P'ent'ay

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.

Etymology

The term was coined in the late 1960s and was used as a pejorative for churches that believed in the Pentecostal experience and spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit, used to describe local Protestant Christians who are not members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo churches (collectively known as the Orthodox Tewahedo).

The term P'ent'ay is derived from "Pentecostal"; however, it has since become a general shorthand referring to not only Evangelical Protestants but all Protestant denomination Christians, whether they are self-identified as Pentecostal or not. Some Orthodox Ethiopians will even apply the term to the small Catholic population of Ethiopia and Eritrea (but this is rare).

The equivalent rendition in many other languages is "Evangelical"; the term Wenigēlawī means "Evangelical" and has been used alongside P'ent'ay.