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I had the pleasure of attending the Ethiopian Liturgy at Kidane-Mehret Ge'ez Rite Catholic Church in Washington, D.C. First let me say the priest, Father Tesfaye Woldemariam Fesuh was very nice and the parishioners were just as nice.

The whole liturgy was in Ge'ez but they did have a Ge'ez / English book that allowed me to follow along.

The Liturgy was held at a Latin Rite Catholic Church and was very dysfunctional as a result. Basically, I felt like I was in an extra long Novus Ordo Liturgy in another language.

I spoke with the priest and he said the Liturgy was a hybrid because the Ethiopian Orthodox parishioners became Catholic in the 18th century through Latin missionaries. He went on to say that if they had there own Church they could celebrate the Liturgy more traditional.

One thing that bothered me was the fact they dipped the flat Eucharist (Latin style) host into the blood and then gave it to the parishioner.

If any one is interested in more information just ask.

I would like to add that a parishoner told me a traditional church would be circle. The center circle would be the "Holy of Holies" and only the priest could go there. The outer band would be choir and other people involved with the Liturgy i.e. sub-deacons. The last circle would be everyone else.

Wait, they gave it to them, like handed it to them or gave it to them, as in they received it on the tongue?

And as long as I am asking, who is "they"? I am hoping that you are going to say priests and or deacons, and not eucharistic ministers...

In Christ,
Aaron

Interesting idea of theirs...I have seen some ethiopian churches and they surely have not been circular.....however, maybe this is more of an "ultra" conservative idea in the church? I know that they do have a "holy of holies" in the church that contains the Arc of the covenant of which each church has a "replica" (for lack of a better word). This is because the mother church in Ethiopia claims to have the actual arc (a well substantiated claim).

Did anyone see that special on the History channel last week? It was pretty interesting, if not just along the usual lines and no new evidence for or against their claim to have the arc.

In His Name,
Stephen

Dear Ray,

In actual fact, while they have cross-shaped churches hewn out of living rock, many of their churches are round.

This is also a tradition taken over by the Templars from the Ethiopians and their Temple Church in London, the site of the lawyers' guild, is round.

Some have thought it was designed to better defend themselves in case of enemy attack during Mass . . .

But no . . .

Alex

Ray, my wife and I attended the Pascha celebration at our local Tewahedo parish last year. We had finished with our parish Paschal Matins at 3:30 or so, and my wife and I were still quite awake. On a wim, we went over to the Debre Berhan Kidane Mehret church (Kansas City) and they were not even half over with their service.

All I can say is liturgically they make us Byzantines look almost Protestant.

The deacon brings out the raw materials for the prosphora, receives a blessing, and then disappears for a few hours. You can smell what he is doing. He brings the freshly baked bread out in time for the Anaphora.

There were processions all night long (I lost count) with incredible umbrellas with tapestry and brocades (which take the place of our ripidia) with the Cross, with the Tablets of the 10 Commandments, other relics, etc. etc. The men stand on one side of the church, the women on the other; and there is a huge pile of shoes outside the door of the church.

And any culture that has created such marvels as the churches in Lalibela and Axum, the crosses that have been mentioned, and such culinary delights as misir watt, quanta ferfer and tibbs, is truly blessed by God as a pinnacle of Christian culture.

Aaron,

No, there was no Eucharist Ministers but the problem I had was that an altar boy with a plate or cloth under the Eucharist was not provided.

I found this picture of an Ethiopian Church. [farhorizon.com]

I believe this picture is the traditional style church. [afrikaworld.net]

Why to use natural bread (coptic rite and I suppose ethiopian rite too) if you have got latin rite unleavaned hosts? That is just a waste of time, specially if you do celebrate Holy Liturgy according to the Ethiopian Rite Congregatio Missionis recension. Come on!!! A picture (fortunately a very old one, things do not always change for worse) of a Coptic-Catholic rite (this time according to the Roman Coptic-Catholic seminarians recension) Holy Liturgy with latin host is aviable at (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.wandea.org.pl/IMAGES/ko5.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.wandea.org.pl/post-conciliar-church.htm&h=209&w=220&sz=16&tbnid=gBfjz1w6D0UJ:&t bnh=96&tbnw=101&start=1&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcoptic%2Brite%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG) whereas a propr coptic rite eucharistic bread can be found at (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.prosphora.org/copticloaf.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.prosphora.org/stamps.html&h=272&w=288&sz=55&tbnid=tz2xHudablcJ:&tbnh=103&tbnw=1 09&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcoptic%2Brite%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG).

