audio, stills, text and or video: Go to zReportage.com to see more - Ethiopian Orthodox Priest and Exorcist, Memehir Girma Wendimu gives spiritual healing services at the mysterious Yerer Selassie church. An aspect of the Ethiopian Orthodox church which often remains unseen by outsiders is the belief in 'demon spirits' or buda. Often when an ill person has not responded to modern medicine or is performing especially rebellious actions, the person is believed to be possessed by a demon spirit. To heal this person, an exorcism must be performed by the local priests. This is so common that in a research study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2010, 74% of Christians in Ethiopia claimed to have experienced or witnessed an exorcism. Ethiopian Orthodox was considered the state church until the fall of Haile Selassie in 1974. In many villages, the people have lived in fear of certain curses and demonic powers that have kept them in bondage and terror for generations.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 25, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - A possessed woman reacts at the Yerer Sellassie church on the edge of Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. Exorcism is connected to orthodox Christianity and it's still practiced in Ethiopian churches.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 25, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Priest Memihir Girma Wendimu throws holy water at a possessed woman at the Yerer Sellassie church.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 11, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Priest MEMIHIR GIRMA WENDIMU performs an exorcism. Exorcism gatherings are used to heal the bad spirit and remove the devil from the body.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 11, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - People in the crowd hold hands for support during the exorcism at the Yerer Sellassie church.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 11, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Priest MEMIHIR GIRMA WENDIMU uses a cross during the exorcism ritual while participants hold the victim, who is suspected of being possessed by a demon at the Yerer Sellassie church.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 11, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - A religious mural overlooks the proceedings behind priest MEMIHIR GIRMA WENDIMU at the Yerer Sellassie church.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 25, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - People crowd together as holy water is splashed on them during the exorcism. The exorcisms gatherings are believed to heal the spirit and remove the devil from the body.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 15, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - A priest performs an exorcism ritual in the holy shower and communicates with the devil through the victim at Mt. Entoto.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 25, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - People crawl on the prayer room floor after the exorcism ritual at the Yerer Sellassie church.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 11, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - A woman from the crowd cries after the Priest MEMIHIR GIRMA WENDIMU attempts to get the bad spirits from her body at the Yerer Sellassie church.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 25, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - A man from the crowd receives an exorcism at the Yerer Sellassie church.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
Jan. 25, 2014 - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Priest MEMIHIR GIRMA WENDIMU uses a cross during the exorcism ritual.
© David Tesinsky/CTK/zReportage.com via ZUMA Press
