A SKETCH OF RASTAFARI HISTORY
by Norman Hugh Redington (1995)

[NOTE FOR THE ST. PACHOMIUS LIBRARY EDITION, 2005]

This text was written a decade ago, and reflects the era in which it was composed. On the one hand, the Rastafari Movement has changed considerably. In particular, the Twelve Tribes group has moved much closer to mainstream Christianity; also a Protestant version of the Rastafari movement has emerged along side the Ethiopian Orthodox one. On the other, the Church of Ethiopia and her relations to the Eastern Orthodox Church have been strained. At the time that the text below was written, it appeared that little more than formal barriers remained to a full reunification; unfortunately, the recent emergence of a certain trend (not so much in Ethiopian as in Coptic theology) has made that appear, to me at least, rather less likely and even raised questions about the “purely linguistic” nature of the divide. Nevertheless, I have chosen to leave the original wording unaltered. I hope eventually to prepare an updated edition. read more

Christ Pantocrator
Unknown Artist
6th century

St Catherine Monastery

Mount Sinai (South Sinai Governorate) EGYPT

Now, compare with the image of our Most Beloved Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I: read more