A B Y 



H'' i< much funk in general eftimation from what lie was 

 formerly, chiefly by his intrigues, io^norancc, avarice, and 

 w.int of (irmncfs. His principal employment is in tlie ordi- 

 nilion of prislh, deacons, and monks. Some of thefc 

 Ahimas have been merely Jay-monks, without fo much as 

 prie'.Uy orders. Their revenue arifes from the fale of dlf- 

 p.-nfjtions, anil of ordination, and from Ci.'rtain lands in the 

 kinijdoms of Tigrii, Gojam, and Dembca, of which they 

 are the fole farmers ; to whicii we may add, a kind oi public 

 colleclion of fait and cloth annually made for ihem through 

 the rnipire, which amounts to a coiifidcrable value. 



The order next, if not in rank and dignity, yet in general 

 e!lim.i:ion, to tlie Abnna, is that of the: Dcbtaras, who are 

 neither priefts nor deacons, but a kind of Jewifh Lcvites or 

 ciiantcrs, who aflill at all public offices of the church, and 

 p:irticularly in the londuft of all their muiical performances. 

 Bcfides thcfe, evsry parochial church has a prefidcnt, fub- 

 ordinate to the Abuna, called Komos, or Hcgumenos, or 

 Archi-pre(b)'ter, who has all the inferior prielts and dea- 

 cons, and all the fecular affairs of the parilh, under his in- 

 fpcclion and government. The deacons occupy the lovveft 

 rank of the priefthood ; they alTift at divine fervice, and 

 have their refpcftive duties and veftmenls when they offi- 

 ciate. All thefe orders arc allowed to many ; but the 

 monks, who are very numerous, vow celibacy ; and, it is 

 faid, with a rcfervation. Le Grand fays, they make a pro- 

 mife aloud, before their fuperior, to keep challity, but add 

 in a low voice, as you keep i!. 



The monks are divided into two claffcs j thofc of Debra 

 Libanos, and thofe of St. Eudathius. The liead of the 

 latter, who are grofsly ignorant, is the fuperior of the con- 

 vent of Mihcbar SclafTe, in the north-weft corner of Abyf- 

 fmia, near Kuara, and the Sliangalla, towards Scnnaar and 

 the river Dender. The chief of the former is the Itchcgue, 

 who is ordained by two chief priefts, holding a white cloth, 

 or veil, over him, while another fays a prayer ; and they 

 then lay all their hands on his head, and join in pfalms to- 

 gether. This Itchegue is, in troublefome times, of much 

 greater confequence than the Abuna. The monks do not 

 live in convents, but in feparate houfes round their church, 

 and each cultivates a part of the property they have in land. 

