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Ordinance and Space: Hospitality and Communal Spaces in regard to an Ordinance on Religious Buildings in the Case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in the USA

Asfaw, Betelehem
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8346-9749
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1617105482471989

Abstract Details

2021, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture.
Hospitality can be regarded as a cornerstone of Ethiopian culture. The intense social interaction also can be perceived easily even if it is exercised in various ways depending on the number, condition, and locale of the community. Ethiopians are substantially attached to their culture and ethics, and as a result, these inveterate traditions were brought to North America by Ethiopian immigrants. These traditions have been passed on to the second and third generations, though, where and how the new immigrants practice these might differ. In the case of Cincinnati, religious institutions play a major role in being the locus where such traditions are put into practice. As Ethiopian immigrants began forming a congregation, local church buildings purchased from other religions, mainly Catholic and protestant churches, were used as places of worship as a stopgap measure. However, some of the spaces of the church have to be transformed to abide by Ethiopian Orthodox church ordinances such as a partitioned sanctuary (where the altar rests) and qidist (where communicants stand during liturgy), secluded church building from the ancillary programs, and related space requirements. The ordinances have a great value which distinguishes the Ethiopian church from the other Eastern Orthodox churches that share the same doctrine. As ordinance in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo is defined as a directive of implementing the church’s dogma, it applies to every aspect in the observance of worship since the physical building or the congregation or the human body itself can be referred to as a church. The rendered spatial adaptations and modifications are very substantial as they revamp the interior space to be efficient for the ritual activity, mainly, in liturgical service. Introducing social interaction into the church building itself, however, has been controversial to envisage with the ordinance, since the communal practice and the church tradition are different in space utilization and character, apart from the specific set decree that the church has regarding the adjoining programs to the sanctuary. This project analyzes how the home culture is practiced by the diaspora as well as the second and third generation of Ethiopian immigrants in the United States and follows several lines of inquiry. How can the communal activity co-exist with the church discipline? Which functions go along with the church's decree? What are the major regulating parameters and space altering directives that bring up the architectural transformations? The research will also scrutinize the programmatic and aesthetic implications triggered while enhancing the remodeled spaces as a case test in spatial exploration. In addition, this project explores how distinct elements of Ethiopian architecture can be sought to be envisioned in the repurposing process and how it can rejuvenate the existing interior or exterior scheme. This study will conclude by examining the effects of spatial evolutions on human perception and experience in contrast with the different accustomed practices and views of an original Ethiopian church building structure and social gathering spaces as they have appeared in immigrant communities in the United States.
Joss Kiely, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Alexander Christoforidis, M.C.R.P. M.Arch (Committee Member)
43 p.
Architecture
Hospitality; social interaction; Ordinance; Ethiopian immigrants and Ethiopian culture; Ethiopian Architecture; Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Asfaw, B. (2021). Ordinance and Space: Hospitality and Communal Spaces in regard to an Ordinance on Religious Buildings in the Case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in the USA [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1617105482471989

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Asfaw, Betelehem. Ordinance and Space: Hospitality and Communal Spaces in regard to an Ordinance on Religious Buildings in the Case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in the USA. 2021. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1617105482471989.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Asfaw, Betelehem. "Ordinance and Space: Hospitality and Communal Spaces in regard to an Ordinance on Religious Buildings in the Case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in the USA." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1617105482471989

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1617105482471989
295
© 2021, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Ordinance and Space: Hospitality and Communal Spaces in regard to an Ordinance on Religious Buildings in the Case of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church in the USA by Betelehem Asfaw is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.