The title Aleqa ("Master", also transliterated Alaqa) is a honorific title used in the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

. It is used as the title of a chief

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

of a major church, the head of a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

, as well as being an

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

for a highly educated member of the church, especially in the case of

dabtara A debtera (or dabtara; Ge'ez/ Tigrinya/Amharic: ደብተራ (''Däbtära)''; plural, Ge'ez\Tigrinya: ''debterat'', Amharic: ''debtrawoch'' ) is an itinerant religious figure in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches, A debtera w ...

s. An Alaqa is responsible for maintaining order in the church, as well as the administration.

References

"The Resilient Nature of Common Property Resource Management Systems: a case study from the Guassa area of Menz, Ethiopia"
by Zelealem Tefera Ashenafi and N. Leader-Williams (Presented at "Survival of the Commons: Mounting Challenges and New Realities," the Eleventh Conference of the International Association for the Study of Common Property, Bali, Indonesia, 19 June–23 June 2006) DF Eastern Christianity in Ethiopia Ecclesiastical titles {{OrientalOrthodoxy-stub