Blackwell Reference Online

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Ečagē, eččegē : the chief administrator of the ethiopian orthodox church . The abouna , the spiritual head of the church, was until the mid-twentieth century traditionally an Egyptian Copt, without knowledge of the Ethiopian language and culture. The echage, an Ethiopian monk, was appointed by the Ethiopian emperor from the monastic community of Dabra Libanos and took care of the practical administration of church matters as well as serving as head of the monks and as a channel for liaison between the church and the imperial government. The offices and duties of echage and abouna were merged in 1951 with the advent of autocephaly and the first Ethiopian abouna. ( 1991 ), ‘ Eččagē ’, Coptic Encyclopedia 3 , p. 930 . ( 1981 ), Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia , p. 53 . African Historical Dictionaries 32 . Metuchen , NJ and London : Scarecrow Press . ... log in or subscribe to read full text