Founding & Ecclesiastical Roots
The sacred calling, canonical foundation, and Marian identity of Holy Trinity and Saint Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Saint Mary Theological College.
Saint Mary Theological College & Ethio-American Cultural Institute is established as a sacred educational and ecclesiastical work arising from divine calling, pastoral burden, and obedient service to God within the canonical life of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. This work did not arise from institutional ambition, personal advancement, or organizational convenience, but from a spiritual burden to restore faith, preserve Holy Tradition, and form disciplined Orthodox Christian life in the diaspora.
Founding Calling
This Institution was founded in 2012 by Kesis Endale Ashagrie Abebe, an ordained priest of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, through prayer, sacrifice, and unwavering obedience to the call of God to preserve Orthodox doctrine, Holy Tradition, and ecclesiastical discipline— especially among the faithful in the diaspora.
From the beginning, the purpose of this work has been the restoration of faith, the healing of conscience, the formation of morally responsible Christians, and the strengthening of Orthodox life through daily and weekly worship, prayer, repentance, fasting, confession, and theological education.
Discernment in the Diaspora
Upon coming to the United States to serve within an Ethiopian Orthodox parish community, the Founder discerned an urgent and critical need for structured Orthodox theological education, disciplined worship, and moral formation among the Ethiopian and Orthodox Christian diaspora.
He recognized that without daily and weekly divine services, systematic catechesis, and accountable theological formation, the relationship between humanity and its Creator, between neighbor and neighbor, and between humanity and creation itself would be weakened. He further discerned that modern society, driven by materialism, secularism, and moral relativism, required the formation of committed Christians who would incarnate Orthodox faith in life and witness.
In direct response to this spiritual burden, and in obedience to divine calling, Saint Mary Theological College was established not as an academic experiment, but as a spiritual instrument to restore faith, discipline, and Christian integrity in the lives of the faithful.
Continuity Through Trial and Obedience
When opposition arose and institutional support was withdrawn, the mission did not cease. The Founder did not abandon the work entrusted to him by God and confirmed through ecclesiastical service.
In order to preserve daily and weekly worship, theological instruction, and spiritual formation, a family chapel was established and the work of the College continued from the Founder’s own home. This was not a retreat, but an act of obedience. It ensured that divine services continued, teaching continued, and the faithful were not left without spiritual guidance.
This period is foundational in the history of the Institution. It testifies that Saint Mary Theological College is sustained by obedience to God rather than dependence on institutional approval, and by spiritual conviction rather than structural convenience.
Academic & Pastoral Roots
The Founder’s ecclesiastical formation and academic leadership at Holy Trinity Theological College in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia— where he served as Instructor and Head of the Regular Academic Programs and established the Extension Program—constitute the theological and pedagogical roots of this Institution. The same spirit of disciplined formation, fidelity to Holy Tradition, and access to theological education was carried into the diaspora through the establishment of Saint Mary Theological College.
Marian Dedication
Saint Mary Theological College was intentionally named in honor of the Holy Virgin Mary, not symbolically, but as an act of spiritual dedication, entrustment, and identity under her maternal protection. The naming of the Institution constitutes a theological confession and a declaration that this work stands under the obedience, purity, humility, and intercession of the Mother of God.
In recognition of this Marian dedication and in affirmation of the spiritual identity of the Institution, Abba Michael Gebru blessed and sent the Holy Ark (Tabot) of St. Mary to the chapel as a sign of ecclesiastical recognition, canonical covering, and spiritual guardianship.
Canonical Consecration & Parish Establishment
Upon receiving the Holy Ark of St. Mary, His Eminence Archbishop Abune Fanuel came, blessed the chapel, and on April 19, 2015, formally consecrated and elevated it to the status of a parish church, in accordance with the canonical order of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Through this sacred and authoritative act, the chapel became a parish, the community entered full sacramental and ecclesiastical life, and the Church was established with canonical legitimacy.
Education First, Then Structure
Following the consecration, the church body was formally organized in 2015 to support and complement the educational, spiritual, and moral mission of Saint Mary Theological College. Education preceded structure. Formation preceded organization. The Church was established to serve the mission of the College, not the reverse.
A Sacred Trust
This sacred work exists to preserve the founding vision and to remain faithful in perpetuity to Orthodox doctrine, Holy Tradition, Marian identity, and ecclesiastical order, in obedience to the life and canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.