Field and river

20th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies (ICES20)
Mekelle University, Ethiopia

"Regional and Global Ethiopia - Interconnections and Identities"
1-5 October, 2018

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WHAT HAS ETHIOPIA TO DO WITH INDIA? REFLECTIONS OF THE FIRST GERMAN LUTHERAN MISSIONARIES IN INDIA [Abstract ID: 1302-04]

Martin TAMCKE, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

Ethiopia became the exemplary model for the work of the German Lutheran missionaries in India in their efforts towards the Syrian Saint Thomas Christians. From the beginning of their presence in India, the Germans tried to get in touch with the Syrian Saint Thomas Christians, because they were led by the idea that both Christian denominations shared a central peculiarity: they both had to assert themselves from the Portuguese and the missionary orders of the Catholic Church in order to assert their confessional independence. However, only part of the faithful succeeded in regaining indepence of their religious coummunity in India. But what was known to the Lutheran missionaries about the situation in Ethiopia? How was the information about Ethiopia used and where did it come from? The paper attempts an intial overwiev and shows ways for further analysis.