The Order of Saint Anthony was a possibly

apocryphal Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

chivalric order An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is an order of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and paired with medieval concep ...

of Ethiopia, which according to legend founded around 370 by the

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...

. It was bestowed exclusively on

cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

Pedro Páez Pedro Páez Jaramillo, S.J. ( pt, Pêro Pais; 1564 – 20 May 1622) was a Spanish Jesuit missionary in Ethiopia. Páez is considered by many experts on Ethiopia to be the most effective Catholic missionary in Ethiopia. He is believed to be the ...

in his ''

History of Ethiopia Ethiopia is one of the oldest countries in Africa, the emergence of Ethiopian civilization dates back thousands of years. Due to migration and imperial expansion, it grew to include many other primarily Afro-Asiatic-speaking communities, includ ...

'' seems to write that, in his travels throughout the country, there was no person familiar with any such Order and that it was an invented fable. Mentioned more in Western sources than Ethiopian ones, it is speculated that it might have originally been a

monastic order Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...

following

Saint Anthony the Great Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...

, rather than a European-style

, but was perceived as such by medieval Western as the latter, who in turn re-imported their misconception into Ethiopia in the

late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

, where it was adopted and purportedly awarded by both the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

and the ''

Abuna Abuna (or Abune, which is the Construct state, status constructus form used when a name follows: Ge'ez alphabet, Ge'ez አቡነ ''abuna''/''abune'', 'our father'; Amharic language, Amharic and Tigrinya language, Tigrinya) is the honorific titl ...

'' of the Tewahedo Church. There are several references to the order in European texts in the Early modern period, some deeming it fraudulent while other recognising it as a powerful monastic order with thousands of members and a chapter house "in every town" of the country, a very unusual occurrence in a period where what little Westerners "knew" about Ethiopia, such as its "ruler"

Prester John Prester John ( la, Presbyter Ioannes) was a legendary Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories popular in Europe in the 12th to the 17th centuries told of a Nestorian patriarch and king who was said to rule over a Christian nation lost a ...

, was generally wildly inaccurate. Several works on Ethiopia during this period mentioned the order;

Samuel Purchas Samuel Purchas ( – 1626) was an England, English Anglican cleric who published several volumes of reports by travellers to foreign countries. Career Purchas was born at Thaxted, Essex, England, Essex son of an English yeoman. He graduated fr ...

in his 1613 ''Purchas, His Pilgrimage'' wrote of the "monastical knights of the military order of Saint Anthony". In 1632, one Balthasar Giron, who purported he was "an Abyssinian", in Rome claimed he possessed the "ancient order" of "St. Anthony of Ethiopia", until he was exposed as a fraud by the

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...

scholar Abraham Echelensis. It is not clear whether the Order was also dismissed as fraudulent or merely Giron's claim of membership. There does not appear to be any mention of the order until it was notionally revived by the Ethiopian monarchy-in-exile after 1987, and is today awarded by the

Crown Council of Ethiopia The Crown Council of Ethiopia is a community organization and cultural center with the mission of preserving the culture(s) of the former Ethiopian Empire, as well as promoting development and humanitarian efforts. Today, the Crown Council abando ...

, it is an award given mostly to clerics and to academics of distinction. The Order today has two different grades, that of the ''Knight Grand Cross (KGCA)'', and that of the ''Companion (CA)''.

References

See also