The Order' of Ethiopia (''iBandla lamaTopiya'') was an African religious group from the Methodist Church which originated from the

Ethiopian movement The Ethiopian movement is a religious movement that began in southern Africa towards the end of the 19th and early 20th century, when two groups broke away from the Anglican and Methodist churches. One of the main reasons for breaking away was ...

started by 18th century African theologians such as

Tiyo Soga Tiyo Soga (1829 – 12 August 1871) was a Xhosa journalist, Minister (Christianity), minister, translator, missionary evangelist, and composer of hymns. Soga was the first black South African to be ordained and worked to translate the Bible an ...

Nehemiah Tile Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC). The name is pronounced ...

, Mzimba, Mangena Mokoena,

James Mata Dwane James Mata Dwane (1848 – 1916), priest and founder of the Order of Ethiopia. Early life Dwane was born in Kamastone near Whittlesea, Eastern Cape, in 1848. He was educated and later taught at Healdtown Methodist Missionary Institution. A ...

and others. After trying to associate themselves with the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

(A.M.E.) in search of establishing an authentic African Church, they ended up forming relations with the Anglican

Church of the Province of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of which twenty-one are loc ...

, It was founded and initially led by

. Dwane left the A.M.E church as he did not feel his episcopal status was valid, and thus along with the likes of M. Mpumlwane and Nehemiya Tile left the church. They sought talks with the Church of the Province and in 1900 a compact was signed by the seven bishops of the province to be in communion with the Ethiopian Church. This involved a decision to consecrate bishops, priest and deacons for the Order. Dwane was made a deacon in 1900, ordained as a priest in 1911 and he died in 1916 as the Provincial superior of the order a presidential title equal to that of an Anglican bishop.

End of the order

In July 1999 the provincial synod of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa was petitioned by Bishop Sigqibo Dwane, the first bishop of the order, to rescind its Canon 48, which dealt with the relations between the CPSA and the Order of Ethiopia. The order then decided, on 27 August 1999, to change its name to the Ethiopian Episcopal Church, and declared that the Ethiopian Episcopal Church was the successor in title to the Ibandla laseTiyopia / Order of Ethiopia.

Bibliography

* * {{cite book , last = Verryn , first = Trevor D. , title = A history of the Order of Ethiopia , publisher = Ecumenical Research Unit , year = 1972 , location = Pretoria Anglicanism in South Africa