The Bahá’í Faith was introduced to Ethiopia in 1933 by Sabrí Elias, a dedicated Egyptian believer who arrived in the country with the goal of spreading the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. He actively pursued the establishment of a Bahá’í community and had the book "Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era" translated into Amharic.
The book details the basic teachings and concepts of the Baha’i Faith. This was an important step in disseminating the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith across the country. In 1934 he quickly found success in establishing the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Addis Ababa, the governing body of the Bahá’ís in Addis Ababa. This marked the beginning of the Bahá'í community’s presence in Ethiopia.
In 1935, during the Italian invasion, Sabri Elias was forced to return to his native Egypt because of the turmoil and unrest in Ethiopia. In 1944, Sabri Elias returned to Ethiopia with his wife and their two children. By then, the country had been in so much trouble as a result of the Italian invasion that they could not find everything as it was prior to the invasion. Consequently, he had lost all his connection and he could not find those who had accepted the Bahá’í Faith prior to the Italian invasion.
One of the first people to become a Baha’i after his return was a notable lawyer in the Imperial judiciary; Gila Michael Bata (at the time he was known as Kegne azmach Gila ). Ato Gila became a dedicated believer and ardent teacher of the Bahá’í Faith. In subsequent months and years, the teaching activities were regular, and the number of believers started to increase. The community was quickly re-established with the Addis Ababa Local Spiritual Assembly re-forming in 1947.
Throughout the years, the Bahá'í community in Ethiopia engaged in various social and educational projects, including educational programs for children, junior youth, youth and adults. These initiatives are in line with the Bahá'í teachings of service to humanity and the promotion of the oneness of mankind.
Currently the Bahá’í community of Ethiopia is working with different clusters both in urban and village settings across the country. In those clusters, the Bahá’ís along with other like minded people work to develop their communities spiritually, intellectually and materially using the inspirations from the Faith.
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