المراجع
Budge, E. A. W., trans. The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church, 4 vols. Cambridge, 1928.
Cerulli, E. Storia della letteratura etiopica, pp. 68-69. Milan, 1956. Chaine, M. "La Date de la mort du metropolite Abba Salama." Aethiops 1 (1922):33-36.
Guidi, I. Storia della letteratura etiopica, pp. 30-32. Rome, 1932. Kur, S. Actes de Samuel de Dabra Wagag. In CSCO 288, pp. vii, viii, 33, 39. Louvain, 1968.
Lantschoot, A. van. "Abba Salama, métropolite d'Ethiopie (1348-1388), et son role de traducteur." In Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi etiopici (Roma 1959), pp. 397-401. Rome, 1960.
Ricci, L. "Letterature dell'Etiopia." In Storia delle letterature d'Oriente, pp. 817-19. Milan, 1969.
______. Documenta ad Illustrandam Historiam, Vol. 1, Liber Axumae. In CSCO 58, p. 81. Louvain, 1954.
Rossini, C. "Sul metropolita Salama d'Etiopia." Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 27 (1912):368-71.
Taddesse Tamrat. "The Abbots of Dabra Hayq, 1248-1535." Journal of Ethiopian Studies 8, ser. (1970):102-103.
Tedeschi, S. "Les Fils du négus Sayfa-Ar‘ad d'après un document arabo-chrétien." Africa 29 (1974):576-80.
Turaiev, B. Vitae Sanctorum Indigenarum, Vol. 2, Acta S. Aaronis et Philippi. In CSCO 31, pp. 211-13, 218-19, 221. Louvain, 1955.
BARTALOMEWOS (d. c. 1435) Information about the episcopate of Bartalomewos (Bartholonew) is scant, even though it covered the lengthy period from the end of the reign of Negus Dawit I (1380-1412) though the entire reign of Negus Yeshaq (1413-1430). Successor to Salama II, Bartalomewos arrived in Ethiopia in 1391 of the Ethiopian calendar (A.D. 1398-1399), according to the date listed in a local chronicle (Annals of Addi-Neamin). This was at a time when Christian Ethiopia was undergoing a delicate crisis. Dawit, having seized power by eliminating his older brother, Negus Newaya Maryam, with the help of his sister, Del Sefa, had to face the opposition of certain elements of the military and the monasteries of Shewa that contested his actions. Therefore, it was a dozen years after the death of Abuna Salama II before the king was able to have the patriarch send a new metropolitan to Ethiopia.
Bartalomewos arrived in Ethiopia with important information for the negus: an atmosphere of peace between Christians and Muslims had existed for some thirty years in the Mediterranean, and this was accompanied by a remarkable entente among the various Christian communities (Copts, Catholics, and Greek Orthodox). Upon the advice of Bartalomewos and with the assistance of the Coptic patriarch MATTHEW I (1378-1409), the negus sent two missions to Europe in search of religious relics supposed to attest divine favor toward Dawit and consolidate his throne thereby. The first mission reached Venice in 1402, and the other arrived at Rome in 1404. It was the first mission, whose spokesman was a certain Florentine, Antonio Bartoli, that brought from Venice the relics desired by the negus.
However, inside Ethiopia, Bartalomewos became embroiled in a religious quarrel. Certain monasteries in the north of Ethiopia maintained that Saturday should be observed as the Sabbath, according to Holy Scripture, whereas other monasteries, supported by the metropolitan, defended the observance of Sunday, in conformity with Coptic tradition. Those favoring Saturday were the monks of the order of Ewostatewos and, in particular, Fileppos, abbot of Dabra Bizan. The metropolitan's principal ally was Saraqa Berhan, abbot of Dabra Hayq and counselor to the negus.
Bartalomewos won the first round. In 1400 he convoked a counsel during which Fileppos was retained at Dabra Hayq under the guard of Saraqa Berhan, while his partisans were sent away far from their monasteries. However, in 1404, Dawit decided to reverse his stand. He freed the punished prelates and authorized the observance of "the two Sabbaths." According to Taddesse Tamrat, the attitude of the Order of Ewostatewos was dictated more by nationalistic sentiments than by religious considerations, and this reversal weighed heavily against Bartalomewos and his immediate successors for a long time to come.
During the reign of Negus Yeshaq, Bartalomewos had to suffer another difficult period. Suspected of sympathizing with the Zamika’elite movement (a heretical current initiated by a monk named Zamika’el), the metropolitan had to defend himself before a board of inquiry and finally was forced to condemn formally the Zamika’elite doctrine. Soon afterward, there arose the heretical movement of the Estifanosites (named after a monk called Estifanos, or Stephan), which "refused to venerate Mary and the Cross," but which was also inspired by political considerations. The Estifanosites were condemned and persecuted during the fifteenth century, but Bartalomewos, who was present at their beginnings, does not seem to have played a role in their persecution (see
ETHIOPIAN HERESIES AND THEOLOGICAL CONTRO-
VERSIES).
