The Bahá’í faith was introduced to Ethiopia by an Egyptian believer, Sabri Elias. Sabri was only 27 years of age at the time. Sabri came to Ethiopia to teach the Bahá’í Faith without any detailed plan and limited resources. At the time he did not speak any of the local languages. He was a tailor and made a living from sewing clothes.
His main reason to coming to Ethiopia was to teach the Bahá’í faith and commenced teaching the Bahá’í faith soon after arrival. After considerable planning and hard work, some Ethiopians began to embrace the Bahá’í faith.
Then he was able to establish the Local Spiritual Assembly, the governing body of the Baha’i Faith in Addis Ababa, for the first time. Among Sabri Elia’s greatest achievements was that in 1934 he was able to get translated and published “Bahaullah and the New Era" in 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 Baha’I Faith across the country. The book was distributed to local libraries and to Baha'is around the world. In 1936, a copy of the book was given to the then - Ethiopian King, His Majesty Haile Selassie when he was visiting Jerusalem by a Canadian Baha’i Mrs. Lorol Schipeflocher. read more
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