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History and ministry
The former Bodji district [Qubee: Boojjii] is now divided between Bodji Choqorsa and Bodji Dirmaji [Qubee: Boojjii Dirmajii].
Bodji, then called Karkarro, ist the craddle of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus:
- A former Orthodox priest, Gebre-Ewostateos, knew Oromo Christian songs (from Onesimos Nesib) and became the secretary of governor Dibaba in Bodji in 1898. After the divine service in the Orthodox Maryam church, he invited everybody to his home and he preached and sang evangelical hymns in Oromo.
- Gebre-Ewostateos had teamed up with the early Oromo convert, Daniel Dabala [Qubee: Daani’el Dabalaa].
Bodji is also the place where Gudina Tumsa was born and raised.
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus
The choir was established in 1975.
Singers associated with the Mekane Yesus congregation (or at least Bodji Parish):
- Fantaye (one of the well-known singers of the revival in the 1990s)
Ethiopian Full Gospel Believers’ Church
The choir was established in _ _ _
Singer affiliated with the Mulu Wongel congregation:
Unpublished songs
» Read the manuscript of the Mekane Yesus choir with 13 songs
Connect
» Follow on Boojji Dirmajii Mekane Yesus Choir on YouTube
Video
Mekane Yesus Choir
publ. in 2025 (50th anniversary):
Pictures
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Further reading
Arén, Gustav. Evangelical Pioneers in Ethiopia: Origins of the Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. Stockholm: EFS förlaget; Addis Ababa: Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, 1978. [On Gebre-Ewostateos in Bodji, see p. 395-396; 403-406; view online].
—. Envoys of the Gospel in Ethiopia: In the Steps of the Evangelical Pioneers 1898-1936. Stockholm: EFS förlaget; Addis Ababa: The [Ethiopian] Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, 1999. [On Bodji, see p. 59-103; view online].
Daniel Tesso Nedjo. The growth and impact of Evangelical Christianity in Bodji District, 1941-2000. B.Th. thesis. Addis Ababa: Mekane Yesus Seminary, 2001.
Nilsson, Marianne. Chapter 2 in forthcoming book on Ethiopian Gospel Music.
Tegegne Nemera. Persecution and its impact on church growth with reference to EECMY-WS Bodji District. BA thesis. Addis Ababa: Mekane Yesus Seminary, 2007.
Tesfa Djiren. A brief survey of the origin and development of the Bodji district in the Western Synod, 1898-1974. BA thesis. Addis Ababa: Mekane Yesus Seminary, 1995.
Online resource on local history
“Boji,” in: Local History of Ethiopia, compiled by Bernhard Lindahl, 2005 (published on the website of The Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala).