There are two Oneness Pentecostal Churches in Ethiopia worth mentioning:
- Apostolic Church of Ethiopia
- United Pentecostal Church of Ethiopia.
(1) Apostolic Church of Ethiopia
(የኢትዮጵያ ሐዋርያዊት ቤተክርስቲያን)
The founder and first leader of the Apostolic Church of Ethiopia (ACE) was Teklemariam Gezahegne (1937–2022). Since 2010, Bishop Degu Kebede has been the General Superintendent of the ACE. The General Secretary is Getahun Lambebo (who also serves as Bishop of the Hadiyya area).
Citing Acts 2:38 (Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”), Oneness Pentecostals claim that they hold to the apostles’ teaching in word and deed, while those who proclaim a Trinitarian God have embraced pagan ideas. Oneness Pentecostals in Ethiopia have their own songs, as there is little interaction between them and Trinitarian Christians.
The Apostolic Church of Ethiopia conducts annual conferences in Wara (Sidama Region), which are attended by very many people. Mass choirs also appear in congregations with high membership numbers and at spiritual conferences. Sometimes, choir members will form a procession or dance (in a well-orchestrated manner) in front of the congregation.
Soloists and choirs
» See overview of Oneness Pentecostal soloists
» See overview of Oneness Pentecostal groups
Music distribution
» Visit AddisPraise.com
(ACE Media Department’s official channel to release [Amharic] albums)
» See overview of YouTube channels
» Download App with lyrics of Apostolic Songs @ Google Play, App Store
(2) United Pentecostal Church of Ethiopia
Teklemariam Gezahegne was baptised in the name of Jesus by a missionary affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), Kenneth Wendell, in 1969. The Apostolic Church of Ethiopia severed its ties with the UPCI in 2004 after influential UPCI theologians sharply criticised the doctrine of the “heavenly flesh” of Jesus, which Bishof Teklemariam Gezahegne had expounded in his book Bible Writer’s Theology.
Several members of the Apostolic Church of Ethiopia joined the United Pentecostal Church of Ethiopia which the UPCI had founded after the split. In 2024, the new church comprised fewer than 20 congregations (AfricaForward.Net).
It seems that there is only one gospel singer belonging to the United Pentecostal Church of Ethiopia who releases music videos:
- Ayalew Wondimu (Pastor)
(3) Audio
» Listen to select Hibret albums with ACE church songs:
The songs from all Hibret (and many other Amharic) volumes can be purchased via the ‘Apostolic Songs’ app @ Google Play , App Store
(4) Videos
4.1 Videos published by Oneness Pentecostals
Documentary produced for ACE’s 40th anniversary in 2009 A.D.:
4.2 Videos published by other people
» For an introduction to Oneness Pentecostalism, watch
“Oneness Pentecostals Explained in 2 1/2 minutes” or
“United Pentecostal Church International”
(“Ready to Harvest” YouTube channel)
» For a critical view of the Apostolic Church of Ethiopia from a mainline Protestant perspective (Tesfaye Robele et al.), visit the YouTube channel “ኦንሊ ጂሰስ Exposing Only Jesus“.
(5) Further reading
» View bibliography
Invitation
There is little information available in English language on the gospel music of this community. If you can help fill our knowledge gaps, please contact us via the form at the bottom of this page.