African Traditions and Charismatic Gifts in the Worship of the Ethiopian
Abstract
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) was established through the efforts of western missionaries. She maintains her Lutheran identity, mainly in her doctrine, the sacraments and in the basic content of her liturgy. And yet she is open to accommodate African and or Ethiopian styles of worship practices and the usage of Charismatic gifts. Incorporating African/Ethiopian ways of worship reflects her attempt to inculturate her liturgical worship into different cultures of the peoples in Ethiopia, and her being open to the practices of charismatic gifts is much more based on her understanding and teaching of the Sola Scriptura about the spiritual gifts which in turn contributed so much in her being the fastest growing Lutheran church in Africa and perhaps in the world as well. She was established with about 20,000 members in 1959 and has about 9 million today in 2017.