በኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን የሥልጣነ ክህነት አሰጣጥ ሥርዐተ ክዋኔ

Abstract

Human being has social process which could enable him/her to transform from one mode of experience to the next. The process of transforming from one
cumulative experience to the next transformed experience could reflect all the process, successes, challenges, merits, and demerits of certain groups of entities.
In line with this, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church has developed a rich and prominent mode of holy orders which could enable one religious person to
promote from the lower hierarchical order to the next. This transition is known as the Rite of Passage. Here, clergy or a candidate for the next hierarchical order
will get the chance of advancement to a higher class or a new appointment for more religious services. This process could be affected by the religious or social practices accumulated over a long period of time. Thus, having this in mind the researcher questioned “What the holy order of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church considers during ordination?” The researcher also tried to answer this basic question by interviewing church scholars, reviewing different existing written documents, and physical observation as well. The main objective of the research is to come up with evidence why, how, when, where, and what criteria is needed for the advancement to a higher class in the Church’s hierarchy, who is the potential candidate/illegible for such holy order. By doing so this study also tries to answer the change/experience/ that a person who undergoes the holy order and comes up to the next hierarchical order is exhibiting. The hierarchical holy order of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church entitles the candidate to become more acquainted with the church’s religious principles and be able to serve God and the religious community.