Editing P'ent'ay (section)

==History==
[[Peter Heyling]] was the first Protestant missionary in Ethiopia,<ref>Otto F. A. Meinardus, ''Christians in Egypt : Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant Communities Past and Present'' (American University of Cairo Press, 2005), pp. 100ff.</ref> and is regarded{{by whom|date=April 2021}} as the founding father of the P'ent'ay or Wenigēlawī movement.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

For the most part, Ethiopian and Eritrean Protestants state that their form of Christianity is both the reformation of the current Orthodox Tewahedo churches as well as the restoration of it to the original Ethiopian Christianity. They believe Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity was paganized after the 960s, during the reign of queen [[Gudit]], who destroyed and burned most of the church's possessions and scriptures.<ref>Paul B. Henze, ''Layers of Time: A History of Ethiopia'' (New York: Palgrave, 2000) p. 48</ref> They claim those events have led to the gradual paganization of the [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] which they say is now merely dominated by rituals, [[hearsay]] and [[fable]]s.<ref>{{cite web|date=8 June 2000|title=Evangelicals say Orthodox focused on "outward piety"|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2000/0608/p17s1.html|access-date=22 March 2016|publisher=Csmonitor.com}}</ref> P'ent'ay Christians use the alleged "secularized teaching" of the current Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox churches, the alleged inability of most Orthodox followers to live according to the instructions of the Bible and the [[deuterocanonical books]] used by rural priests, as a proof to their belief in the Orthodox Tewahedo teaching is also mainly syncretized. P'ent'ay Christians use the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity prior to the 1960s as their own history, despite lacking historical continuity.

It was only during the early 20th century that American and European missionaries spread Protestantism with Mennonite and Pentecostal churches through the [[Sudan Interior Mission]] (SIM).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bryan|first=Jack|title=Is the World's Next Missions Movement in Ethiopia?|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2019/july-august/ethiopia-missions.html|access-date=2 December 2020|website=ChristianityToday.com|language=en}}</ref> When the SIM continued its movement after a brief ban during Ethiopia's war with Italy, it is written that the missionaries were taken aback by the fruits of their initial mission. Protestant Christians still face persecution in rural regions and are assisted by the [[Voice of the Martyrs]];<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Koh|first=Lyndsey|title=Ethiopia may not be the Christian safe haven it has been|url=https://www.mnnonline.org/news/ethiopia-may-not-be-the-christian-safe-haven-it-has-been/|access-date=2 December 2020|website=Mission Network News|language=en-US}}</ref> however, there is a growing tolerance between the Ethiopian Orthodox, [[Islam in Ethiopia|Muslims]] and the growing population of P'en'tay Christians in the urban areas of the country. With the dominance of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo and the growing Muslim population, the population of P'en'tay Christians was estimated around 16.15 million (19 percent of total population), according to the information released by the [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]].<ref name="state1">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=208148#wrapper |title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2014 |publisher=State.gov |access-date=22 March 2016}}</ref>