IDSC 260: Cross-Cultural Studies
Tentative Syllabus
Church and State in Ethiopia
Messiah College
May 2012
Anne Marie Stoner-Eby, Ph.D.
Scott Stoner-Eby, Ph.D.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an unique cross-cultural which will explore the relationship between church and
state in the fascinating country of Ethiopia. What makes this cross-cultural unique is that it will
be completed together with Ethiopian students attending the Meserete Kristos College (MK
College) in Ethiopia. Each Messiah student will room with an MK College student throughout
the course, and all the lectures, site visits, travel, and homestays will be done together with an
equal number of MK College students.
Mesrete Kristos College was founded in 1994 by the Meseretes Kristos Church (MKC),
one of the largest Mennonite churches in the global Mennonite fellowship. Mennonite
missionaries arrived from Pennsylvania in 1948 and quickly established medical and educational
programs. A church also began to develop which was soon led by Ethiopians. When the church
was forced underground in the years after the Communist revolution in 1974, it had 5,000
members. After the Communist regime fell in 1991, the church had 34,000 members, just three
years later 50,000 members! The church has continued to grow at astonishing rates, and the
college was founded to meet the needs of the MKC and its members.
While the history of the Mennonite Church in Ethiopia is relatively recent, Christianity in
Ethiopia has a long history, longer even than the Christian history of northern Europe, since King
Azana of Aksum converted to Christianity in 330 AD. This long political and religious history
has produced some of the world’s most amazing historical sites including the obelisks and
churches of Aksum; the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela; and the castles and churches of Gonder.
All of these world-famous sites in northern Ethiopia will be visited together with the MK College
students.
In addition, students will spend a week in the bustling capital city of Addis Ababa, living
with host families together with their MK College roommates, while hearing lectures from
professors at the University of Addis Ababa as well as from church leaders. In addition, famous
museums and historical sites both religious and political will be visited in Addis as well.
At the beginning and end of the course, students will spend time at MK College itself,
which is located in Debre Zeyit just half an hour from Addis Ababa. There they will room with
MK College students in their dorms. During this time they will learn about the history of MKC,
including a trip to the town of Nazret where the Mennonite mission and church began. They will
also have the opportunity to visit a nearby pool fed by hot springs and a holy volcanic mountain
with an Ethiopian Orthodox monastery at the top.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Students will
1. Understand the relationship between church and state in Ethiopia from the conversion
of the Aksumite king to Christianity in 330 AD down to the present in which
Evangelical churches as well as the Ethiopian Orthodox church relate to the postCommunist state.
2. Develop increased understanding of and appreciation for cultural traditions
significantly differ from their own and become aware of how people from different
cultures perceive the world, interpret reality, and make meaning.
3. Understand the paradoxes, tensions, and contradictions as well as the consistencies
and values in a society significantly different from their own.
4. Develop an appropriate sense of cultural relativism and reduce ethnocentrism.
5. Reflect on their own culture and society from the perspective of another culture.
6. Gain skill and experience living and working in a culture different from their own.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Required Readings
Marcus, Harold, A History of Ethiopia (University of California Press, 1994)
Coursepack of Readings on “Church and State in Ethiopia”
Including excerpts from Kebra Nagast; The Life of the Saints; The Bandlet of
Righteousness, an Ethiopian Book of the Dead; the Chronicle of Emperor
Yohannes IV (1872-1889); and Alemu Checole, “Mennonite Churches in Eastern
Africa,” in John Lapp and Arnold Snyder (eds), Anabaptist Songs in African
Hearts (Good Books, 2006)
Louis Luce and Elise Smith (eds), Towards Internationalism: Readings in Cross-Cultural
Communication (Cengage Heinle, 1987)
Discussion and Participation
Students are expected to actively participate in all group activities including reflection
discussions, lectures, historic site visits, church services, groups outings, etc. It is also expected
that students will exhibit sensitive, helpful, and courteous behavior to all persons with whom
they come in contact.
