Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Ēwosṭātēwos, Eustathius: Ethiopian monk and saint ( fl. first part fourteenth century). His birth name was Ma'eqaba Egzi. Ewosṭatewos established an important monastic ‘house’ in Sära'ē, northern Ethiopia. He advocated various traditional religious practices including observance of the Saturday or Jewish Sabbath. Facing opposition from church leaders, Ewosṭatewos travelled to Egypt, perhaps to present his case to the Coptic patriarch, then to Palestine, Cyprus and Armenia, where he died in exile. After his death, his teachings were spread by disciples, the Ewosṭateans, also attracting interest from the non-Christian Ethiopian Falasha community. The Saturday Sabbath controversy was finally settled a century later by the Ethiopian emperor zara yakub (1434–68) at the Council of dabra metmaq (1450). Both Saturday and Sunday Sabbaths are observed by the Ethiopian Orthodox church. See also ethiopian christianity . ( 1991 ), ‘ Ethiopian Heresies and Theological Controversies ’, Coptic Encyclopedia 3 , pp. 984 – 7 . ( 1981 ), ‘ The Letter of Archbishops Mika'el and Gabre'el Concerning the Observance of Saturday ’, Journal of Semitic Studies 36 , pp. 73 – 8 . ( 1972 ), Church and State in Ethiopia 1250–1527 . Oxford : Clarendon Press . ( 1928 ), The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Church ( 4 vols ), vol. 1 . Cambridge : Cambridge University Press . ... log in or subscribe to read full text