It should be noted that an act was drawn up concerning a donation of land (Arabic, waqf) from Negus Dawit I to the Bethlehem Church (Bet Maryam) of Lalibala in Lasta. Written in Arabic, this act carries an addendum for verification and legalization written in Coptic and signed by Abuna Bartalomewos; it is dated A.M. 4 Paoni (Coptic, Ba’unah; Ethiopian, Sane) 1126 (A.D. 29 May 1410).
The exact date of the end of Bartalomewos' episcopate is not known. He was still living when Zar’a Ya‘qob ascended the throne (June 1434), for he is mentioned in a royal document of this period. However, given the fact that he is not cited in the documents of 1436, it may be presumed that he died around 1435. His successors were Mika’el III and Gabr’el, who arrived in Ethiopia together.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Cerulli, E. Il libro etiopico dei Miracoli di Maria, pp. 114-20. Rome, 1943.
Kolmodin, J. Traditions de Tsazzega et Hazzega: Annales et documents, pp. A23, A30. Uppsala, 1914.
Lantschoot, A. van. "Abba Salama, métropolite d'Ethiopie (1348-1388), et son rôle de traducteur." In Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi etiopici (Roma 1959), p. 398. Rome, 1960.
Monti della Corte, A. A. Lalibelà, pp. 136-39. Rome, 1940. Rossini, C. C. "Il Gadla Filpos e il Gadla Yohannes di Dabra Bizan." Memorie della Reale Accademia dei Lincei 8, ser. 5 (1901):65. ______. Vitae Sanctorum Indigenarum: Acta S. Abakerazun. In CSCO 57, pp. 6, 12. Louvain, 1954.
______. "Pergamene di Debra Dammo." Rivista degli studi orientali 19 (1940):52.
Taddesse Tamrat. "The Abbots of Dabra Hayq, 1248-1535." Journal of Ethiopian Studies 8, no. 1 (1970):103-105.
______. Church and State in Ethiopia 1270-1527, pp. 213-19, 225-28. Oxford, 1972.
Tedeschi, S. "Les Fils du negus Sayfa-Ar‘ad d'après un document arabo-chrétien." Africa 29 (1974):580-83.
MIKA’EL III (d. c. 1450s) Contrary to the tradition which held that there could be only one metropolitan in Ethiopia, Mika’el (Michael) held this post simultaneously with Abuna Gabr’el. Succeeding Abuna Bartalomewos, these two metropolitans arrived in Ethiopia together. With the coadjutor bishop Yohannes, they formed a small group of Coptic prelates who, according to the Liber Axumae, had come to the country in 1431 of the Ethiopian calendar (A.D. 1438-1439). Thus, they had been consecrated by the Coptic patriarch JOHN XI (1427-1452).
Upon their arrival in Ethiopia in February 1439, during the reign of Zar’a Ya‘qob (1434-1468), the negus demanded that they condemn the heretical trinitarian doctrine of the Zamika’elites (initiated by a monk named Zamika’el). This was probably because the negus remembered that Abuna Bartalomewos had been suspected of favoring this heresy. Consequently Mika’el and Gabr’el were required to proclaim, "We believe in three persons, but one sole divinity."
Likewise, in August 1449, at the request of the negus, both metropolitans subscribed to the verdict that Zar’a Ya‘qob once again declared in the old dispute of the celebration of the Sabbath on Saturday. In effect, the two metropolitans agreed to the observance of "the two Sabbaths," in conformance with the decision adopted during the reign of Abuna Bartalomewos. Afterward, during the sovereign's residency at Dabra Berhan (1454-1468), the three Egyptian prelates participated in the tribunal that judged and condemned the Zamika’elites.
The exact circumstances for the joint reign of Mika’el III and Gabr’el as metropolitans are unknown. Probably when they were consecrated and sent to Ethiopia, the Coptic patriarch intended that they govern in succession (i.e., one after the death of the other, as often happened subsequently). However, once on Ethiopian soil and probably at the orders of the negus, the two divided their territorial jurisdiction. As a result, there were documents issued with both men holding the same rank wherein Mika’el governed Amhara and Gabr’el ruled over Shewa. Each one proceeded to ordain deacons and priests within his own territory. At first this arrangement did not include Tigre, where the clergy refused to accept any metropolitan at all, for they felt that the quarrel of the Sabbath had not yet been definitively resolved. The negus then convoked a synod in 1450 that confirmed the observance of the two Sabbaths.
