THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
Epistles of Clement, and the Synodus (that is, the
decrees of the Apostolic Council of Jerusalem;
cf. W. Fell, Canones apostolorum
4. The JZthiopice, Leipsic, 1871). Only a
Canon and very slight difference, however, is Creed. made between this canon and some other works of ecclesiastical literature, — the Didascalia or Apostolic Constitutions (text and transl. by T. P Piatt, published by the Oriental Translation Fund, London, 1834); the Haimanot- Abo, giving quotations from the councils and the Fathers; the writings of the Eastern Fathers, Athanasius, Cyril, and Chrysostom; and the Fetha- Xagast, the royal law-book. On the whole, the tradition of the Church has the same authority as the Scriptures. Of the councils, only those before the Council of Chalcedon (451) are recognized, because at Chalcedon the monophysite heresy was condemned. The Apostles' Creed is unknown; the Xicene is used.
At the head of the Church stands the Abuna,
who resides in Gondar. He is appointed by the
Coptic patriarch of Cairo; and, ac-
5. Organi- cording to a law, dating from the zation of thirteenth century, no Abyssinian,
the Church, but only a Copt, can be Abuna. He alone has the right to anoint the king and to ordain priests and deacons. Both in secular and in ecclesiastical affairs he has great power. The duties of the priests are to conduct divine service three or four times daily and for three or four hours on Sunday, to attend to the church business, and to purify houses and utensils. Priests, monks, and scholars celebrate the Holy Communion every morning. The deacons bake the bread for the Lord's Supper and perform menial duties. Any one who can read may be ordained deacon, and a priest is merely required to recite the Nicene Creed. To learn the long liturgies, however, is often a matter of years. It is usual to marry before ordination, as marriage is not allowed afterward. Besides priests and deacons each church has its alaka, who looks after church property and attends to secular business. The debturas sing at divine service; and the larger churches have a komofat who settles disputes among the clergy. Beside t he secular clergy stand the monastic under the head of the Etsh'ege, who ranks next to the Abuna and decides many ecclesiastical and theological questions in common with him. The number of monks and nuns (living after the rule of Pachomius) is very great. At Debra Damo, one of the chief monasteries, about 300 monks live together in small huts. A part of their duties is the education of the young. The church buildings are exceedingly numerous, generally small, low, circular structures, with a conical roof of thatch and four doors, one toward each of the cardinal points. Surrounding the building is a court, occupied during service by the laymen, and often serving at night as a place of refuge to travelers. The interior, dirty and neglected, is divided into two apartments, — the holy for the priests and deacons, and the holy of holies, where stands the ark. This ark is the principal object in the whole church. Neither the deacons, laymen, nor non-
Christians dare touch it; if they do, the church and the adjacent cemetery become unclean, and must be purified. Indifferent pictures of the numerous saints, the Virgin, the angels, and the devil adorn the interior; but statues are forbidden. Crosses are found, but no crucifixes.
Service consists of singing of psalms, recitals of parts of the Bible and liturgy, and prayers, especially to the Virgin and the wonder-working saints; it is undignified and unedifying. They believe that every one has a guardian spirit and therefore venerate the angels. The
6. Beliefs archangel Michael is consdered esand pecially holy. They divide the good
Practises, angels into nine classes, of which there were originally ten, but one fell away under Satanael. Relics are preserved and venerated as by the Roman Catholic Church. Of sacraments, the Church numbers two, baptism and the Lord's Supper. Both adults and children are baptized, the former by immersion, the latter by sprinkling. For boys the rite is performed forty days after birth; for girls, eighty days. The purpose of baptism is the forgiveness of sins. The Lord's Supper is preceded by a severe fast; and offerings, of incense, oil, bread, and wine are usually brought. The Jewish Sabbath is kept as well as the Christian Sunday; and altogether there are one hundred and eighty holidays in the year. Fasting, observed with great strictness, plays a prominent part in the discipline, and about half the days of the year are nominally fast-days.
Not all the inhabitants of Abyssinia are Christians; and not all Christians belong to the State Church. The Zalanes, a nomadic tribe, consider themselves to be Jews, and keep aloof from the Christians, though they are described 7. The as being really Christians. The Cha-
Falashas. mantes are baptized, and have Christian priests; but in reality they are nearly pagans, and celebrate many thoroughly pagan rites. The real Jews, the Falashas, live along the northern shore of Lake Tsana, in the neighborhood of Gondar and Shelga, where they pursue agriculture and trade. They are more industrious than the Christians, but also more ignorant and spiritually more forlorn. Mohammedanism is steadily progressing. In order to distinguish themselves from all non-Christians, the Christians receive at baptism a cord of blue silk or cotton, called mateb, which they always wear around the neck.
The first missionary work which the Western Church undertook in Abyssinia was the Jesuit mission of 1555, which labored there for nearly a century; but the missionary activity of the Jesuits was deeply mixed with the politics of the country; and their main purpose seems to have been to establish there the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. At last they reached the goal. After a frightful massacre of the opposite party, King Sasneos declared the Roman Catholic Church the Church of the State. In 1640, however, the Jesuits, with their Roman archbishop, were compelled to leave the country, and the old religion with its old Church was reestablished. With the