Martin Luther’s ‘dream’ church? It wasn’t in Europe By David D. Daniels | October 28, 2017 Triptych of the Virgin and Child, Ethiopia, 17th century, Tempera on gesso-covered wooden boards. This item will be on display at the Museum of the Bible. Photo courtesy of Museum of the Bible (RNS) — This year marks the 500th anniversary of the launching of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. Commemorations will be held from Memphis to Mombasa to Mumbai to Munich. Yet, most events and books on the Reformation explore it without any reference to African Christians. This silence is profound, and I would like to break it by offering possible Ethiopian connections to Martin Luther and the Protestant movement. Luther launched the Protestant Reformation in 1517, but he had begun that year fascinated with Ethiopian Christianity. That will come as a surprise to many of today’s Christians, even scholars, who are accustomed to discussing Luther and the Protestant Reformation
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