Enbaqom
Encyclopedia
Abba 'Ěnbāqom was a religious leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
, and translator and author, e.g., of the Anqaṣa Amin. As Abbot
at the leading monastery of Debre Libanos
he became the Echage
, the second highest eclessiastical office, as well as head of all Ethiopian monasteries, and often regarded as the most influential person in the Ethiopian Church.
into Christian Ethiopia. His father was said to have been nobility, his mother Jewish. He arrived as a merchant trader, in the company of a returning Ethiopian who had been held captive in Yemen. Already Enbaqom was intensely involved in questioning his religious affiliation. Eventually, after much reading and discussion, he decided to convert and become a Christian. His teacher Petros, then Echage
or Abbot of the leading Ethiopian monastery at Debre Libanos
in Shewa
, baptized him, giving him the name Ěnbāqom, the Ethiopian form of Habakkuk
; while the Hebrew name signifies "savant", the Ethiopian has the connotation of "professor".
After further prayer and learning Enbaqom circa 1500 became a monk at Debre Libanos. By his study he acquired many languages, including: Arabic, Geez, Coptic, Hebrew, Syriac, Armenian, Portuguese, and Italian. Throughout his clerical life he worked to translate into Geez, the language of the Ethiopian Church, many Christian writings, e.g., John Chrysostom
's Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews
, and the story from India of Barlaam and Josaphat. For his writings he won wide respect.
At the court of the Emperor Lebna Dengel, Enbaqom had become the friend of the Abuna
Marqos, the chief ecclesiatic in Ethiopia. During this Emperor's reign Enbaqom became the Echage
, i.e., the Abbot at the Debre Libanos monastery. While at court Enbaqom also met the Portuguese priest Francisco Álvares
. Later this priest visited Enbaqom at the monastery, teaching him Portuguese and Latin. Álvares reports that in 1520 he was at Dabra Libanos when the Emperor Libna Dengel installed a new Echage:
Yet Enbaqom next entered a long period of turbulence. He was accused of disloyalty to the Emperor Lebna Dengel, then tried and, in lieu of death, banished. A year later the Emperor forgave and recalled him, but he did not return as Abbot. Instead, he withdrew further southeast to Warab by the headwaters of the river Awash
. Then during the years 1526-1543 there came upon them very destructive raids led by the Muslim Ahmad Gran which destabilized the region and threatened the continued existence of Christian kingdom. During these decades of chaos and anarchy, Enbaqom kept on the move, relocating westward to Gafat then to Bizamo, both regions located south of the Abbay River or Blue Nile
.
In 1532 the monastery at Debre Libanos had been torched, enveloped in flames due to the forces of Ahmad Gran. Enbaqom in that year sent a letter in Arabic addressed to Ahmad Gran, writing that he should stop destroying churches and monasteries (whose libraries held the literary history of the people), and that he should stop killing priests and monks. Ahmad Gran evidently replied in effect that as a Muslim he respected the Jewish Torah
and the Christian Gospels, so he would not burn churches and would limit the killing to those who resist. Enbaqom's book in Geez Anqasa Amin grew out of this letter to Ahmad Gran.
Because of his unusual background, Enbaqom was better able to address Christian Ethiopians about certain ways to understand and resist Islam. From such a partisan point of view, he was in an "admirable position to meet their needs, and his presence was seen as providential
. While Ahmad did all he could to capture and execute him, Enbaqom moved from place to place comforting the faithful."
The new Emperor Galawdewos
returned Enbaqom to favor, making him his councilor in war. Perhaps too the learned Enbaqom influenced Galawdewos when he wrote his well-known "Confession of Faith" which diplomatically presents a theological and liturgical response to the Catholic Church. The next Emperor Menas
allowed the monk to become the Echage again at Debre Libanos. A few years later Enbaqom would die.
