The history of Christian Ethiopia, and in particular the relations between this African civilization, Europe, and other areas of the world, has recently witnessed a surge in interest. The volume under review builds on this momentum and focuses on an important chapter in the history of these relations: the establishment, during the early modern era, of an Ethiopian Orthodox hospice in the capital of the Catholic Church, Rome. The author, Samantha Kelly, professor of history at Rutgers–New Brunswick, was trained in the history of medieval Europe and, before turning her interests to Ethiopia, published two books on Italian history. Translating Faith is the culmination of over ten years of researching Ethiopian–European relations from both perspectives, to which Kelly has already contributed eight essays and articles.

The period of Roman–Ethiopian exchanges is well known to specialists, and in the past, it has been the subject of a number of studies. Chiefly, the Romanist Renato Lefebvre dedicated no fewer than fourteen contributions, between 1936 and 1971, to the study of relations between Christian Ethiopia and the Catholic world. But these contributions, valuable in their own right, were also, in part, outdated and in urgent need of reassessment. Moreover, this earlier historiography was plagued by misunderstandings and unresolved enigmas: How could an Orthodox (and anti-Chalcedonian) community flourish in the heart of Catholicism? How did its main monastic figures navigate life within the papal entourage and the Curia? How did communication between such distant cultures and such—theologically speaking—opposed Christian churches unfold? With rigor, patience, and method, Kelly succeeds in answering these questions and provides a complex, rich, and enthralling picture of the lives of the monks of Santo Stefano dei Mori and their entourage.

Translating Faith is a substantial 502-page volume, divided into an introductory chapter, nine chronologically organized chapters, and a conclusion. The supporting material includes a lengthy notes section, two appendices—including a prosopographical essay with notes on thirty-six Ethiopian pilgrims—a useful glossary of Ethiopic terms, and an extensive bibliography comprising over 500 titles. Although the hospice-monastery of Santo Stefano officially remained in Ethiopian hands until 1680, Kelly focuses the bulk of her narrative on its most vibrant period: the first half of the sixteenth century—that is, the period “when its population, autonomy, and influence were at their height” (2). Her analysis is supported by an intensive study of archival—mostly unpublished—documentation housed in Italian archives, chiefly the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome (thirty-four manuscripts) and the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan (six manuscripts).

Chapter One focuses on the origin of the hospice of Santo Stefano. After discussing the various hypotheses formulated thus far (i.e., foundations under Pope Sixtus IV or Pope Alexander VI), the author proposes a previously unexplored possibility: that its foundation may have resulted from the initiative of the Ethiopian pilgrims (43). The next two chapters examine the organization and composition of the hospice. Drawing on her extensive prosopographical research, Kelly sheds light on the first priors of the monastery as well as the Roman figures who played a crucial role in supporting it, such as the poet and humanist Pietro Paolo Gualtieri. Chapter Four addresses important collaborations between Ethiopian monks and Catholic officials, notably that between Johannes Potken and Tomas Walda Samu’el, which led to the famous 1513 edition of the Geʿez Psalterium David et Cantica aliqua. In Chapters Five and Six, Kelly presents compelling new interpretations of two important sixteenth-century treatises on Ethiopia: the hagiographic Narrazione d’alcune vite di frati Indiani, compiled by Italian Dominican monks around 1516 and published in 1577, and the Annotated Alvares, an early version of Francisco Alvares’s famous travelogue first published in 1540. Chapter Seven offers a novel interpretation of one of the key episodes in Ethio-Roman relations: the so-called “Bermúdez affair.” Kelly’s hypothesis—integrating Ethiopian prophetic traditions and insights into figures such as the prominent Tasfa Seyon—appears both plausible and compelling. In Chapter Eight, Kelly unveils the network of collaborators behind Tasfa Seyon’s most ambitious projects: his edition of the Geʿez New Testament and the Ethiopian ritual of the Mass, both printed between 1548 and 1549.

The final thematic chapter surveys the period during which Santo Stefano was formally integrated into the Catholic Church. This began with the election—under the watchful eye of Paul IV—of Catholic priors to lead the institution and continued during the second half of the century. This chapter also sheds significant light on the case of “Juan Balthasar,” another Ethiopian informant whom previous scholars too hastily dismissed as an “impostor” (441, note 74), as well as on the envoy Takla Maryam. While Santo Stefano’s preeminence as a center of knowledge, debate, and intellectual production was waning, its influence, during this period, continued to resonate through projects no longer conducted within its premises but rather in the cabinets of enlightened Europeans (281).

Kelly concludes her study with cautious reflections on the ‘experiment’ that Santo Stefano represented. The inter-religious and intercultural encounter that took center stage in early modern Rome was not without tensions; the relations between, on the one hand, the pilgrims and their entourage, and, on the other, the Roman Curia, were not always harmonious. Furthermore, Latin Christian attitudes toward Ethiopian Orthodoxy were, as Kelly notes, “ambivalent and mutable” (289). Moreover, each side harbored its own, often divergent, expectations. Nevertheless, her study has shown beyond reasonable doubt that the Ethiopian pilgrims’ direct contribution to the birth of Ethiopian Studies in Europe was substantial (291): their scholarship, erudition, and commitment helped produce key milestones in the early printing of Semitic languages and thus transformed Rome, for over a century, into a major center of Ethiopian theology and monasticism.

The essay is well written and has been carefully edited. A few minor mistakes can be noted, however. The monk’s name, Fatala Sellase (116 and 303), appears to contain a misspelling of Fatla (from fatl, “thread”; hence “Thread of the Trinity”), which is transcribed as Fatala—the third-person singular form of the perfect tense. On p. 186, the name Marcucci should read Marcocci. On p. 182, it is incorrectly stated that Pero da Covilhã was sent to Ethiopia by King Dom Manoel I of Portugal, when in fact the mission was initiated by his predecessor, Dom João II. Moreover, given the author’s stated attempt to write from an Ethiopian perspective, the decision not to use the Ethiopic fidel script and to rely solely on transcription appears puzzling. It is likely that many Ethiopian and Eritrean readers, as well as specialists, would have found it useful to read the Geʽez passages in the original script.

In conclusion, Translating Faith will be of great interest to scholars as well as to the general public interested in intercultural encounters, the history of Oriental monasticism, and Italian humanism. The study also sheds important light on several episodes within Ethiopian studies that had hitherto been poorly understood. It is poised to become required reading for Ethiopianists focusing on the early modern period. Moreover, scholars and general readers from Eritrea and Ethiopia will find in this study a narrative that testifies to how, against all odds, their ancestors transmitted and preserved their rich and fascinating religious heritage.