Translating Faith: Ethiopian Pilgrims in Renaissance Rome
By Samantha Kelly
Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674294172
At the close of the Middle Ages, a community of Ethiopian pilgrims settled in Rome. This book explores the records maintained by these Ethiopian Christians, shedding light on their way of life and their interactions with the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century.
Excerpt:
Sometime around the turn of the sixteenth century—the year 1497 is a tenuous anchor—the Roman church of Santo Stefano Maggiore came to be the refuge of Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims who had traveled across deserts and over seas to reside, as the pilgrims themselves often put it, “by the tombs of Peter and Paul.” Some of the church’s members surely stayed only for a few days or weeks, the time necessary to make the rounds of Rome’s holy sites and depart. Others remained for years, even decades; a number died and were buried there. On occasion, especially in and after the midcentury, the community hosted members of other non-Latin churches, but it was generally known in Rome as Santo Stefano “of the Indians,” in the parlance of the day: a distinctively Ethiopian community. It was also part of the Roman social fabric and was in that sense a Roman community under whose authorities and among whose population the pilgrims lived.
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Who is this book for?
Another interesting book that shows us more of the Global Middle Ages, it will appeal to those interested in cross-cultural and inter-religious relations. Specifically, those studying Ethiopia and its connections with Europe, religious life in Rome, or early modern Christianity will find it a useful read.
The author
Samantha Kelly is a Professor of History at Rutgers University, where she researches the intersection of religion and politics in Italy. Click here to view her university webpage.
Translating Faith: Ethiopian Pilgrims in Renaissance Rome
By Samantha Kelly
Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674294172
At the close of the Middle Ages, a community of Ethiopian pilgrims settled in Rome. This book explores the records maintained by these Ethiopian Christians, shedding light on their way of life and their interactions with the Roman Catholic Church in the sixteenth century.
Excerpt:
Sometime around the turn of the sixteenth century—the year 1497 is a tenuous anchor—the Roman church of Santo Stefano Maggiore came to be the refuge of Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims who had traveled across deserts and over seas to reside, as the pilgrims themselves often put it, “by the tombs of Peter and Paul.” Some of the church’s members surely stayed only for a few days or weeks, the time necessary to make the rounds of Rome’s holy sites and depart. Others remained for years, even decades; a number died and were buried there. On occasion, especially in and after the midcentury, the community hosted members of other non-Latin churches, but it was generally known in Rome as Santo Stefano “of the Indians,” in the parlance of the day: a distinctively Ethiopian community. It was also part of the Roman social fabric and was in that sense a Roman community under whose authorities and among whose population the pilgrims lived.
Who is this book for?
Another interesting book that shows us more of the Global Middle Ages, it will appeal to those interested in cross-cultural and inter-religious relations. Specifically, those studying Ethiopia and its connections with Europe, religious life in Rome, or early modern Christianity will find it a useful read.
The author
Samantha Kelly is a Professor of History at Rutgers University, where she researches the intersection of religion and politics in Italy. Click here to view her university webpage.
You can learn more about this book from the publisher’s website
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