Readings Journal on “Church and State in Ethiopia”
For each chapter in the Marcus text and for each reading in the coursepack, the professor will
provide a question to which students will be required to provide a one-half to one page, singlespaced answer based on close reading of and significant detail from the text. This assignment
will be due before arriving in Ethiopia.
Readings Journal on Cross-Cultural Communication
For each chapter in the Luce and Smith text, the professor will provide a question to which
students are required to provide a one-half to one page, single-spaced answer based on close
reading of and significant detail from the text. This assignment will be due before arriving in
Ethiopia.
Daily Journal
An important component of this course is journaling and personal reflection on one’s experience.
Students should keep a daily journal in which they highlight key activities of the day, delineate
unique observations, and reflect upon insights gained. This daily journal will be a key resource
for the final cross-cultural reflection paper.
Final Paper on Church and State in Ethiopia
After leaving Ethiopia, students are required to submit a ten page, double-spaced paper on the
topic: Church and State in Ethiopia. This final integrative and analytic paper should draw on
their readings journal from the Marcus text and coursepack; from lectures; and from visits to
historic sites and museums.
Final Cross-Cultural Reflection Paper
After leaving Ethiopia, students are required to submit a five page, double-spaced paper
reflecting on their cross-cultural experience in Ethiopia. This integrative and analytical paper
should draw upon their daily journal entries as well as their readings journal from the Luce and
Smith text. The reflection should focus on the student’s experience with numbers two through
six of the course objectives.
EVALUATION
Students’ grades will be based on the following:
10%
20%
10%
15%
25%
20%
Discussion and Participation
Readings Journal on “Church and State in Ethiopia” (textbook and coursepack)
Readings Journal on Cross-Cultural Communication
Daily Journal
Final Paper on Church and State in Ethiopia
Final Cross-Cultural Reflection Paper
TENTATIVE COURSE SCHEDULE
Day One
Messiah Students arrive Addis Ababa
Travel to Debre Zeyit
Messiah and MK Collge students meet
Lunch, afternoon, and supper at SIM Guesthouse at Bishoftu
Night at MK College Debre Zeyit
Day Two
Introduction to MK College (history, vision, challenges, programs) – President Negash Kebede
Expectations for relationships – Life in Ethiopia – President Negash Kebede
Roommates interview each other – exchange of life stories
MK College students share about their ministries/involvement in MKC
Outing assignment in Debre Zeyit for roommates
Night at MK College Debre Zeyit
Day Three
Introduction to African Context of Ethiopian History – Anne Marie Stoner-Eby
Afternoon in Nazret
– Introduction to History, Ministries and Organization of MKC – Alemu Checole
--Tour of MKC sites
Night at MK College Debre Zeyit
Day Four
Travel to Addis Ababa
Lecture: Growth of the MKC during the persecution and beyond, MKC Secretary
Tour of Addis (including Mercato – largest open-air market in Africa)
Meet hosts families late afternoon, depart with them for supper
Night with host families in Addis Ababa
Day Five
Attend morning service at Misirak Church, largest Mennonite church in world
Afternoon visit to Holy Trinity Cathedral, Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Night with host families in Addis Ababa
Day Six Monday May 21st
Morning lecture: History of the Orthodox Church and its Relation to the State, Prof. Haile Gabriel
Afternoon visit: St. George Cathedral and Museum
Meet with Ethiopian Orthodox Church Leader
Night with host families in Addis Ababa
Day Seven
Morning lecture: History of Ethiopian Empire: Aksum to the Revolution, Prof. Bahru Zewdie
Afternoon visit: Addis Ababa University, Institute of Ethiopian Studies and Ethnological Museum
Night with host families in Addis Ababa
Day Eight
Morning lecture: The Revolutionary Years, Dr. Shiferaw Bekele
Afternoon visit: National Palace and Lion House
Night with host families in Addis Ababa
Day Nine
Morning lecture: Development of Evangelical church in Ethiopia, President of Mekane Yesus Church
Day Nine continued
Afternoon visit: Africa Hall, Headquarters of the African Union
Evening at Fasika’s restaurant with traditional music
Night with host familes in Addis Ababa
Day Ten Friday May 25th
Morning lecture: Present Government & Building Pluralistic Society in Ethiopia, Dr. Lapiso
Afternoon visit: National Museum
Last night with host families in Addis Ababa
Day Eleven
Flight to Lalibela
Day Twelve
Lalibela – attend Orthodox church services in Lalibela!
