P'ent'ay
| P'ent'ay (ጴንጤ) Wenigēlawī (ወንጌላዊ) | |
|---|---|
| Type | Eastern Christianity |
| Classification | Eastern Protestant Christian |
| Orientation | Pentecostal, Lutheran, Reformed, (Presbyterian, Congregationalist, Continental Reformed, Waldensians, Baptist Reformed, Calvinist Methodism, and Reformed Anglican), Baptist, Mennonite, Anglican, Adventist, Holiness, and Methodist. |
| Polity | Congregationalist and Presbyterian |
| Region | Ethiopia, Eritrea, United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, United Kingdom, Israel, Kenya, Australia, and other parts of the Ethiopian–Eritrean diaspora |
| Language | Oromo, Amharic, Sidama, Tigrinya, and Ethiopian-Eritrean diaspora vernacular languages |
| Founder | Peter Heyling |
| Origin | 19th–20th centuries |
| Members | ~16,500,000 |
| Other name(s) | Ethiopian Evangelical Church, Eritrean Evangelical Church, Ethiopian Evangelicalism, Eritrean Evangelicalism |
| Official website | Official ECFE website (english) |
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P'ent'ay (from Geʽez: ጴንጤ P̣enṭe) is an originally Amharic–Tigrinya language term for Pentecostal Christians. Today, the term refers to all Evangelical Protestant denominations and organisations in Ethiopian and Eritrean societies. Alternative terms include Ethiopian–Eritrean Evangelicalism or the Ethiopian–Eritrean Evangelical Church. Sometimes the denominations and organizations are known as Wenigēlawī (from Geʽez: ወንጌላዊ wängelawi "evangelical").
Evangelical Christianity was originally introduced by American and European Protestant missionary work, which began in the 19th century among various peoples, including Christians schismed from the Orthodox Tewahedo church, other branches of Christianity, or converted from non-Christian religions or traditional faith practices. Since the creation of P'ent'ay churches and organisations, prominent movements among them have been Pentecostalism, the Baptist tradition, Lutheranism, Methodism, Presbyterianism, the Mennonites, and the Eastern-oriented Protestant Christians within Ethiopia and Eritrea and the Ethiopian and Eritrean diaspora.