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A defiant message from the Church of Haile Selassie I

Published:Sunday
| September 8, 2013 | 12:00 AM

Photo

Video

Abbot
Shubael - Contributed

Dr Glenville Ashby, Contributor

It is noon on Sunday and I am in the belly of West Indian Brooklyn. Just
off Nostrand Ave, a multi-coloured building bearing the emblem of The Lion of
Judah - a strutting lion - proud with its foreleg carrying the Rastafarian
flag is displayed. The chanting from inside the church pierces its thick
doors.

I enter just in time for the
liturgical service of the Church of Haile Selassie I (Ba Beta Kristiyan Haile
Selassie I), referred to as a "bona fide
Ethiopian religious institution in exile". The inside exudes a kinetic
ecclesiastical feel. The usher, a young man with a red, green and yellow sash,
directs me to one of the pews, not before being cautioned against
photographing the proceedings and taking notes from the Anaphora (Divine
Liturgy). I make a faint protest. After all, I followed their protocol and had
scheduled an appointment several days before. One Rastafarian, obviously with
some sway, baulks, and allows me to transcribe the words of Abbot Shubael, who
by now held court.

The Church of Haile Selassie
I is touted as the only veritable Rastafarian group in the US. It is chartered
as an Ethiopian institution and incorporated in New York, a fact that is
repeated during the fiery sermon of Abbot Shubael, a bespectacled, slightly
built man fully draped in all the accoutrements of his august position.

Treading down the thorny road
of sectarianism, the Abbot stridently blasts other "Rasta outfits"
such as the 12 tribes of Israel, Bobo Shanti and Nyabingi "that use the
jargon of Rastafarianism but practice a skewed creed". He teaches that
these groups are short on a structured liturgy and philosophy. "There are
organisations out there that distort the true meaning of Rastafarianism,"
he laments. "These groups congregate, while we worship. That's a big
difference." His message is unswerving and defiant.

He assails
"dancehall" Rastas, steeped in secularism and the ways of 'Babylon'.
"We follow a definitive philosophy. It is Rastalogy, the path of
knowledge. It is an attitude of mind and very academic."

The Church of Haile Selassie
I is well structured, managed and hierarchical - an Order that is headed by
the Abuna (a title equivalent to 'Pope'), who resides in Jamaica. Clerical
training is challenging and requires at least seven years of study and devotion.

Unflustered Message

With branches in Jamaica,
Britain, Barbados, and eyes on Trinidad, its message of redemption and
restoration of the Ethiopian monarchy is unambiguous. Its homilectics is
culled from the books of Proverbs, Mark and John. The message is unflustered.
"Rules and regulations are mandatory so there must be discipline and
order." Abbot Shubael preaches in a thick vernacular. His oratory is
plied with Caribbean aphorisms on discipline. "Licks never kill
nobody." It elicits scattered laughter.

On every pew are Bibles,
liturgical booklets and prayer scripts that ascribe Godhood to Haile Selassie
I. The sexes are separated and the reverence to the tabernacle catches the eye
(members are prohibited from turning their back to the "Holy of Holies,"
carefully walking backwards through the aisle. Newly arrived members approach
the tabernacle, bow and gesture symbolically, with circular hand movements
followed by what seems to be the signing of a cross inches away from the
chest.

Abbot Shubael and the
sacerdotal group of five young men circumambulate the tabernacle on several
occasions. Pictures of Haile Selassie I and his lineage adorn the walls. The
tabernacle itself is draped in white, lit and adorned with a menorah and the
Star of David. The chanting is repetitious and infectious. The frankincense
and myrrh blur your vision and overwhelm your olfactory sense. The blessings
and benedictions are personalised. With chalice swaying, each member is
fumigated, followed by a priest with an open Bible that he places before the
forehead of devotees, while chanting with a rapidity that is barely
comprehensible. Interestingly, the holy book is parted on Psalm 87 with the
adjacent page bearing the likeness of Haile Selassie I.

The service is highly
ritualistic and solemn. There is veneration with a ceremonial character that
is unmistakable. But this takes little always from a message that rivets and
stirs the passions of believers. The Abbot later counsels me on being a "true
Rasta". He vigorously rejects the "propaganda" that Haile
Selassie I was under house arrest before his passing. The former Emperor of
Ethiopia, according to Abbot Shubael, is one with the Creator and the Head
Creator. He is in fact called "The Might of the Trinity". In a
belief that borders the abstruse concepts of the Ascension and the Assumption,
Haile Selassie I, he says "walked away, never to be seen again"
thereby "fulfilling prophecy".

"The Emperor is still
alive and can never die," he assures me.

He later explains his
affinity to Rastafarianism in a revealing exchange that appears to echo the
spirit of Dr Sultana Afroz, who dispelled the myth of European discovery of
"the so-called New World".

Abbot Shubael also concurs
that East Africans predated Columbus in the form of 15th century Zara
Yacobrite people of Ethiopia and recoils at the thought of his foreparents
being slaves.

"My lineage has nothing
to do with slavery, but is part of the great tribes of Ethiopia. It was easy
for me to identify and embrace Rastafarianism because of my ancestry."

Hours later, I continue to
ponder. As guarded as it might be, I cannot help but reflect on the rich
fraternity of this unique church. It projects an authenticity that cannot be
feigned. Handshakes, smiles and greetings of "Rasta" made for an enviable,
elucidating experience - refreshing and equally thought-provoking.

Dr
Ashby is the president of the Trinidad and Tobago Interfaith Council. You may
send feedback to [email-masked] or follow him on Twitter@glenvilleashby.

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