 The churches in AbyfTmia are very numerous. Every great 

 man that dies thinks he has atoned for all his wickcdnefs, if 

 he leaves a fund to bu.ld a church, or has built one during 

 his life. The king builds many. Tlic fituation of a cliurcii 

 is rhofen near running water, for the convenience of their 

 purifications and ablutions, in which they ftrlAly obferve 

 the Levitical law. The <hu:'ches are placed on an eminence, 

 and furroundcd by rows of Viiginia cedar, which form very 

 pk-afing objcfts along the face of the country. All the 

 i-Iuirches are round buildings, with conical fummits, and 

 thatched roofs, and on the outfidc encompafTed with pillars 

 of cedar, to which the roof projefts about eight feet beyond 

 the wall, fo as to form an agreeable walk in hot weather, or 

 in rain. The infide of the church is partitioned in the man- 

 ner prefcribed by the Mofaic law. In the firft and outer 

 circular apartment the congregation fit and pray. Within 

 this is a fquarc, divided by a veil or curtain, in which is an- 

 other fmall divifion aiifwering to the holy of liolies, and fo 

 narrow, that none but the priefts can enter it. Perfons of 

 both fcxes, under Jewifh difqualifications, are prohibited 

 from going within the outer circumference of the church, 

 and muft perform their devotion at an awful diftance among 

 the cedars ; and thofe who enter the church muft put off 

 their fliofs, and take' care they are not ftolen by the priefts 

 and monks before they return ; kifs the threftiold and two 

 door-pofts, fay any prayer which they think proper, and 



A B Y 



thus their duty is finilhed. As for the doftrinal religion of 

 the Abyffinians, it is that of the Greek church, which they 

 received on their converfion to Chriftianity by Frumentius, 

 about the year 1535 ; and every rite or ceremony in the 

 Abyffinian church m.ay be traced to its origin in the Greek 

 church whilft both of them were orthodox. Frumentius 

 preferved it untainted with herefy whilft he lived. Afterwards 

 Arianifm, and a number of other herelics, as they are called, 

 were brought by the monks from Egypt, and infedcd the 

 church of AbyfTinla. Many of thcfe were owing at firft to 

 the various ufe of the two words, nature and perfon, than 

 uhich no words were ever more equivocal in every language 

 in which they have been tranflated. For fome time the 

 Abyflinians had free accefs to Cairo and Jerufalem, where 

 their books were revifed and concfbed, and many of the 

 principal orthodox opinions inculcated. But fince the con- 

 queil of Ambia and Egypt by Sultan Selim, in 1516, their 

 intercourfe with thofc countries has been interrupted ; and they 

 are now, fays Mr. Bruce, with regard to doftrine, as great 

 heretics, and with refpeft to morals, as corrupt as the Je- 

 fults h^ve reprefented them. But though he concurs with 

 the Jefuits in condemning their fentimciits and praftice, he 

 difapproves of their mode of reforming them. Theeucharill 

 is received by the Abyflinians in both kinds : for this pur- 

 pofe they ufe unleavened bread, and the grape bruifed with 

 the hullc, and forming a kind of marmalade, is fubftituted 

 for wine, tIiou~h an excellent ftrong wine is made at Dreeda, 

 about thirty miles fouth-weft of Gondar. The communicant 

 after receiving, drinks a large draught of water, and turning 

 his face to the wall of the church, repeats fome prayer in 

 private with apparent decency and attention. Whether the 

 Abyflinians believe the dofkrine of tranfubftantiation or not, 

 is not abfolutely certain. Ludolph (1. iii. c. y.) thinks, 

 that the vrords of confecration prove their dift^elief of this 

 doftrine. Mr. Bruce maintains the contrary opinion ; 

 though he tells us, that a prieft declared to hii"», with great 

 earneftncfs, that he never did believe that the elements in 

 the eucharift were converted, by confecration, into the real 

 body and blood of Chrift. This, he faid, was the Roman 

 Catholic faith, but it never was his, and he conceived the 

 bread to be briad, and the wine to be wine, even after con- 

 fecration. With refpeft to the ftate of fouls before the re- 

 furrecllon of the body, the opinion generally prevaihng is, 

 that there is no third ftate, but that the fouls of good men 

 enjoy the beatific vifion immediately upon their feparation 

 from the bodv. However, their praftice and their books 

 contradicl this opinion ; for when any perfon dies, alms are 

 given, and prayers are olfercd for the fouls of thofe de- 

 parted. 



Upon the whole, we may obferve, that the religion of 

 the Abyflinians, in the prefent ftate of it, is unworthily dig- 

 nified with the name of Chriftianity, fince it confifts in a 

 motley colleftion of traditions and tenets, which have not 

 any influence on praftice. This people, of all ranks, of 

 either fex, and of eveiy age, are habitually liars, drunkards, 

 gluttons, implacable in their refentment, faithlefs in their 

 dealings, and cruel in their vengeance. The king has un- 

 limited power ; and a miniiler, in the king's name, exer- 

 cifes that power with the moft licentious cruelty. The 

 Abyflinians are totally illiterate ; the arts cultivated among 

 them remain in a ftate of great imperfeftion ; and, which is 

 a defeft peculiar to themfelves, they have not even an idea 

 of mufic. Their bloody feafts, and their promifcuous 

 amours, are too difgufting for dcfcription. Every thing in 

 their country wears an air of wretchednefs and meannefs. 

 Such are the refleftions of an anonymous writer in the 

 Monthly Review, vol. ii. p. 433. New Series. 



I The 



