The Consulate of Ethiopia in Jamaica participated in the 51st Anniversary Celebrations of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) coming to Jamaica. The weekend of events were held at Holy Trinity Parish Church at Norman Manley Drive, 89 Maxville Ave, Kingston from Friday (July 23) to Sunday (July 25).

Yodit Hylton said she was deeply honoured, as the Honorary Consul for Ethiopia in Jamaica, to be a part of the celebration representing the Ethiopian government and people by bringing greetings and supporting the event.

Hylton also contributed to the celebration by setting up a colourful display booth with large Ethiopian posters depicting various historical and spiritual sites in Ethiopia, as well as touristic and investment information brochures. The display was praised as one of the major highlights of the event. 

The three-day event was celebrated under the patronage of His Eminence Abuna Thaddaeus, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America and member of Ethiopian Holy Synod, who has served the Caribbean people  for over 49 years.  The headquarters for EOTC for the Caribbean Archdiocese is located in Trinidad and Tobago.

Ethiopia is one of the world’s ancient civilisations, in which Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity has played a major role in shaping and preserving the cultural, traditional, and historical development of Ethiopia. The Orthodox faith has been deeply rooted in Ethiopia since biblical times, with its many rich traditions, chanting and ceremonies.

Hylton also mentioned that “the  EOTC remains the first and only church, with its origins in Africa, which  traveled from Ethiopia to Jamaica. This was intended to strengthen the relations between the two countries, their peoples and their  faith in orthodoxy“. 

Along with Hylton were Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sports Olivia Grange and Dr Peter Phillips, the member of parliament for the area in which the Church is built, who was himself one of the founding members of EOTC in Jamaica in the early 1970s. 

The EOTC’s journey of 51 years in Jamaica began in May 23, 1970 by Abune Yeshaq, the late Archbishop of the Western hemisphere, who baptised 750 people in one day, and converted mostly former Rastafarians to Orthodox Christians. He also established eight parishes and started the unfinished building of the Cathedral at the current Maxville church site and trained Jamaican priests to chant in Gezze (Ethiopian ancient language) and to carry out the traditional Ethiopian Orthodox service. The longest living Jamaican priest Kes Gebre Selassie, Lloyd Fitzgerald as well as Kes Wolda Dawit were among the local priests ordained to serve the people of Jamaica for many years at the EOTC.  

When Hylton was asked about the future of the Church, she indicated that “going forward, the Church’s focus should be on building the unity of the people in the Church, which can be gained from the development of their spirituality which itself is connected to a deeper knowledge and faith in Ethiopian Orthodoxy”.  

She said that “on behalf of the Ethiopians at home in Ethiopia and here in Jamaica, I will continue my efforts to connect our two peoples and cultures, in One Love and Unity. Ethiopia and Jamaica, solidarity forever”.