Sharpening the Identities of African Churches in Eastern Christianity

A Comparison of Entanglements between Religion and Ethnicity

Bibliographic Data

ID3560992
AuthorsMarco Guglielmi (0000-0003-1970-8212, University of Padua, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume13
Issue11
Pages1019
Publication date2022-10-26
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel13111019
OpenAlexW4307550595
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited43

Although at first sight Eastern Christianity is not associated with Africa, the African continent has shaped the establishment and development of three of the four main Eastern Christian traditions. Through a sociological lens, we examine the identity of the above African churches, focusing on the socio-historical entanglements of their religious and ethnic features. Firstly, we study the identity of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Eritrean Orthodox Church belonging to Oriental Orthodoxy. We focus on these African churches-and their diasporas in Western countries-as indigenous Christian paths in Africa. Secondly, we examine the identity of Africans and African-Americans within Eastern Orthodoxy. We consider both to have some inculturation issues within the Patriarchate of Alexandria and the development of an African-American component within Orthodoxy in the USA. Thirdly, we analyze the recent establishment and identity formation of African churches belonging to Eastern-rite Catholic Churches. In short, we aim to elaborate an overview of the multiple identities of African churches and one ecclesial community in Eastern Christianity, and to compare diverse sociological entanglements between religious and ethnic traits within them. A fruitful but neglected research subject, these churches' identities appear to be reciprocally shaped by their own Eastern Christian tradition and ethnic heritage

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Christianity · Ethnic group · Ethnology · Indigenous · Orthodoxy · Sociology · African history and culture analysis · Anthropology · Gender Studies · History · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religious studies

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