Christianity in Ethiopia

There are lots of churches in Ethiopia. It was the second country to adopt Christianity as its official religion, after Armenia. Connections between Ethiopia and Judeo-Christian society officially began in the 10th century BCE. According to the Torah, the Queen of Sheba heard of the wisdom of King Solomon of Jerusalem and traveled there to meet and test him. She was impressed, blessed him and gave him four tons of gold, and he bestowed upon her "everything she desired". The Koran has a similar story, with the addition of a genie. Scholars disagree about the location of Sheba, but Ethiopians believe that it's, well, Ethiopia.

And in Ethiopia, the "everything she desired" line has been interpreted to mean that Solomon seduced the Queen. She had a son, Menelik I, who was the ancestor of the Ethiopian imperial line down to Haile Selassie. Thus, the rulers of Ethiopia through the modern era are believed to be the descendents of King Solomon. (The imperial line is still extant, though no longer in power.)

The Ethiopian tradition holds that Solomon served the Queen a very spicy meal but no beverages and then invited her to spend the night in the palace. She agreed on condition that he not "take her by force" (these were classy times). He promised on condition that she promise not to take anything in the palace by force. (She knew what was happening but thought she could go the night without water.) She awoke in the middle of the night unbearably thirsty and reached for water that had been set by the bed, and the King warned her that water was the most valuable possession in the kingdom and by taking it she was breaking her oath. When she took the water anyway, he was freed from his oath.

Allegedly, Menelik I returned to Jerusalem and started telling people that he was Solomon's son. To test him, Solomon had one hundred and ninety-nine other guys stand in a room with him and then had Menelik sent in. Menelik immediately identified Solomon (despite never having seen him) and Solomon accepted him as his son. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Solomon, Menelik's men were stealing the Ark of the Covenant. They took it to the Church of St. Mary in Axum, Ethiopia. I couldn't go check due to flight problems and also they kill you if you try to sneak in.

Ethiopia allegedly wasn't always Christian. Tradition states that in the eighth century BCE, immigrants brought Judaism to Ethiopia (this was the time period for the destruction of Jerusalem and the dispersion of Jews). For the following period Ethiopia was a Jewish state. The Aksumite Kingdom in modern-day Ethiopia converted to Christianity in the fourth century CE. A century and a half later, some monks arrived and began a strong tradition of monasticism that continues today. The kingdom fell and a new one arose, same as usual, but the Christianity never went away. Because they converted so early, they follow the Christian Orthodox tradition. Portuguese missionaries converted one king to Catholicism, but there was a revolt and his son switched back to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity and expelled the Jesuits. A guide told me that Ethiopia's long history of Judaism explains the Jewish symbols mixed in with Christian ones, such as the star here on the roof of a church.