27
October 367 A.D. Bishop
Frumentius, Apostle to Ethiopia
Graves,
Dan. “Bishop Frumentius, Apostle to Ethiopia.”
Christianity.com. Jun 2007.
http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/301-600/bishop-frumentius-apostle-to-ethiopia-11629673.html. Accessed 5 Jun 2014.
A curious train of events had
brought them to this moment. As youths, they studied under their Uncle
Meropius, a Christian philosopher. Meropius developed an urge to visit Arabia
and offered to take the boys, who eagerly embraced this opportunity to see a
piece of the world. The outward voyage went well and the ship began its
homeward journey. It landed at Adulis to take on fresh supplies. One of the
sailors got into a fight with the locals, who killed everyone on the ship
including Meropius. (Another tradition says they were shipwrecked.)
Edesius and Frumentius escaped
with their lives because they were studying under a tree at some distance from
the brawl. The Ethiopians sent them to their king. He was impressed with their
bearing and understanding and made them his personal slaves.
Frumentius lived with Anbaram, a
Jewish priest with Christian sympathies. (Ethiopia had a long association with
Judaism, possibly going back to the days of Solomon.)
When the king died, neither of
his sons was old enough to rule. The queen pleaded with Edesius and Frumentius
to help her govern the country and educate her sons. The two agreed. They
attempted to spread the gospel; among the steps they took was to encourage
Christian merchants to worship openly.
When the new king came of age,
the two young men left Ethiopia, despite his plea that they stay. They followed
the Nile to Alexandria. Filled with concern for the salvation of the people who
had once held him as a slave, Frumentius appealed to Bishop Athanasius to
appoint a bishop to the Ethiopians. Athanasius recognized the value of this
step. And who would be better suited to the task than Frumentius himself? He
trained him, ordained him, and sent him back to Ethiopia.
Frumentius converted Anbaram and
ordained him. They led King Ezana and his brother Sheazana to embrace Christianity and baptized them. The two took new names, reflecting their new status
as Christians. Frumentius and his co-workers organized Ethiopian Christianity and
carried on a mission work in Nubia and Yemen.
Meanwhile, Edesius became a
priest, too, and returned to Tyre. There he met church historian Rufinus, who
included their story in his works.
The Roman emperor Constantius
favored the Arians (who denied the full divinity of Christ). He wrote a letter
to the king of Ethiopia, urging him to expel Frumentius and replace him with an
Arian. The Ethiopian monarch refused. Frumentius was a man beloved. After his
death he became known as "Our Father" and "Father of
Peace"--titles which the head of Ethiopian Church still wears today.
The impact of Frumentius is
proven by inscriptions on coins minted during the second half of King Ezana's
reign. The old pagan inscriptions disappeared and Christian ones emerged in
their place. Roman Catholics commemorate Frumentius on this day, October 27 but the Orthodox
Church holds his celebration in November and the Copts in December.
Bibliography:
1. Bent, J. Theodore. Sacred City of the Ethiopians. London:
Longmans, Green and co., 1893, source of the picture.
2. Ott, Michael. "Edesius and Frumentius." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton, 1914.
3. Rabenstein, Katherine. "Frumentius of Ethiopia." For All the
Saints;
4. Redington, Norman Hugh. "Frumentius of Ehtiopia." Ecole
Glossary;
5. Shea, John G. Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints.
New York: Benziger Brothers, 1894.
Last updated June,
2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment