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Life and Ministry
Lived from 1883-1973, a “founding father” of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus
Ordained as priest in the Orthodox Church; ministry in Wellega, etc.
In 1923, Rev. Badima was called to Adis Ababa to assist Rev. Olof Eriksson in revising the Amharic Bible and teach at the school of the Swedish Evangelical Mission.
Rev. at Entotto Mekane Yesus Congregation
(Note that his daughter Fiqre was one of the early members of the Charismatic movement)
In 1940, “he was given charge of the Mekane Yesus congregation in the capital and became on of the founders of the Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus” (Arén, Evangelical Pioneers, p. 435).
Rev. at Addis Ababa Mekane Yesus Congregation
Nilsson (forthcoming) on Qes Badima’s role in editing the hymnal Səbhat laʼamlak (1951) and developing a liturgy:
“At a meeting of evangelical church leaders held in 1949, the chairman of the meeting, Ato Negeri Sima from the Bethel Church, suggested that a selection of songs should be made from existing evangelical song books, in order to create a common evangelical hymnbook. Qes Badima Yalew was leading the work and it proceeded quickly. […] Qes Badima had a high opinion of Lundahl’s hymns. He put him first, and Olle Eriksson as number two. Qes Badima also composed songs for the hymnbook […]
Qes Badima came from the Orthodox church and was well acquainted with its music. But he chose to take the lyrics contained in the Mäzmurä bǝrhan hymnbook and to sing them on wellknown melodies from Sionstoner. […] Qes Badima otherwise remained faithful to the Orthodox church. He used to say “We are reformers, but we are not a colony”, reformers of the Church, but not a colony of the mission. He refused to use the liturgy prepared by the missionaries – a translation from Swedish – and compiled his own.”
[cf. Grenstedt (2000), p. 131f]
Songs in Hymn books
Səbhat laʼamlak (2007)
Nilsson (forthcoming), ch. 2
There are about 13 hymns written by Qes Badima:
no. 2, 3, 58, 73, 153, 159, 176, 206, 211, 239, 363, 389, 477.
Səbhat laʼamlak (1973)
No. 2, 3, 53, 71, 123, 137, 157, 160, 174, 261, 271, 280.
Picture
(adapted from Arén 1999, Envoys, p. 461)
Further reading
Arén, Gustav (1999). Envoys of the Gospel in Ethiopia: In the Steps of the Evangelical Pioneers 1898-1936 (Studia Missionalia Upsaliensis, 75). Stockholm: EFS förlaget; Addis Ababa: The [Ethiopian] Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus, 1999. [s. index]
Dirshaye Menberu. “Badma Yalew”, in: Dictionary of African Christian Biography, 2004. [Online version]
Grenstedt, Staffan. Ambaricho and Shonkolla. From Local Independent Church to the Evangelical Mainstream in Ethiopia. The Origins of the Mekane Yesus Church in Kambata Hadiya (Studia Missionalia Svecana, 82). Uppsala: Swedish Institute of Missionary Research, 2000. [pp. 131f]
Nilsson, Marianne (forthcoming). Chapter 2 in book on Ethiopian Gospel Music.
Saeverås, Olav. On Church Mission Relations in Ethiopia 1944-1969: With Special Reference to the Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus and the Lutheran Missions. [Oslo:] Lunde, 1974.
Yared Temesgen. Contextual Approach to Evangelize the Evangelized: A Reconstruction of Mission Model Through the Lenses of Qes Badima Yalew. Major paper submitted to Dr F.A. Rønne at Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, Addis Ababa, 2017. [esp. pp. 8-9; Online version; literature]