More pictures from the Ethiopian Catholic Church are aviable at the website of the Missionaries of Africa Saint Paul House at Abigrat (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.africamission-mafr.org/image/adigrat9.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.africamission-mafr.org/adigrata.htm&h=215&w=332&sz=21&tbnid=Il2Siu -Ec0IJ:&tbnh=74&tbnw=114&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dethiopian%2Brite%2B%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26sa%3DG).

I assume that you meant if you are coptic/ethiopian Catholic, right? Your statement could be taken to mean that the Latin tradition is superior to the Coptic and indeed most Orthodox churches and their tradition. It is the tradition of the Coptic church to use leavened hosts; and, as the Ethiopian church was orrigianally under the Coptic Pope, I would assume that it is their tradition to use the leavened host, even if things got changed along the line.

In His Name,
Stephen

Steve, the use of unleavened bread is most certainly a latinization amongst the Catholic Copts and Ethiopians. The canons of both churches call for the bread (Korban) to be baked on the premises of the church for the Sacrifice.

Every Coptic Orthodox Korban (also the word they use for the Divine Liturgy) and Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Keddase (Divine Liturgy) I have ever attended without exception used leavened bread baked in a room adjacent to the church with the oven.

I am not sure what Francisco is getting at, but old pictures of Latin congregations celebrating Eastern liturgies can hardly be held as normative guides for their celebration.

Dear Diak,

We have an Ethiopian Catholic parish here as well as two Ethiopian Orthodox parishes.

The Ethiopian Catholic priest is a doctor of theology from Rome who told me that only in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the full range of Ethiopian liturgical culture properly maintained and celebrated.

I have recently acquired a large Ethiopian processional Cross that now stands in our dining room - quite magnificent.

An OCA priest I know who has been receiving Ethiopians into the Orthodox Church wanted to make the Ethiopians feel at home.

I gave him a wooden Ethiopian hand cross and then a priestly mitre that he keeps with him .

I also have an Ethiopian liturgical umbrella, purple with magnificent decorations, as well as a hand-carved prayer stick, hand crosses and prayer shawls.

I was once asked to give a talk in an RC chapel and I wore my prayer shawl to that . . .

A wonderful lady afterwards asked me if all Ukrainian Catholics wore the shawl to church.

I told her that not all did . . .

Alex

Steve and Randy,

I think it's safe to say that Francisco was being facetious in his comments about the latinized practice in the Copt & Ethiopian Catholic Churches.

Many years,

Neil (suggesting that Francisco go back to their pm exchange of a few months ago on how to convert URLs to textual titles ).

I thought I was making myself clear when I wrote about "proper Coptic rite eucharistic bread". The proper Coptic rite eucharistic bread being leavened with a central portion (despota), with four small crosses and a big central one, similar to byzantine "amnos", 12 portions with their 12 small crosses symbolizing the Apostles and the the outside inscription Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal (trisagion) in Coptic lettering. The use of latin rite host by Coptic Catholics (an abuse rather than an use)is a latinization I condem. What is the relionship between being in communion with the bishop and Pope of Rome and the use of Latin hosts? I can not understand it. That is the way the want to achive Christian union? My "congratulations" to all those Catholic missionaries who took or take part in the destuction (or alienation) of the liturgical heritance of some of the oldest Christian peoples in the world (Coptics, Ethiopians, Assyrian-Chaldenas, Maronites), peoples victims of wars, famine, economic explotation, religious persecution and colonialism...and may God have mercy of all us