The obscure divine

Ambivalence in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church

Bibliographic Data

ID4299533
AuthorsSiena‐antonia De Ménonville (0000-0003-2921-8380, Délégation Paris 5, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume15
Issue10
Publication date2021-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1749-8171 • E-ISSN: 1749-8171
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/rec3.12416
OpenAlexW3194297401
LanguageEN
References cited14

This article presents a look at contemporary research on Orthodox Christianity in Ethiopia while specifically examining the controversialdebtera. Thedebtera, who figure among the Ethiopian Orthodox Church clergy preforming both Orthodox and occult services, are a telling societal phenomenon. This article should not be read strictly as a summary of the academic literature of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but rather it introduces a new category-"debteric studies"-in the hopes of expanding the limits of existing research in the field as well as by calling attention the cultural relevance of the duality that thedebteraembody. While tracking the trajectory of "debteric studies", a discourse on secrecy, knowledge, and ambivalence also emerges. Studying thedebterareveals that he both incites rules and the transgression of those rules. He is considered to be on the margins of Ethiopian society, but, at the same time, his presence and the need for his capabilities remains ubiquitous. This article argues that furthering "debteric studies" may also contribute more generally to the study of ambivalence within religious structures

Aesthetics · Ambivalence · Christianity · Epistemology · Phenomenon · Political science · Secrecy · Situational ethics · Sociology · Taboo · African history and culture analysis · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology · Religious studies · Social Psychology

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