P'ent'ay
P'ent'ay or
Pentay is a
slang term widely used in modern
Ethiopia, and among Ethiopians living abroad, to describe Ethiopian
Christians who are not members of the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (nor the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church). The term is an abbreviation of the word "
Pentecostal." The P'ent'ay community itself is divided into various splinter groups, with four major denominations: the
Qale Hiywet (Word of Life);
Mekane Yesus (Place of Jesus) or
Lutheran; Mulu Wongel (Full Gospel) and
Meserete Kristos (meaning "Christ foundation") or
Mennonite. Some P'ent'ay branches have been influenced by the Orthodox Tewahedo Church, which represents mainstream, traditional Ethiopian Christianity, but for the most part they are very Pentecostal in their worship and theology. The unique P'ent'ay name or label symbolizes the influence of pentecostal worship and theology on the other mainstream world protestant branches of Baptists,Evangelicals, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians and Mennonites. Accordingly, the Ethiopian P'ent'ay is the union of all these smaller branches of Christianity.
All P'ent'ay branches in Ethiopia believe that one should be saved by believing in
Jesus as Lord and Saviour for the forgiveness of sins. They believe in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the one essence of the
Trinity (
Matthew 28:19-20, also
Psalms 2:7,
Mark 9:7,
Luke 22:29, Luke 3:22). All P'ent'ays also believe in being "
born again" (
dagem meweled) as it is written numerous times in the
Gospel of John, and demonstrated by one's
baptism in the Holy Spirit as well as water baptism. In contrast to most other Pentecostals in the world, Ethiopian Pentecostals believe
speaking in tongues is one of the signs, but not the only sign, of "receiving Christ", which should include a new lifestyle and social behavior.
Modern Ethiopian Pentays have origins from the
Azusa Street Revival in the United States led by
Charles Fox Parham and the African American
William J. Seymour. But the whole Pentecostal movement is passed down and based on the Day of the
Pentecost. Accordingly, the Ethiopian Pentecostal church has origins from Philip the Evangelist.
As it organized in the 4th century, within the Ethiopian
Aksumite Kingdom, the Christian church grew larger and more influential to the political power distribution. Thus according to Ethiopian historical texts, its association with the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church strengthened. During this period, most Ethiopians followed the Septuagint bible including all of the 'Deuterocanonical books' for a total of 81. Meanwhile, the Councils of Bishops in the Roman Empire following Constantine followed the Old Testament canon that had been established by the Sanhedrin at Yavne in c. 80, paring the total down to only 66 books. These customs kept all devout Christians together and in sync for several decades. But later, a contradiction in interpretation led to a less-known clash between those Christians who accepted the canon of other Churches, rejecting the Deuterocanon of the Septuagint. According to historical literatures from the Addis Ababa
Mulu Wongel Church, Ethiopian devout Christians who didn't approve of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church got exposed to the Protestant movements occurring in Europe in the 16th and 17th century. With growing dispute on the additional texts of the Orthodox Church, the alleged changing of the original meanings of the Bible did little to decrease the attendance of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. However it was only during early 1900's that American and European missionaries spread Protestantism with Mennonite and Pentecostal Churches through the Sudan Interior Mission (SIM.) When SIM continued its movement after a brief ban during Ethiopia's war with Italy, it is written that the missionaries were taken aback by the fruits of their initial mission. Ethiopian Pentay Christians still face persecution in rural regions, however there is a growing tolerance between the Ethiopian Orthodox, Muslims and the growing population of Pentay Christians in the urban areas of the country. According to
www.adherents.com, the Pentecostal population is growing quickly with even faster rates in the third world countries. Yet, with the dominance of the Ethiopian Orthodox church and the growing Muslim population, Pentay Christians are projected to approach only 25%-27% of the nation's population by the year 2015.
According to the most recent 2005 record of world religion members, the Ethiopian Pentecostal/Charismatic members cover a bit over 16 percent of the country as Pentays of Ethiopia. Word of Life (or Kale Hiywot 5.6 million) church, Mekane Yesus, Churches of Christ, Misgana Church of Ethiopia, Hiwot Berhan Church, Emnet Kristos, Meserete Kristos, Light of Life Church, Mulu Wongel (Full Gospel Believers Church) and other churches constitute the slightly over 12 million Pentay members of Ethiopia.
Non affiliates
Recent misidentification between Pentays versus other groups has caused confusion. One well-known issue is the movement of Oneness Pentecostalism, which is not part of the conventional Pentay churches. Since the important concept of the Trinity is not recognized by Oneness Pentecostals, they are distinct from the Pentay Christians of Ethiopia, who do believe in the Trinity. Similarly, the Jehovah's Witnesses are also not recognized by the Pentay Churches of Ethiopia.
Persecution
Pentay Christians face persecution both by the Orthodox Church and by Muslims in rural areas of Ethiopia. According to "Voice of the Martyrs", there have been brutal killings of Pentay Christians in rural areas that tend to be overlooked by the Ethiopian government and stay undisclosed to international organizations. Some Orthodox families expel children out of their house if the children convert to Pentay. Since the majority population is Orthodox, Voice of Martyrs claims no criminal investigations are carried against Orthodox mobs who burn Pentay churches, destroy houses and even murder Pentay Christians. One well-knowned such case was the death of a Pentay pastor ( from Merawi Full Gospel Church), after being struck by an ax by an Orthodox priest. The pastor wasn't able to receive medical treatment due to the priest's order to the authorities.Voice of Martyrs also states that Pentay Christians have been murdered by Islamic militants because they wouldn't renounce their faith in Christ. Islamic militants have stopped at least one bus (near
Jijiga, a rural area) and demanded Christians recite the Islamic creed, killing those who refuse.
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Pentecostalism*
Charismatic movement*
Ethiopian Orthodox Tehadeso Church*
Evangelicalism*
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church*
Pentay christian killed in Bus by muslims*
Expelled children due to conversion*
Murder and church burnings*
Orthodox Priest kills a Pentay christian with an ax*
Orthodox police ignoring murdered Pentays*
Bombs thrown into Pentay church*
The wide difference between "Jesus only" cults and Trinitarianism*
A comprehensive statistical information on world religions, Christian denominations and people groups. *
Information on the history and present churches in the Ethiopian Pentecostal movement*
Mekane Yesus Church Radio*
Ethiopian Christian Network and search engine*
Mekane Yesus in Stockholm, Sweden*
Ethiopian & Eritrean Charismatic Pentecostal congregation*
Ethiopian Outreach ministry.*
Ethiopian Christian Fellowship*
Ethiopian Evangelical Church of Denver. *
Ethiopian Christian music ministry.*
Ethiopian Theological college*
Washington D.C. Ethiopian Church.*
Eritrean News on former Ethiopian Kale Hiywot Church members*
Ethiopian National Language (Amharic) Bibles.*
Word of Faith Ethiopian Church.