Abba Enbaqom sought "to provide spiritual and intellectual leadership for the Ethiopian Church, and to translate works and ideas from the rest of Christendom, thus bringing a richer theology from abroad and higher standards of clerical education... ." The Ethiopian Church
celebrates his life on the 21st of miyazya (corresponding to April 29) in the liturgical year.
(Enbaqom relied on his memory for many of these). The book is polemical, however, and was never popular. The arguments employed by Enbaqom "seem mostly drawn from the standard Arab Christian responses to Islam." For example: Jesus in the Qur'an has greater stature than many Muslims will admit.
Enbaqom on occasion draws some interesting parallels. The Muslim Laylat al-Qadr
[night of power or night of decrees] during Ramadan
commemorates the first revelations of the Qur'an to Muhammad, when it is said that the angels and the Spirit will descend until dawn. For Enbaqom this refers to Noel, Christmas
night, when the Deity came here to earth, the night of his birth, when bands of angels filled the sky singing, "Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth!"
Enbaqom discusses the process of his own coverstion to Christianity, which began when he heard a passage from the Qur'an discussing Jesus in the divine plan. According to Enbaqom, many Muslims then held three false beliefs about Christianity: that God had a wife and a son; that Christians worship trees, stones, and images; and that Christians admit of three Gods.
Two original arguments made by Enbaqom have been noted. First, that the Qur'an relies on only one language, Arabic, and the Judaic scriptures on Hebrew with some Aramaic. The Christian Gospels, however, communicate effectively their spiritual message in many different languages. Second, the Qur'an and the Judaic scriptures give prescriptions for war and the like. Christian scriptures do not, but are addressed to the welfare of the poor.
The Anqasa Amin is an argumentative work, written in the midst of long-term and widespread chaos, destruction, and death. In it Enbaqom demonstrates familiarity with Christian doctrine and prior Christian polemics, and also with Muslim religious literature.
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
, and translator and author, e.g., of the Anqaṣa Amin. As Abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
at the leading monastery of Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos is a monastery in Ethiopia, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the Oromia Region. Founded in the thirteenth century by Saint Tekle Haymanot, the monastery's chief abbot, called the Ichege, was the second most powerful official in the Ethiopian Church after the Abuna.The monastery...
he became the Echage
Ethiopian ecclesiastical titles
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is a hierarchical organization with many offices, some of which are unique to it. Some of the more important offices include:...
, the second highest eclessiastical office, as well as head of all Ethiopian monasteries, and often regarded as the most influential person in the Ethiopian Church.
Life and views
Enbaqom was the baptismal name of the former Abu'l Fatḥ, who circa 1489 had immigrated from Muslim YemenYemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
into Christian Ethiopia. His father was said to have been nobility, his mother Jewish. He arrived as a merchant trader, in the company of a returning Ethiopian who had been held captive in Yemen. Already Enbaqom was intensely involved in questioning his religious affiliation. Eventually, after much reading and discussion, he decided to convert and become a Christian. His teacher Petros, then Echage
Ethiopian ecclesiastical titles
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is a hierarchical organization with many offices, some of which are unique to it. Some of the more important offices include:...
or Abbot of the leading Ethiopian monastery at Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos
Debre Libanos is a monastery in Ethiopia, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the Oromia Region. Founded in the thirteenth century by Saint Tekle Haymanot, the monastery's chief abbot, called the Ichege, was the second most powerful official in the Ethiopian Church after the Abuna.The monastery...
in Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...
, baptized him, giving him the name Ěnbāqom, the Ethiopian form of Habakkuk
Habakkuk
Habakkuk , also spelled Habacuc, was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. The etymology of the name of Habakkuk is not clear. The name is possibly related to the Akkadian khabbaququ, the name of a fragrant plant, or the Hebrew root חבק, meaning "embrace"...
; while the Hebrew name signifies "savant", the Ethiopian has the connotation of "professor".
After further prayer and learning Enbaqom circa 1500 became a monk at Debre Libanos. By his study he acquired many languages, including: Arabic, Geez, Coptic, Hebrew, Syriac, Armenian, Portuguese, and Italian. Throughout his clerical life he worked to translate into Geez, the language of the Ethiopian Church, many Christian writings, e.g., John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...
's Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews
Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his...
, and the story from India of Barlaam and Josaphat. For his writings he won wide respect.
At the court of the Emperor Lebna Dengel, Enbaqom had become the friend of the Abuna
Abuna
Also see Leaders of ChristianityAbun is the honorific title used for any bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church as well as of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church...
Marqos, the chief ecclesiatic in Ethiopia. During this Emperor's reign Enbaqom became the Echage
Ethiopian ecclesiastical titles
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is a hierarchical organization with many offices, some of which are unique to it. Some of the more important offices include:...
, i.e., the Abbot at the Debre Libanos monastery. While at court Enbaqom also met the Portuguese priest Francisco Álvares
Francisco Álvares
Francisco Álvares was a Portuguese missionary and explorer. In 1515 he traveled to Ethiopia as part of the Portuguese embassy to emperor Lebna Dengel accompanied by returning Ethiopian ambassador Matheus. The embassy arrived only in 1520 to Ethiopia where he joined long sought Portuguese envoy...
. Later this priest visited Enbaqom at the monastery, teaching him Portuguese and Latin. Álvares reports that in 1520 he was at Dabra Libanos when the Emperor Libna Dengel installed a new Echage:
"He whom they made Ichee was also held to be a man of holy life, and he had been a Moor. As he was a great friend of mine, he told me all his life and said to me that when he was in his sect [i.e., a Muslim] he heard a revelation, which said to him: 'You are not following the right path; go to the Abima Marcos, who is head of the priests of Ethiopia, and he will teach you another path'. Then he came to the Abima Marcos, and related to him what he had heard, and the Abima Marcos had made him a Christian, and had taught him, and considered him as a son; and therefore the [Emperor] took this monk who had been a Moor for governor of this monastery... . This man had so much affection for me that he used not to leave me and always went about with me. [He] also mastered the Portuguese language, so we both understood one another very well."Álvares says that the new Echage also knew how to write Latin in good style. This, of course, sounds like Enbaqom; yet Álvares gives his name as Jacob. Van Donzel, however, assures us that Enbaqom is this Jacob who Álvares describes in some detail. Accordingly at the death of Petros, Enbaqom had become the eleventh Echage at Dabra Libanos, which was the second highest office in the Ethiopian Church (after the Coptic Abuna).
Yet Enbaqom next entered a long period of turbulence. He was accused of disloyalty to the Emperor Lebna Dengel, then tried and, in lieu of death, banished. A year later the Emperor forgave and recalled him, but he did not return as Abbot. Instead, he withdrew further southeast to Warab by the headwaters of the river Awash
Awash River
The Awash is a major river of Ethiopia. Its course is entirely contained within the boundaries of Ethiopia, and empties into a chain of interconnected lakes that begin with Lake Gargori and end with Lake Abbe on the border with Djibouti, some 100 kilometers from the head of the Gulf of Tadjoura...
. Then during the years 1526-1543 there came upon them very destructive raids led by the Muslim Ahmad Gran which destabilized the region and threatened the continued existence of Christian kingdom. During these decades of chaos and anarchy, Enbaqom kept on the move, relocating westward to Gafat then to Bizamo, both regions located south of the Abbay River or Blue Nile
Blue Nile
The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. With the White Nile, the river is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile...
.
In 1532 the monastery at Debre Libanos had been torched, enveloped in flames due to the forces of Ahmad Gran. Enbaqom in that year sent a letter in Arabic addressed to Ahmad Gran, writing that he should stop destroying churches and monasteries (whose libraries held the literary history of the people), and that he should stop killing priests and monks. Ahmad Gran evidently replied in effect that as a Muslim he respected the Jewish Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
and the Christian Gospels, so he would not burn churches and would limit the killing to those who resist. Enbaqom's book in Geez Anqasa Amin grew out of this letter to Ahmad Gran.
