Christianity's North African and Ethiopian Roots

Explore Christianity in Africa and its complex history dating back to ancient times. Christian communities were established in Egypt in the 1st century AD by Saint Mark, one of the apostles of Jesus. The communities were made up of Jewish converts to Christianity and developed independent of European Christianity eventually spreading to Ethiopia and other parts of North Africa in the 4th century AD through the efforts of Saint Frumentius and during the colonial period in the 19th and 20th centuries, Today, Christianity is the dominant religion in many African countries, with the majority of African Christians belonging to the Catholic, Protestant, and Pentecostal denominations. The course will also examine the role of King Ezana and the Kingdom of Aksum and Ethiopia’s connection to biblical history and the ancient Near East, including traditions surrounding the Ark of the Covenant and the Queen of Sheba.