Day Thirteen
Flight to Aksum
Day Fourteen Tuesday May 29th
Aksum
Day Fifteen Wednesday May 30th
Aksum
Day Sixteen Thursday May 31st
Flight to Gonder
Day Seventeen Friday June 1st
Gonder
Day Eighteen Saturday June 2nd
Flight to Addis
Morning lecture in Addis: Church Community Development approaches to poverty,
Head of MKC-Relief and Development Association
Afternoon lecture in Addis: Peace-Building ministries of MKC, Ato Mekonen
Late afternoon travel to Debre Zeyit
Night at MK College Debre Zeyit
Day Nineteen
Church Service at MKC in Nazret
Afternoon at hot springs of Sodere
Night at MK College Debre Zeyit
Day Twenty Monday June 4th
Morning outing: Hike to the monastery atop Zuquala mountain
Afternoon: Free time in Debre Zeyit
Night at MK College Debre Zeyit
Day Twenty-One Tuesday June 5th
Morning and lunch at SIM Guesthouse, Bishoftu
--Debriefing, final reflections
Messiah College students depart for Addis in afternoon
Messiah College students depart for U.S. in evening
About the Professors
Anne Marie Stoner-Eby teaches in the History Department at Messiah College. She has a Ph.D.
in African History and teaches three Africa-related courses. Anne Marie completed her
dissertation research in Tanzania on an Anglican mission. Thus one of her specialities is African
missions and Christianity, which relates directly to the theme of the course. Her dissertation
research in Tanzania involved archival research in the capital city and fieldwork in southeastern
Tanzania, interviewing over 200 people. During her fieldwork, she lived in a community of
African Anglican sisters at their guesthouse. Anne Marie is beginning a new research project on
the history of Mennonites in Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Her African experiences also include serving in Zambia with Mennonite Central Committee in
the early 1990s at a non-profit organization that sought to educate young people about AIDS.
She also spent five years of her childhood in Ethiopia with her parents from ages 9-14. These
years of 1976-1981 were during Mengistu’s Lenninist-Stalinist regime in Ethiopia, so she has
personal experience with the Revolutionary period in Ethiopian history. Anne Marie was also
born in Ethiopia to Mennonite missionaries and so has family connections with Mennonites in
Ethiopia, including the President of MK College, Negash Kebede. During her dissertation year
in Tanzania, she was able to visit Ethiopia in January 2000. Other travel in Africa includes a
seven week trip to southern Africa in 2005 visiting Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa.
Scott Stoner-Eby, who is married to Anne Marie, is currently teaching part-time at Millersville
University. Scott has a Ph.D. in sociology focused on inequality in the U.S. While his academic
speciality is not Africa-based, he also has extensive experience living and working in Africa. He
spent three years with his parents in Botswana from 1979-1982 while they were serving with
Mennonite Central Committee. He also served with Anne Marie in Zambia, teaching
mathematics at an AME church secondary school. Scott also spent a year in Tanzania providing
logistical support for Anne Marie’s dissertation research while using his laptop to work on his
own doctoral research. And during that year, he visited Ethiopia along with Anne Marie. Scott
(as well as their two children, Samuel and Luke, at the time aged 4 years and 4 months
respectively) also traveled with Anne Marie to southern Africa in 2005.