Gemechu Olana

A Church Under Challenge: the Socio-economic and Political Involvement of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (Eecmy) Gemechu Olana

The study is a critical analysis of the social, political and economic involvements of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. It explores the response and action of the EECMY in Ethiopia in its relation to the socio-political and economic situation in the country from 1959 to 1991. Focusing mainly on the developmental role of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus during the Socialist government of Ethiopia, the study examines the informing factors behind the official position held by the EECMY on mission, as well as its actions and reactions to the socio-political and economic character of the Ethiopian society. In the conclusion it was argued that is it necessary to modify the wholistic theology of the EECMY further in the direction of, integral human liberation. The principal reason for the vicious circle of poverty and failure of modernization in Ethiopia has to do more with the predatory political culture of the Ethiopian state, which is directly responsible for the underdevelopment and political instability in Ethiopia.