Särawitä Krəstos mahbär

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History and ministry

Särawitä Krəstos mahbär [ሠራዊተ ክርስቶስ ማኅበር; fraternal association of Christ’s troops] was a fellowship of evangelistic Ethiopian Orthodox Christians founded in the 1930s.

(1) Early years

Alfred Buxton (1891-1940, Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society [BCMS]) believed that the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was the key to a national revival. During his first visit to Ethiopia he met with Hakim Worqneh Eshete (alias Dr Charles Martin, Governor of the Province of Chercher), Blatten Geta Heruy Wolde Selassie (Foreign Minister), Abuna Qerellos IV (Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church) and the Ichege of the monastery in Debre Libanos (the chief abot is second only to the Abuna).

Four Ethiopians joined Alfred Buxton, who had been in his Bible class on his previous visit in Addis Ababa:

“These four young men of high standing in the country had surrendered position, salaries and lands to give their lives to preaching the Gospel. One, Haile Gabriel, had been Sub-Governor of the Province of Harrar. Two others, Werku and Abeba [Retta?], together with Haile, had been selected by the Emperor for their intelligence and sent to Egypt for further education and were working in a Government office. The fourth, Thomasgn, was a member of the ruling class, an Amhara from Gojjam, the son of a priest and himself trained in the priests’ school.” (Grubb, Buxton, p. 133-34)

The group became independent of Buxton, relocated to the Merkato area and took the name Särawitä Krəstos mahbär. The fellowship included 12 Ethiopian Orthodox Christians who preached at the Merkato and selected church compounds:

  • “[1] Haile Gabriel and [2] his wife, [3] Thomasgn, [4] Abeba, [5] Werku, [6] Qanaa, [7] Aleme, [8] Haile Mariam, [9] Bekele, [10] Admasu, and two monks, [11] Gebra Mariam and [12] Jacob” (Hooton & Wright, First 25 years, p. 110)

The community was patriotic and took a stand against the invading Italians. Some of the fellowship members died during the Italian occupation.

(2) After World War II

The fellowship was mainly located in Fiche (the centre of the Semien Shewa Zone in today’s Oromia Region)

Launhardt, Evangelicals in Addis Ababa, p. 65, on Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society (BCMS): 

“With the Italian occupation, Mr Buxton’s work and for the time being the whole work of the BCMS in Ethiopia, came to an end. After World War II, literary work was restarted, a Bible School reopened at Fiche, and some new programs commenced by the BCMS.”

Other persons connected to :

Hymn Book

Mäzmurä bǝrhan [መዝሙረ ብርሃን, Songs of Light]. Addis Ababa: Särawitä Krəstos mahbär, 1955/56 (1948 A.M.).

» View book
(added is Marianne Nilsson’s transcription
of selected melodies)

Pictures

Haile Gabriel:

adapted from Grubb, Buxton, after p. 112

Werku (later killed):

adapted from Grubb, Baxton, after p. 112

Group at the BCMS mission station in Addis Ababa:

First row, 3rd from left: Alfred Buxton, with Werku to his right.
Top row, 3rd from left: Mrs Colin McKenzie, with
Haile Gabriel and Thomasgn standing on her right
(Adapted from Grubb, Buxton, after p. 128)

Further reading

(1) Books and Pamphlets

Buxton, Alfred. “The Four Winds of Ethiopia”, c 1935.
[» BCMS Papers, Cadbury Library, Ref. Code: MS47/A/3/2/5]

—. “Ethiopia: how her need is being met”, c 1936. [» BCMS Papers]

N.N. [Buxton?] “Werku and his friends”, Addis Ababa, February 1937 [» BCMS Papers]

—. “Abba Jacob: An Ethiopian monk who found Christ in Addis Ababa”, n.d. [» BCMS Papers]

Grubb, Norman. Alfred Buxton of Abyssinia and Congo. London and Redhill: Lutterworth, 1942. [View online]

(2) Periodicals

Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Messenger
[» BCMS Papers, Ref. Code: MS47/A/3/1/1]

  • Oct. 1935: Article by Alfred Buxton [p. _ _ _]
(3) Archival material

The BCMS records from 1911 to 2000 are deposited with the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham.

  • View catalogue of the BCMS Papers
    (Ref. Code: MS47; search for Buxton and Stokes)
  • The Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society has been renamed Crosslinks in 1992.
(4) Secondary Literature

Campbell, Ian. The Addis Ababa Massacre: Italy’s National Shame. Oxford, etc.: Oxford Univ. Press, 2017. [Google Books]

  • From the same author: Holy War: The Untold Story of Catholic Italy’s Crusade Against the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. London: C. Hurst & Co., 2017.

Hooton, Walter S. and J. Stafford Wright. The First Twenty-Five Years of the Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society (1922-47). London: Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society, 1947. [View online at Missiology.org.uk]

Launhardt, Johannes. Evangelicals in Addis Ababa (1919-1991): With special reference to the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the Addis Ababa Synod. Münster: Lit, 2004.