Because of his unusual background, Enbaqom was better able to address Christian Ethiopians about certain ways to understand and resist Islam. From such a partisan point of view, he was in an "admirable position to meet their needs, and his presence was seen as providential
Divine Providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
. While Ahmad did all he could to capture and execute him, Enbaqom moved from place to place comforting the faithful."
The new Emperor Galawdewos
Gelawdewos of Ethiopia
Gelawdewos was Emperor Gelawdewos (Ge'ez ገላውዴዎስ galāwdēwōs, modern gelāwdēwōs, "Claudius"; 1521/1522 - March 23, 1559) was Emperor Gelawdewos (Ge'ez ገላውዴዎስ galāwdēwōs, modern gelāwdēwōs, "Claudius"; 1521/1522 - March 23, 1559) was Emperor (throne name Asnaf Sagad I (Ge'ez አጽናፍ ሰገድ aṣnāf sagad,...
returned Enbaqom to favor, making him his councilor in war. Perhaps too the learned Enbaqom influenced Galawdewos when he wrote his well-known "Confession of Faith" which diplomatically presents a theological and liturgical response to the Catholic Church. The next Emperor Menas
Menas
Menas, a men's personal name, could refer to any of the following persons:* Patriarch Mennas of Constantinople* Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia.* Saint Menas of the Coptic Christianity, speculated to be the same person known as Saint Christopher....
allowed the monk to become the Echage again at Debre Libanos. A few years later Enbaqom would die.
Abba Enbaqom sought "to provide spiritual and intellectual leadership for the Ethiopian Church, and to translate works and ideas from the rest of Christendom, thus bringing a richer theology from abroad and higher standards of clerical education... ." The Ethiopian Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
celebrates his life on the 21st of miyazya (corresponding to April 29) in the liturgical year.
Anqaṣa Amin
His book Anqasa Amin [Gateway of Faith], written in Geez, was an expansion and scholarly development of his 1532 letter in Arabic to the Muslim invader Ahmad Gran. It is perhaps the only Ethiopian Church writing with so many quotations from and references to the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
(Enbaqom relied on his memory for many of these). The book is polemical, however, and was never popular. The arguments employed by Enbaqom "seem mostly drawn from the standard Arab Christian responses to Islam." For example: Jesus in the Qur'an has greater stature than many Muslims will admit.
Enbaqom on occasion draws some interesting parallels. The Muslim Laylat al-Qadr
Laylat al-Qadr
Lailatul Qadr , the Night of Destiny, Night of Power, Night of Value, the Night of Decree or Night of Measures, is the anniversary of two very important dates in Islam that occurred in the month of Ramadan...
[night of power or night of decrees] during Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
commemorates the first revelations of the Qur'an to Muhammad, when it is said that the angels and the Spirit will descend until dawn. For Enbaqom this refers to Noel, Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
night, when the Deity came here to earth, the night of his birth, when bands of angels filled the sky singing, "Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth!"
Enbaqom discusses the process of his own coverstion to Christianity, which began when he heard a passage from the Qur'an discussing Jesus in the divine plan. According to Enbaqom, many Muslims then held three false beliefs about Christianity: that God had a wife and a son; that Christians worship trees, stones, and images; and that Christians admit of three Gods.
Two original arguments made by Enbaqom have been noted. First, that the Qur'an relies on only one language, Arabic, and the Judaic scriptures on Hebrew with some Aramaic. The Christian Gospels, however, communicate effectively their spiritual message in many different languages. Second, the Qur'an and the Judaic scriptures give prescriptions for war and the like. Christian scriptures do not, but are addressed to the welfare of the poor.
The Anqasa Amin is an argumentative work, written in the midst of long-term and widespread chaos, destruction, and death. In it Enbaqom demonstrates familiarity with Christian doctrine and prior Christian polemics, and also with Muslim religious literature.