Amente: Coptic (Egyptian) word for the underworld or "hell." Coptic is the last phase of the Egyptian language during the Hellenistic, Late Antique and Medieval periods of Egyptian history and is the current liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Bakonzi: Lingala word meaning “leaders” or “chiefs.” In its singular form (“leader”), the word mokonzi is used. In the context of MSH, bakonzi refers to the board of governance; mokonzi refers to the individual board members; mokonzi ya bakonzi refers to the board chair. The abstraction of this term is bokonzi ("leadership") and is the name of the core class on Church leadership. Lingala is a Bantu language and is an official language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. It is also spoken by some populations of Angola and the Central African Republic.
Bisrat: Ge'ez word meaning "Gospel" or "good news." Ge’ez is the ancient imperial language of various Ethiopian kingdoms and is the current liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Dersat: Ge’ez word meaning “exegesis,” “commentary” or “treatise” from the verb darasa meaning “to interpret,” “to discuss” or “to compose” (usually theological texts). Ge’ez is the ancient imperial language of various Ethiopian kingdoms and is the current liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Eedakat: Wolof word meaning “advisor.” Wolof is the most common language in Senegal and is also spoken by many Wolof in Gambia and Mauritania. Wolof is also spoken by people of different tribes in this region as a second language.
Haymanot: Ge’ez word meaning “faith,” “belief” and “religion.” As an adjective ("faithful" or "theological") the form is haymanotawi. Ge’ez is the ancient imperial language of various Ethiopian kingdoms and is the current liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Mahara: Ge’ez word meaning “to teach,” “instruct” “educate” or “discipline.” Various words that are used at MSH are related to this word: temhert (“education”); memhar (“school”); mamher (“professor”) and tamahari (“student”). Ge’ez is the ancient imperial language of various Ethiopian kingdoms and is the current liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Metcabouie: Coptic word meaning “a state of discipleship” from the word cabouie (“disciple”) which is built from the root cabe (“wise person”). Coptic is the last phase of the Egyptian language during the Hellenistic, Late Antique and Medieval periods of Egyptian history and is the current liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Msomaji: Swahili word meaning “librarian” or “reader.” Swahili is a Bantu language spoken widely throughout the African Great Lakes region and is the official language of Tanzania, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, the African Union and the East African Community.
Ohene: Twi word meaning “chief.” Twi is a dialect of Akan and is an official language of Ashanti City-State and Ghana.
Ouweb: Coptic word meaning “priest” and sometimes “deacon” from the word ouop (“pure,” “innocent,” “holy”). Coptic is the last phase of the Egyptian language during the Hellenistic, Late Antique and Medieval periods of Egyptian history and is the current liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Sahafi: Ge’ez word meaning “scribe,” “writer” or “learned person” from the verb sahafa (“to write” or “to describe”). Ge’ez is the ancient imperial language of various Ethiopian kingdoms and is the current liturgical language of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
Sankofa: Twi word which translates to “go back and get it,” often represented in Akan symbolism and used in African Diasporic communities to represent learning from the past and exploring communal roots. Twi is a dialect of Akan and is an official language of Ashanti City-State and Ghana.
Shajeh: A Copotic (Egytpaian) word meaning "word" or "teaching," which was often used in reference to Jesus as the Word (logos) and the written "word" of God, here used in reference to the Bible. Coptic is the last phase of the Egyptian language during the Hellenistic, Late Antique and Medieval periods of Egyptian history and is the current liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Songoj: An Old Nubian title used prominently in the Northern Nubian region of Nobatia during the medieval period referring to the primary political leader of this region, often referred to by the Greek name Eparch. The Songoj (or Eparch) represented the Christian Nubian united kingdoms to the Muslim-ruled Egypt in international affairs and fulfilled both religious and political leadership functions in the Nobatian region of Dotawo (the medieval united name of the Nubian region). Old Nubian was the dominant language of the medieval Kingdoms of the Nubian region (Nobatia, Makouria, Alodia/Alwa) from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, following the decline of the ancient Meroitic language and preceding the modern Nobiin spoken by modern Nubians in Northern Sudan and Egypt.
Tamazguida: Tamazight word meaning “church,” used in the context of MSH in reference to chapel service. Tamazight is the term used to refer to the ethnic identity and umbrella language of various indigenous ethnic groups of North Africa (often referred to as “Berbers”). Tamazight dialects include Kabyle, Shawiya, Shilha and Tuareg and are spoken predominately in Morocco, Libya and Algeria with smaller populations of speakers in Tunisia, Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Egypt and Mauritania.
Tilli: A pre-Christian Kushite/Nubian word for a pagan goddess that was later used by Christians in Old Nubian to translate the Greek theos or the Hebrew elohim to refer to God. Old Nubian was the dominant language of the medieval Kingdoms of the Nubian region (Nobatia, Makouria, Alodia/Alwa) from the eighth to the fifteenth centuries, following the decline of the ancient Meroitic language and preceding the modern Nobiin spoken by modern Nubians in Northern Sudan and Egypt.
Ubuntu: Nguni Bantu term translated as “humanity” and often expanded philosophically across South African countries to mean “I am because we are.” Some examples of this are the Ubuntu Theology of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Ubuntu Philosophy of Nelson Mandela. Nguni languages are a subgroup of Bantu languages spoken in the Southern African nations Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Nguni Bantu langauges include Xhosa, Zulu, Ndebele, Swati, Hlubi, Phuthi, Bhaca, Lala, Nhlangwini, Southern Transvaal Ndebele and Sumayela Ndebele.
Ujamaa: Swahili word meaning “extended family” or “brotherhood” and came to take on the meaning “socialism” through Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere’s policies of economic development. Ujamaa is also the fourth principle of the African-American holiday Kwanzaa. Swahili is a Bantu language spoken widely throughout the African Great Lakes region and is the official language of Tanzania, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, the African Union and the East African Community.
Umbhalisi: Xhosa word meaning “registrar.” Xhosa is a Nguni Bantu language that is one of the official languages of South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Urpeh: Coptic (Egyptian) word meaning "temple" from the verb "to do" combined with the word "heaven." This word was originally used before Christian times to refer to pagan temples and was later referred to by Christians in reference to the Church. Coptic is the last phase of the Egyptian language during the Hellenistic, Late Antique and Medieval periods of Egyptian history and is the current liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
