This is Speaking of Fates Unheard Cuts. I'm Christa Tippett. You're listening to my unedited

conversation with Ethiopian linguist Gattaciu Haile of the Hill Museum and manuscript library

at St. John's Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota. I spoke with him on December 18th,

2008, from the studios of American Public Media in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was at the recording

studio on the campus of St. John's University. This interview is included in our program,

preserving words and worlds. Download the MP3 of that produced show at speakingoffaith.org.

A revered priest and your father was trained as a priest. Is that right in the Ethiopian Orthodox

tradition? Yes, that's true. And this is a very ancient tradition. I believe Christianity came

to Ethiopia in the fourth century. Do you still worship in this tradition? Are you able to do

that in Minnesota? In Minnesota it's a little bit difficult because the communities are in

Minneapolis. But whenever I go to any city where there are Ethiopian communities and big churches,

I always take the opportunity to attend that service. I wonder how you would... I've been

along been very intrigued by Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. I wonder how you would maybe just

describe how it carries its ancient lineage and remains distinct even within Eastern Christianity.

I mean, I know, for example, that Ethiopian Orthodox Christians observe many traditions of

Judaism as part of their Christian observance. Is that right? Observe Sabbath. Yeah, they observe

Stabas. They observe practice circumcision and they observe a dietary habit of the Old Testament.

Right. And these have issues have engaged scholars for a long time. How did this happen?

Is it because the missionaries who brought Christianity to Ethiopia were Jewish Christians?

Right. Or where we, as some Ethiopian tradition says, practicing Judaism before Christianity was

introduced into Ethiopia. Right. So there is a little bit of all of both because Ethiopia is very close

to the Middle East and the fact that there is a tradition or culture going from one side to the other

...