There is an Orthodox church near where we live. Each night, a sizeable crowd—mostly women coming from school or work—pray communally at the church’s courtyard, while many young men silently stand in prayer by the church’s perimeter wall. Apparently, this happens in every Orthodox Church throughout the country. Ethiopians strike me as pious people with a deep sense of the sacred. They religiously fast twice each week: Wednesdays, the day Judas betrayed Jesus, and on Fridays, Jesus’ death on the cross. The few who enter the church—-the “sacred space”—-leave their shoes by the doorstep. I am told that a replica of the Ark of the Covenant is kept in the church’s innermost sanctuary: the “holy of holies.” And it is only on this replica where the priest can consecrate bread and wine. The Ark itself is allegedly enshrined in the ancient city of Axum, where the palace of the Queen of Sheba was once located.

Ethiopians take pride in their national epic, Kebra Negast (Glory of the Kings) which recounts the story of how Makeda, pagan Queen of Sheba, was taken by Solomon, wise King of Israel, under his tutelage. The relationship supposedly gave birth to an offspring named Menelik. Legend has it that Solomon offered Menelik the throne of Israel but like his mother, he decided to return to Ethiopia and eventually became the founding father of a long line of Ethiopian emperors. The epic also narrates how the Ark of the Covenant was transferred from Jerusalem to Ethiopia—a sign that God had transferred his special favor from Israel to them. And this was how Ethiopians came to accept the law of God.

Besides ties to Judaism and King Solomon, Ethiopians are proud, too, of their ancient Christian heritage. Remember the account about the conversion of an Ethiopian eunuch in Acts of the Apostles? Ethiopian Christians, however, are allied more to Alexandria than Rome. Until the 20th century, it was the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria in Egypt who appointed and regularly sent the Abuna or Bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church...

Now about JRS work. I am the lone foreigner and Jesuit in the team; all staff members are lay Ethiopians. Only a few are Catholics while most others are Orthodox Christians. We assist urban-based asylum-seekers and refugees mainly from Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea. Most refugees are either Muslims or Protestants. Fortunately, their command of spoken English is fairly good since they hope to resettle in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia. The work thus gives me opportunities to respond to the Church’s call for dialogue with people of different cultural backgrounds and religious beliefs. It is liberating to learn first hand that despite differences in our beliefs, we fundamentally esteem similar values. The same Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.

Ethiopia is a poor country partly because it is often plagued by droughts and famine. But poverty does not seem to have harmed the Ethiopians’ hospitality and remarkable sense of solidarity with those who suffer. An example is the national government’s recent request to JRS to help in new refugee camps for Eritreans who have fled their country because of human rights abuses, poverty, and enforced military conscription. Given this request, I foresee myself living and working in the camp soon.

I hope you now have a better idea of the mission’s context, although I cannot tell you more because I am yet to enter the Ethiopian church’s sacred space. I hope to write you about experiences in the refugee camp next time. Meanwhile, let us keep one another in prayers. I miss family and friends. Keep well!