Miejsce Etiopskiego Kościoła Ortodoksyjnego w życiu społecznym i politycznym współczesnej Etiopii

The Ethiopian Ortodox Tewahedo Church played a significant role in the history of Ethiopia from ancient times, providing ideological legitimization for her emperors and influencing every sphere of life of the Christian population. After the Revolution 1974 the Church lost its privileged position in the country. In 1991 the new regime of EPRDF established ethnically based federalism, under which religion was effectively banned from politics. This situation poses a number of challenger for the EOTC. The Church has since suffered two major institutional crises: after separating of the Eritrean Orthodox Church and after schism in the Ethiopian diaspora in the US. Without the previous support from the state, it has to face the competition of Pentecostal churches which have been gaining popularity for the last decades. It also seeks to reinvent its relations with the faithful, among whom appear movements (such as Mahbärä Qəddusan) which to some extent contest the teaching of the bishops.