Church Unearthed in Ethiopia Rewrites the History of Christianity in Africa

The Smithsonian ^ | December 10, 2019 | Andrew Lawler

[CondoleezzaProtege]

In the dusty highlands of northern Ethiopia, a team of archaeologists recently uncovered the oldest known Christian church in sub-Saharan Africa, a find that sheds new light on one of the Old World’s most enigmatic kingdoms—and its surprisingly early conversion to Christianity.

An international assemblage of scientists discovered the church 30 miles northeast of Aksum, the capital of the Aksumite kingdom, a trading empire that emerged in the first century A.D. and would go on to dominate much of eastern Africa and western Arabia. Through radiocarbon dating artifacts uncovered at the church, the researchers concluded that the structure was built in the fourth century A.D., about the same time when Roman Emperor Constantine I legalized Christianty in 313 CE and then converted on his deathbed in 337 CE...

According to Ethiopian tradition, Christianity first came to the Aksum Empire in the fourth century A.D. when a Greek-speaking missionary named Frumentius converted King Ezana. Butts, however, doubts the historical reliability of this account, and scholars have disagreed over when and how the new religion reached distant Ethiopia.

“This is what makes the discovery of this basilica so important,” he adds. “It is reliable evidence for a Christian presence slightly northeast of Aksum at a very early date.”

While the story of Frumentius may be apocryphal, other finds at the site underline how the spread of Christianity was intertwined with the machinations of commerce. Stamp seals and tokens used for economic transactions uncovered by the archaeologists point to the cosmopolitan nature of the settlement. A glass bead from the eastern Mediterranean and large amounts of pottery from Aqaba, in today’s Jordan, attest to long-distance trading. Woldekiros added that the discoveries show that “long-distance trade routes played a significant role in the introduction of Christianity in Ethiopia.”

[CondoleezzaProtege]

[CondoleezzaProtege]

*gods*graves*glyphs*

*Ping!*

[kaehurowing]

Indy, they’re digging in the wrong place!

[jjotto]

See Acts 8 starting at :26.

[Psalm 73]

"...a find that sheds new light on one of the Old World’s most enigmatic kingdoms [Ethiopia] —and its surprisingly early conversion to Christianity."

We're not surprised:

"Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he [the Ethiopian eunuch] answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him."
Acts 8:37-38

[Berlin_Freeper]

Ethiopia has close historical ties with all three of the world's major Abrahamic religions. In the 4th century, the Ethiopian empire was one of the first in the world to officially adopt Christianity as the state religion.

[Tucker39]

1. Don’t expect the Smithsonian to do anything to support the Bible or Christianity. They are anti-Bible.

2. Why jump to a yarn about Christianity coming to Ethiopia in the 4th century, when Acts Chapter 8 clearly states that the Apostle Philip led a high ranking official in Queen Candace’s court in Ethiopia to Christ, and baptized him. That shows that Christianity came to Ethiopia 300 years before the Smithsonian says it did.

3. Howcum the Ethiopian was reading the Bible (Isaiah 53) when Philip came along? Because God’s Word actually came to Africa many centuries before that. The Queen of Sheba made a trip to Israel to see for herself the splendor of King Solomon’s Court. Tradition says that she and Sol had a little fling, and she returned to Africa bearing Sol’s child; and with a link to ancient Israel and the Living God.

[time4good]

For those who don’t know the full context:

Philip and the Ethiopian

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

[cloudmountain]

The Ethiopians are very interesting.
My mother did extensive travel...two years around the world and she did stop in Addis Ababa. She wrote that it was thoroughly interesting!
Haile Selassie has to be one of the last emperors in this world.

[time4good]

Good points. I seem to remember Solomon’s intimate physical details of his bride described her with dark skin.

[time4good]

RE: Song Of Solomon

[Reily]

He’s been dead for like 40 years!
There still is a Japanese emperor.

[cloudmountain]

He’s been dead for like 40 years!
There still is a Japanese emperor.

Ah so!
I forget about Japanese emperor. SO SORRY.

[Reily]

Yeah they have a new one, I can’t remember his name.

[cloudmountain]

Japan officially began a new era on 1 May when Crown Prince Naruhito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne as the new emperor. The day before, his father Emperor Akihito became the first Japanese emperor in more than 200 years to abdicate, bringing the Heisei imperial era to an end.

[Reily]

Thanks

[SunkenCiv]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3800773/posts

[SunkenCiv]

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Oh my goodness SunkenCiv! So not only was it posted by marshmallow earlier, but *I* even commented on it LoL!

Ethiopia came up in conversation with af riend of mine yesterday and I remembered reading about the old church being dug up *somewhere* and decided to look it up on Google...but now I realize it was on FR. :)

[SunkenCiv]

I’m a little impressed that Ethiopia came up in conversation.