Only approximate deductions can be made as to the dates of the deaths of these two metropolitans. The Life of Ezra, a contemporary Estifanosite monk, states that in 1475 Ezra decided to go to Egypt in an attempt to have himself ordained a priest, "for, since the death of Abuna Gabr’el, there was no longer a bishop in Ethiopia with the authority to consecrate priests" (Caquot, 1961, p. 95). This story is also confirmed by a traditional list of metropolitans found in an Ethiopian document, which states that Mika’el and Gabr’el arrived together and that when Mika’el died, Gabr’el carried out the duties alone. Elsewhere, Francisco Alvares (1961, Vol. 2, pp. 356-57), the chaplain of the first Portuguese mission to arrive in Ethiopia (1520), reported that Abuna Marqos I told him that during the reign of Zar’a Ya‘qob, the church in Ethiopia had been without a metropolitan for twenty-three years—that is, until the arrival of Abuna Yeshaq II toward the end of 1481. From these data, it may be deduced that Gabr’el succeeded Mika’el and that he died in 1458. As to Mika’el's death, it must have preceded this date by a short while.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alvares, F. The Prester John of the Indies, Vol. 2, ed. C. F. Beckingham and G. W. B. Huntingford, pp. 356-57. Cambridge, 1961.
Caquot, A. "Les Actes d'Ezra de Gunda-Gunde." Annales d'Ethiopie (1961):95.
Cerulli, E. Il libro ethiopico dei Miracoli di Maria, pp. 109-120. Rome, 1943.
Getatchew Haile. "The Letter of Archbishops Mika’el and Gabra’el Concerning the Observance of Saturday." Journal of Semitic Studies 26, no. 1 (1981):73-78.
Guidi, I. "Le liste dei metropoliti d'Abissinia." Bessarione 6 ser. 1 (1899):9.
Rossini, C. "L'omilia di Yohannes, vescovo d'Aksum, in onore di Garimâ," In Actes du XIe Congres international des orientalistes, p. 142. Paris, 1897.
______. Documenta ad Illustrandam Historiam, Vol. 1, Liber Axumae. In CSCO, 58, p. 82. Louvain, 1954.
Rossini, C. C., and L. Ricci. Il libro della Luce del Negus Zar’a Ya‘qob (Mashafa Berhan), Vol. 2. In CSCO 261, pp. 153-55.
Louvain, 1965.
Taddesse Tamrat. Church and State in Ethiopia 1270-1527, pp. 228-30, 235-36. Oxford, 1972.
GABR’EL (d. c. 1458) Gabr’el (Gabriel) arrived in Ethiopia in 1431 of the Ethiopian calendar (A.D. 1438-1439) with another metropolitan, Abuna Mika’el III. They had both been consecrated together by the Coptic patriarch JOHN XI (1427-1452) and were the successors of Abuna Bartalomewos.
According to tradition, only one bishop could be appointed metropolitan of Ethiopia. Consequently, it is probable that Gabr’el and Mika’el III were supposed to exercise this duty in succession (i.e., one after the death of the other). In reality, they reigned jointly by dividing their territorial jurisdiction. By order of the negus, Gabr’el took charge of Shewa and Mika’el of Amhara.
For the most part, the information available is the same concerning these two metropolitans (see the biography of Mika’el III, above). It must be added that it was Abuna Gabr’el who conferred the priesthood upon the monk Abakerazun, disciple and successor to the monk Estifanos, head of the heretical and political Estifanosite movement that shook the Ethiopian church during the fifteenth century.
After the death of Abuna Mika’el III, Gabr’el was the sole metropolitan until his death around 1458. The church of Ethiopia then remained without an abun for approximately twenty-three years, until the arrival of Abuna Yeshaq II in that country.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Caquot, A. "Les Actes d'Ezra de Gunda-Gunde." Annales d'Ethiopie 4 (1961):95.
Cerulli, E. Il libro etiopico dei miracoli di Maria, pp. 109-120. Rome, 1943.
Getatchew Haile. "The Letter of Archbishops Mika’el and Gabrael Concerning the Observance of Saturday." Journal of Semitic Studies 26, ser. 1 (1981):73-78.
Guidi, I. "Le liste dei metropoliti d'Abissinia." Bessarione 6, ser. 1 (1899):9.
Rossini, C. "L'omilia di Yohannes, vescovo d'Aksum, in onore di Garima." In Actes du XIe Congrès international des Orientalistes, p. 142. Paris, 1897.
______. Vitae Sanctorum Indigenarum: Acta S. Abakerazun. In CSCO 57, p. 14. Louvain, 1954.
Taddesse, Tamrat. "Some Notes on the Fifteenth-Century Stephanite ‘Heresy’ in the Ethiopian Church." Rassegna di studi etiopici 22 (1966):113-15.
