Henry Aaron Stern
Encyclopedia
Henry Aaron Stern was an Anglican missionary and captive in Abyssinia.
Stern was first sent by the Anglican London Jews Society to Jerusalem, where he was ordained as a deacon on 14 July 1844 by the first Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, Michael Solomon Alexander
in St. James's Chapel at Jerusalem, then traveling onwards to Bagdad. In 1849 during a visit to England he was ordained an Anglican priest in the Chapel Royal at Whitehall on 23 December 1849 by the bishop of London
. Stern returned to Bagdad in the followng June, and stayed there for three more years before being transferred 1853-1859 to Istanbul.
The London Jews' Society then directed Stern to travel to Ethiopia to preach to the Beta Israel
Jews, arriving on March 10, 1860. On his return from Ethiopia he was founder of the Hebrew Christian Prayer Union of London, 1882, later included into Carl Schwartz
' Hebrew Christian Alliance of Great Britain.. Tewodros II of Ethiopia
initially welcomed Stern, and Stern fixed his headquarters at Genda. Following various slights by Lord John Russell of the British Foreign Office and others the king's attitude to the British changed. Stern was summoned to appear before the king at Gondar in October 1863 where Stern was beaten and imprisoned together with a Mr. Rosenthal, his LJS assistant. By the time they were transferred to prison at Amba Magdala, in November 1864 they were joined by consul, Cameron, and other Europeans. Stern's situation was made more difficult by the fact that the king was made aware of uncomplimentary material in Stern's book - including having stated that the king's mother was a vendor of kosso - in Wanderings among the Falashas in Abyssinia: together with a description of the Country and its various Inhabitants 1862. All this led to the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
.
Stern was first sent by the Anglican London Jews Society to Jerusalem, where he was ordained as a deacon on 14 July 1844 by the first Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, Michael Solomon Alexander
Michael Solomon Alexander
Michael Solomon Alexander was the first Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem.-Life:...
in St. James's Chapel at Jerusalem, then traveling onwards to Bagdad. In 1849 during a visit to England he was ordained an Anglican priest in the Chapel Royal at Whitehall on 23 December 1849 by the bishop of London
Bishop of London
The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...
. Stern returned to Bagdad in the followng June, and stayed there for three more years before being transferred 1853-1859 to Istanbul.
The London Jews' Society then directed Stern to travel to Ethiopia to preach to the Beta Israel
Beta Israel
Beta Israel Israel, Ge'ez: ቤተ እስራኤል - Bēta 'Isrā'ēl, modern Bēte 'Isrā'ēl, EAE: "Betä Ǝsraʾel", "Community of Israel" also known as Ethiopian Jews , are the names of Jewish communities which lived in the area of Aksumite and Ethiopian Empires , nowadays divided between Amhara and Tigray...
Jews, arriving on March 10, 1860. On his return from Ethiopia he was founder of the Hebrew Christian Prayer Union of London, 1882, later included into Carl Schwartz
Carl Schwartz
Dr August Ferdinand Carl Schwartz was a leading Hebrew Christian clergyman and minister of the Free Church of Scotland in Amsterdam, then Free Church minister in London....
' Hebrew Christian Alliance of Great Britain.. Tewodros II of Ethiopia
Tewodros II of Ethiopia
Tewodros II was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death....
initially welcomed Stern, and Stern fixed his headquarters at Genda. Following various slights by Lord John Russell of the British Foreign Office and others the king's attitude to the British changed. Stern was summoned to appear before the king at Gondar in October 1863 where Stern was beaten and imprisoned together with a Mr. Rosenthal, his LJS assistant. By the time they were transferred to prison at Amba Magdala, in November 1864 they were joined by consul, Cameron, and other Europeans. Stern's situation was made more difficult by the fact that the king was made aware of uncomplimentary material in Stern's book - including having stated that the king's mother was a vendor of kosso - in Wanderings among the Falashas in Abyssinia: together with a description of the Country and its various Inhabitants 1862. All this led to the 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
The British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia was a punitive expedition carried out by armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire...
.
Works
- Dawnings of Light in the East: with Biblical, Historical, and Statistical Notices of Persons and Places in Persia, Coordistan, and Mesopotamia 1854
- Journal of a Missionary Journey into Arabia Felix 1858
- Wanderings among the Falashas in Abyssinia: together with a description of the Country and its various Inhabitants 1862
- The Captive Missionary: being an Account of the Country and People of Abyssinia - Embracing a narrative of King Theodore's life, and his Treatment of Political and Religious Missions. 1868