Religion in Ethiopia

I was told that 90% of Ethiopia is Christian and 10% Muslim. The majority of Ethiopian Christians belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which is often referred by outsiders as the Coptic Church. But this seems to be a false term for the Ethiopian Orthodox church as the Coptic Church is an Egyptian Church which started in Alexandria in the 2nd Century and broke away from Rome and Constantinople in AD 451 following the adoption of the Monophysitic doctrine. This doctrine asserts the single and primarily divine nature of Christ, was considered heretical by Rome and Constantinople, whose dualistic philsophy held that Christ had both human and divine personalities.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was founded in Axum in the 4th century AD. Strong ties have always existed between the churches of Ethiopia and Alexandria. It seems llike the fundamentals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church are Christian, the rituals are infused with all sorts of archaic Jewish influences, acquired from the ancient Jewish sects that lived in pre-Christian era Ethiopia.

At the heart of Ethiopian mysticism is the relationship between Christianity and the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was in Jerusalem but disappeared before the reign of King Josiah in around 650 BC. Ethiopians believe that the original Ark was brought to Axum in the 1st

Millennium BC, and that it rests there is to this day. When I visited 10 rock churches in Laibela, I learned that the most holy item in every Ethiopian Orthodox Church (ancient and modern) is the Tabot - a replica of the Ark of the Covenant (or actually a replica of one of the Tablets of the Law which wer placed in the Ark by Moses). The Tabot is in the Holy of Holies in every Ethiopian Orthodox Church and it is at all times hidden from view by a cover of draped sheets.