______. Church and State in Ethiopia 1270-1527, pp. 228-30, 235-36. Oxford, 1972.
YESHAQ II (d. c. 1500) After the death of Abuna Gabr’el in 1458, neither Negus Zar’a Ya‘qob (1434-1468) nor his son Ba’eda Maryam (1468-1478) asked the Coptic patriarch in Alexandria to send a new metropolitan to Ethiopia. The exact reasons for this are unknown, but such an attitude indicates the formation of an autonomous current at the heart of the Ethiopian church. According to the Life of Marha Krestos (Kur, CSCO 331, pp. vii, 76-81), ninth abbot of Dabra Libanos, during the ninth year of Ba’eda Maryam's reign (1477), the negus convened a great synod attended by a large number of prelates. The subject was to decide about their relations with the Coptic church, accused by one part of the Ethiopian clergy of "disturbing the Coptic faith and of eating food proscribed by law." The accusers asked that the prelates proceed to the immediate election of a metropolitan "chosen by the people of Ethiopia" and thus were asking that the Ethiopian church separate itself from the church of Egypt. Marha Krestos opposed this request, considering it to be contrary to tradition and canonical law. He proposed sending an exploratory mission to Egypt with the authority, should it prove feasible, to ask for a new metropolitan. The assembly approved the thesis of separation by four hundred votes to three hundred; but the negus agreed with Marha Krestos, so there was no schism. However, the death of Ba’eda Maryam in 1478 prevented the delegation from being sent to Egypt.
Only after the beginning of Eskender's reign (1478-1494) was it possible for an Ethiopian mission to leave the country and begin negotiations with the Coptic patriarch.
Aware of some danger, the Coptic patriarch showed his skill by sending several Coptic prelates to Ethiopia. The first group comprised four persons: Bishop Yeshaq (the new metropolitan), Bishop Marqos (destined to succeed Yeshaq), the coadjutor bishops Mika’el and Yohannes, and Qummus Yosef. Later, certain other Coptic prelates also arrived in Ethiopia, among whom was a bishop Ya‘qob, who was supposed to succeed Marqos as metropolitan. However, his death before that of Marqos prevented this.
According to the Liber Axumae, Yeshaq arrived in Ethiopia in 1474 of the Ethiopian calendar (A.D. 1481-1482). Other documents state that he arrived near the end of 1481, but information about his episcopate is fragmentary. He seems to have played a part even on a literary level, for to him is attributed an Ethiopian redaction of the Life of Saint Pantalewon (one of the Nine Saints in the Ethiopian tradition) and a hymn in honor of the Virgin Mary.
According to the Life of Marha Krestos, Abuna Yeshaq accompanied the negus Eskender to Dabra Libanos upon his visit to this monastery. At this time, Yeshaq ordained several priests and proceeded to the solemn coronation of Abbot Marha Krestos. Further, according to the Life of the Estifanosite monk ‘Ezra, Yeshaq retracted the long-standing excommunication of the heretical Estifanosites, which would indicate an attenuation of the prejudices against this movement.
The date of Yeshaq's death is unknown, but it can be approximated. Kur has proposed that he must have died before Negus Eskender (1494) because in the Life of Marha Krestos, Yeshaq is no longer mentioned after the accession of Na’od to the throne. However, there is a formal text that dismisses this argument. In fact, according to the Life of ‘Ezra, "while this monk resided at the court of Naod, metropolitan Yeshaq died, and Abuna Marqos succeeded him in this duty." Since other information states that ‘Ezra lived at Na’od's court for nine years, until the death of this king in July 1508, it is easy to conclude that Yeshaq died during the first years of the sixteenth century. His successor was Marqos I, who had come with him to Ethiopia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alvares, F. The Prester John of the Indies, Vol. 2, ed. C. F. Beckingham and G. W. B. Huntingford, pp. 356-57. Cambridge, 1961.
Caquot, A. "Les Actes d'Ezra de Gunda-Gunde." Annales d'Ethiopie 4 (1961):106-107, 115.
Cerulli, E. Etiopi in Palestina, Vol. 1, pp. 386-88. Rome, 1943. Guidi, I. "Le liste dei metropoliti d'Abissinia." Bessarione 6, ser. 2 (1899):9-10.
Kur, S. Actes de Marha Krestos. In CSCO 331, pp. vii, 76-81. Louvain, 1972.
Rossini, C. "Pergammene di Debra Dammo." Rivista degli Studi Orientali 19 (1940):51-52.
______. "Sul metropolita Yeshaq d'Etiopia." Rendiconti della Reale Accademia dei Lincei 1, ser. 8 (1946):7-17.
______. Vitae Sanctorum Antiquiorum, Vol. 1, Acta Yared et Pantalewon. In CSCO 27, pp. 37, 56. Louvain, 1955.
Taddesse Tamrat. Church and State in Ethiopia 1270-1527, p. 290. Oxford, 1972.