Quote:
Originally Posted by Tokolosh
Haile Selassie I had no role in organising or promoting the Rastafari movement which for many Rastas is seen as proof of his divinity in that he was no false prophet claiming to be God. He was a devout member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, as demanded by his political role in Ethiopia. His publicly known views towards the Rastafarians varied from sympathy to polite interest.
He made an attempt at fighting back the Italian invaders personally, which I can respect, but his wealth and possession of countless Rolls Royces makes me doubt his credibility.
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That is simply not true. During the exhile in the UK, His Imperial Majesty met with several representives of the early Rastafari orgs, like The Nybinghi Theocratic Order, to which Haile Selassie I is personally the Head of. Elders of Rastafari were often in personal contact with the Emperor, and with His closest advisors. Further, His Imperial Majesty came to Jamaica on April 26, 1966, under the personal Invitation of the Nyabinghi Theocratic Order. The Elder Mortimo Planno was on the plane with His Majesty, and directly encouraged His Majesty to come off the plane, and is seen on video coming out just before HIM. HIM then had three press conferences where he spoke with Rastafari Elders and with Jamaican politicians. HIM then began negotiations with The Ethiopian World Federation, and gave the org 500 acres of HIM PERSONAL land in Shamanane, Ethiopia, for the repatriation of Rastafarians of the diaspora in the West Indies. Upon further development, HIM was to provide more land for any repatriating Africans of the Western Diaspora, all of this because of HIM personal connections with the Rastafari Movement.
In 1970, HIM ordained the first Archbishop of the Western Hemisphere, His Holiness the Abbuna Abba Yesheq. There were no Ethiopian Orthodox Churches in the West, and Abba Yesheq founded all of the first Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Churches there in Jamaica, and Trinidad, and through out the islands, to serve the Rastafarian Community.
Http://www.abbayesheq.org
His Holiness is said to have baptised some 45,000 Rastafarians of the Diaspora into the Orthodox Faith, all under the personal order and supervision of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I.
His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince, Regent and Heir Apparant, Zara Yacob Asfa Wossen Haile Selassie, is functioning member of the largest Rastafarian org The Twelve Tribes of Israel, and founded the Ethiopian Peace Foundation to centralize Rastafarians towards to aims of Ethiopia.
Rastafari Movement from its beginning, has been connected with the Royal House of David of Ethiopia, and I personally serve His Imperial Highness Zere Yacob Asfa Wossen Haile Selassie. So it is not true, to say, that Rastafari had nothing to do with His own movement.
Selama Nna Wadada