An Account Of The Persecutions Against The Christians In Abyssinia Or Ethiopia
Towards the conclusion of the fifteenth century, and soon after the
discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, some Portuguese missionaries made a
voyage to Abyssinia, and were indefatigable in propagating the Roman
catholic doctrine among the Abyssinians, who professed christianity
before the arrival of the missionaries.
The priests, employed in this mission, gained such an influence at
court, that the emperor consented to abolish the established rites of
the Ethiopian church, and to admit those of Rome. He soon after
consented to receive a patriarch from Rome, and to acknowledge the
Many of the most powerful lords, and a majority of the people who
professed the primitive christianity, as first established in Abyssinia,
opposed these innovations, and took up arms against the emperor.--Thus,
by the artifices of the court of Rome, and its emissaries, a most
furious civil war was begun, and the whole empire thrown into commotion.
This war was carried on through several reigns, its continuance being
above 100 years, and the court constantly siding with the Roman
catholics, the primitive christians of Abyssinia were severely
persecuted, and multitudes perished by the most inhuman means.
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