Addis Ababa - Day 2

Today was filled with informal interactions before the official program begins tomorrow. Since many of these early arrivals had not been to Ethiopia before, I arranged for a brief tour to some of the city's main sights. The highlight of the time (at least for me) was a visit to St. George's Cathedral in central Addis Ababa (above). This is one of the leading churches of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which is the majority religion of the country. A deacon gave us a tour of the cathedral and a well organized museum.

I developed a deep appreciation for Orthodox Christianity during time spent in Russia in the mid-1990s. I continue to marvel at how little attention our western, Protestant narrative of church history gives to the fascinating and enduring churches of Russia and eastern Europe, the Middle East, Ethiopia, and Mesopotamia. All too often we simply ignore them after the split of the eastern and western churches. Yet their rich theological and artistic traditions have much to teach us. These churches have survived for centuries, sometimes in extremely challenging circumstances. It was fascinating to see again some of the rich biblical symbolism used in Ethiopian Orthodox worship. While these approaches can at times fall a bit strangely on our verbally-oriented western ears, there is something in the depiction, expression, and experience of faith in these forms that continues to intrigue me. These churches are, of course, deeply human and influenced by good and bad aspects of their culture over the course of centuries (not unlike my own Protestant tradition). While I confess a Protestant doctrine, I will always find a part of my heart resonating with the aspirations of Orthodox worship.

I'm going to include a few pieces of Orthodox art from the National Museum of Ethiopia in a subsequent post.

Intercultural communication is at the heart of what I do. Every day is an intercultural experience to a greater or a lesser degree. Today was one of greater degree. I was reminded today in a rather complex afternoon meeting of the interplay of culture, age, position, and authority in almost every situation. In one's own culture, we tend to intuit these things and navigate them almost without conscious thought. Yet moving in cultures that are more aware of age and positional authority is a challenge. The injection of financial resources into any such situation only increases the complexity of dialogue. In such situations, I can only push toward humility (first and foremost), clear communication, relational openness and trust, and (always!) the search for the understated or hidden meaning. Few cultures say things as explicitly as we North Americans do. Sometimes I feel like these kinds of conversations are riddles or jigsaw puzzles. I have to continually step back, survey the whole territory of the conversation, and then circle back in with that broader viewpoint in mind. I really find the whole process exhilarating.