebestsuccinct
accountofthedestructiveness
ofthelateryearsofTewodros
is Rubenson,
s sacking
Gondrin 1864and1866and
, Chap.V. Foran accountofTewodros'
KingofKings
andplundering
itschurches,
see ibid.,pp.71-72.
burning
95Unidentified.

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