Ethiopian denomination ordains first woman

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Bekure Daba of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus has become the first ordained woman in the 3 million-member denomination.

The May 16 ceremony was attended by senior pastors from the denomination as well as a delegation from Lutheran churches around the world, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Bekure Daba, 39, has served the Ethiopian Church in a variety of women’s ministries since graduating from the denomination’s seminary in Addis Ababa. She holds an advanced degree from Birmingham University and a master’s degree from Chester University, both in England.

Her ordination brings to 750 the number of pastors in the Ethiopian Lutheran denomination, which is said to be one of the fastest growing churches in Africa. It is the LWF’s largest church in Africa. Christians, the majority of whom are Orthodox, make up about 40 percent of Ethiopia’s population of 70 million. Muslims represent about 43 percent of the population.