at the time zara yaqob assumed the throne, the ethiopian church had been divided over the issue of biblical sabbath observance for roughly a century. one group, loyal to the coptic bishops, believed that the day of rest should be observed only on sunday, or great sabbath; another group, the followers of ewostatewos, believed with their founder that both the original seventh-day sabbath (i.e., saturday, or lesser sabbath) and sunday should be observed.