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ETHIOPIAN CHRISTIANS IN JERUSALEM – AN OPEN WINDOW TO INTERACTIONS WITH “OTHERS” (1840-1930) [Abstract ID: 1305-07]
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Ethiopian Orthodox community was in a pitiful condition. At that time, one would be legitimately worried about the future of the small Ethiopian orthodox community. But during the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the Ethiopian community of Jerusalem knew a great revival. Ethiopian Kings and aristocracy showed a new interest in Jerusalem and invested a lot on the development of the community. This period included many discussions, negotiations, alliances and clashes with other religious communities (Coptic, Greek, Armenian, Protestants, etc.) but also with Ottoman authorities and Westerners consulates. Definitively, Ethiopians interacted a lot with the different (religious but also political and economic) actors of the Holy City life. At first, it seems legitimate to interrogate the implication of the religious and political situation in Ethiopia on the establishment and the development of these interactions in the holy city. But secondly, one must wonder whether these interactions have influenced changes in religious situations in Ethiopia during the same period. Through the analysis of documents from Ethiopian, Ottoman and European consular archives, this paper aims at defining the characteristics, circumstances and issues of the religious interactions of Ethiopian Orthodoxs with others communities in Jerusalem between 1840 and 1930. But also, it will present an investigation about the influence of these interactions on the religious situation in Ethiopia, especially on the definition of the Ethiopian Orthodox identity and its relationship with other religious identities in Ethiopia.