- Creator
- Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Bronx, New York, N.Y.)
- Call number
- Sc MG 777
- Physical description
- 3.17 linear feet (6 boxes)
- Language
- English; Some material is written in Amharic.
- Preferred Citation
- [Item], Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in the Western Hemisphere and Southern Africa records, Sc MG 777, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
- Access to materials
- Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo ("made one") Church maintains full communion with the Armenian, Syrian, Indian, and Coptic Orthodox Churches, together known as the Oriental Orthodox Churches. In 1959, Abuna Theophilus, the Archbishop of Harar Province in Ethiopia, established the Western Hemisphere branch in New York, Jamaica, and Guyana. In 1990, a congregation was established in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and brought into the diocese. The Holy Trinity EOC Bronx assembly served as the headquarters of the Western Hemisphere and South Africa Archdiocese. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOC) in the Western Hemisphere and Southern Africa records (1939-1998) consist primarily of correspondence but also contain minutes; addresses and speeches by clergy; printed matter; some ephemera; a notebook of members' information (1970); and financial statements and documents (1956-1984). A significant portion of the correspondence (1993-1997) relates to tensions within the EOC generated by the installation of Abuna Paulos, an archbishop elected by the Holy Synod in Addis Ababa to replace Abuna Yesehaq, the Archbishop of the EOC in the Western Hemishphere and Southern Africa, and the Bronx EOC's legal challenge of Paulos's authority over the congregation and its property. The correspondence also records inquiries from persons interested in the liturgy of the EOC; general news of the EOC in Ethiopia, the United States and Caribbean; and needs of the EOC in South Africa. Also represented in the collection are correspondence and financial ledgers of the Ethiopian World Federation (1938-1970) and some records of the Ethiopian Students' Association in North America, including a list of Ethiopian students in the United States in 1965.
Administrative information
Source of acquisition
Gift of Victor Smythe, November 2007.
Revision History
Finding aid updated by Lauren Stark. (2020 October 19)
Processing information
Accessioned by Edwina Ashie-Nikoi, March 2010.
Separated material
Transferred to the General Research and Reference Division: books and magazines
Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: photographs
Key terms
Names
- Smythe, Victor N. (Author)
- Yesehaq, Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in the Western Hemisphere, 1933-2005 (Author)
- Ethiopian Students Union in North America. New York Chapter
- Ethiopian World Federation
- Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Bronx, New York, N.Y.)
Subjects
Places
Using the collection
Location
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Access restrictions
Box 6, which contains legal documents, is closed until 2065.