O Cristo Redentor- Chrsit the RedeemerCatholic priest Pedro Maria Boss of Brazil envisioned erecting a large statue of Jesus Christ in the mid 1850s. However, when Brazil became a republic in 1889 and declared a separation between State and Church, his dream was crashed. People thought none in the right mind would try to build the statue.
The Catholics of Brazil did not want to let go this vision without a fight. In 1921, they regrouped and started the fight. They launched massive fund raising and fetched about $250,000. The, Brazilian Engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue; whereas, the French Sculptor Paul Landowski sculpted it. The result… as of July 2007, the statue “Christ the Redeemer” of Brazil was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a list compiled by the Swiss-based, The New Open World Corporation.
Ethiopia: History of Christianity
The history of Christianity in Ethiopia definitely would predate the history of Christianinty in Brazil because Ethiopians date the coming of Christianity to Ethiopia to the fourth century AD, when a Christian philosopher from Tyre named Meropius was shipwrecked on his way to India.
The history of the church further attests that Meropius died but his two wards, Frumentius and Aedesius were washed ashore and taken to the royal palace. Eventually they became King Ella Amida’s private secretary and royal cupbearer, respectively. They served the king well, and Frumentius became regent for the infant prince Ezana when Ella Amida died.
Frumentius and Aedesius were also permitted to prosyletize the new religion in Aksum. After some time, Frumentius and Aedesius returned to the Mediterranean, travelling down the Nile through Egypt to do so. When they reached Egypt, Frumentius contacted bishop Athanasius of Alexandria and begged him to send missionaries back to Aksum, since the people there had proved so ready to receive the gospel.
Athanasius agreed that the need was urgent, and immediately appointed Frumentius to the task, which needed someone fluent in the language and sensitive to the customs of Aksum. He ordained Frumentius the first Abun or bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Frumentius has since come to be known as the Abuna Salama. His mission was successful and, with the support of king Ezana, Ethiopia became a Christian nation.
The history of Christianity in Ethiopia definitely would predate the history of Christianinty in Brazil because Ethiopians date the coming of Christianity to Ethiopia to the fourth century AD, when a Christian philosopher from Tyre named Meropius was shipwrecked on his way to India.
The history of the church further attests that Meropius died but his two wards, Frumentius and Aedesius were washed ashore and taken to the royal palace. Eventually they became King Ella Amida’s private secretary and royal cupbearer, respectively. They served the king well, and Frumentius became regent for the infant prince Ezana when Ella Amida died.
Frumentius and Aedesius were also permitted to prosyletize the new religion in Aksum. After some time, Frumentius and Aedesius returned to the Mediterranean, travelling down the Nile through Egypt to do so. When they reached Egypt, Frumentius contacted bishop Athanasius of Alexandria and begged him to send missionaries back to Aksum, since the people there had proved so ready to receive the gospel.
Athanasius agreed that the need was urgent, and immediately appointed Frumentius to the task, which needed someone fluent in the language and sensitive to the customs of Aksum. He ordained Frumentius the first Abun or bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Frumentius has since come to be known as the Abuna Salama. His mission was successful and, with the support of king Ezana, Ethiopia became a Christian nation.
Aba Pulos: Cristo of Ethiopia?
If erecting a statue for none other than Jesus Christ is well deserved in a poverty stricken Ethiopia, Ethiopians have had several saints, kings and queens who should have statues before Aba Paulos does. To name a few among several others, the Nine Monks from the East who introduced monasticism into Ethiopia, Abuna Saalama, King Ezana, Queen Sheba, King Kaleb, King Zeraycob, St. Tekelhaimanot, Abue Gebremenfeskidus, St. Arsema, St. Christos Samra, St. Lalibela etc., most whom canonized, do not have statues.
Aba Paulos, who is by the way still alive, is yet to be seen if he is going to be canonized. Even with that, papal canonization is rare, and is a long process by which a church declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process.
The first persons whom the Christian Church honored as saints were the martyrs (Semaetat). Their death for their faith was considered the supreme and undeniable witness to their faith in Christ. The fame of many of them spread widely, leading to their veneration far outside the area in which they lived and died. However after sometime, it became a matter of the church to decide.
Aba Paulos have been characterized as a “drunk …a father of children,… married before, …have affairs with several women….” Honestly, we do not know if any of these are true, and it is not the purpose of this writing to discuss the veracity of these rumors. What is true is he is having his pictures distributed throughout all churches and his statue erected, when he is still alive.
The cost of Aba Paulos’ Palace built recently in the St. Mary Church in Addis Ababa was so high and could have fed thousands of destitute for considerable time. His statue will cost the church in millions. Moreover, if Christians have extra money for the statue, why not building their own O Cristo Redentor? Obviously, the Pope missteps in his own deeds, and doesn’t seem to care about religious ramifications.
God Bless Ethiopia.
If erecting a statue for none other than Jesus Christ is well deserved in a poverty stricken Ethiopia, Ethiopians have had several saints, kings and queens who should have statues before Aba Paulos does. To name a few among several others, the Nine Monks from the East who introduced monasticism into Ethiopia, Abuna Saalama, King Ezana, Queen Sheba, King Kaleb, King Zeraycob, St. Tekelhaimanot, Abue Gebremenfeskidus, St. Arsema, St. Christos Samra, St. Lalibela etc., most whom canonized, do not have statues.
Aba Paulos, who is by the way still alive, is yet to be seen if he is going to be canonized. Even with that, papal canonization is rare, and is a long process by which a church declares a deceased person to be a saint and is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process.
The first persons whom the Christian Church honored as saints were the martyrs (Semaetat). Their death for their faith was considered the supreme and undeniable witness to their faith in Christ. The fame of many of them spread widely, leading to their veneration far outside the area in which they lived and died. However after sometime, it became a matter of the church to decide.
Aba Paulos have been characterized as a “drunk …a father of children,… married before, …have affairs with several women….” Honestly, we do not know if any of these are true, and it is not the purpose of this writing to discuss the veracity of these rumors. What is true is he is having his pictures distributed throughout all churches and his statue erected, when he is still alive.
The cost of Aba Paulos’ Palace built recently in the St. Mary Church in Addis Ababa was so high and could have fed thousands of destitute for considerable time. His statue will cost the church in millions. Moreover, if Christians have extra money for the statue, why not building their own O Cristo Redentor? Obviously, the Pope missteps in his own deeds, and doesn’t seem to care about religious ramifications.
God Bless Ethiopia.
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