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Abuna Yesehaq's work in the Caribbean began after Emperor [[w:Haile Selassie I|Haile Selassie I]] visited Jamaica in 1966 (i.e. [[w:Grounation Day|Grounation Day]]) and was thronged by local Rastafarians, who saw Selassie as a modern-day messiah. According to church leaders, Selassie denied being a deity and urged Yesehaq to try to draw the Rastafarians to the Ethiopian church.<ref>Debbi Wilgoren. ''[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/OrthodoxNews/message/4655 Ethiopians in D.C. Region Mourn Archbishop's Death].'' Washington Post. January 13, 2006. Page B01. (Yahoo Orthodox News).</ref> Upon his return to Ethiopia from Jamaica, Emperor [[w:Haile Selassie I|Haile Selassie I]] spoke to Abuna Yesehaq, Archbishop [[Hieromonk]] of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church abroad, and declared:

Thus in 1970 Abuna Yesehaq was sent to Jamaica where he began to minister specifically to the [[w:Rastafari|Rastafari]] community, at the official invitation of Rasta elders including [[w:Joseph Hibbert|Joseph Hibbert]], who was in turn named as a "Spiritual Organizer" by Mandefro. In the course of a year he baptized some 1200 dreads and laid the foundation for the church's subsequent growth. He also encountered fierce opposition from those Elders who taught that Haile Selassie was Jah in essence and demanded "baptism in Ras Tafari's name". In Montego Bay, only one dread accepted Orthodox baptism; Laike Mandefro baptized him Ahadu -- "One Man".<ref name=NORMAN3>Norman H. Redington. ''[http://www.thirdfield.com/new/religion.html The Rastafari Religion].'' 12 May 1995 16:39:36 GMT.</ref>

Abba Mandefro founded many [[Oriental Orthodox]] Churches throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere, being credited with forming more than 70 congregations, with more than 300,000 members, many of them in the Caribbean.<ref name="NY TIMES"/> Besides establishing the EOC in Jamaica in 1970 with branches islandwide, <ref group="note">According to a report by the Wolrd Council of Churches in 2000:<br>:"The Ethiopian Monk Priest, Abba Mandefro (now Archbishop Yesehaq) and other Ethiopian prelates established the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Jamaica, in May 1970. It falls within the Western Archdiocese of the Church of Ethiopia. In Jamaica there are some six branches of the church found in Kingston, St. James, Portland, Westmoreland and St. Catherine. There is a misconception among some Jamaicans that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is a Rastafarian Church. This misconception may have been precipitated by the fact that many Rastafarians associate themselves with the church because of its African origin and its links with Ethiopian Emperor, Haile Salassie."<br>:* World Council of Churches (Education and Ecumenical Formation). ''[http://www.oikoumene.org/fileadmin/files/wcc-main/documents/p5/Ministerial_formation/mf090.pdf MINISTERIAL FORMATION].'' JULY 2000 - No. 90. Page 37. (.pdf)</ref> he also established chapters in England, Canada, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, Guyana, St Kitts and Bermuda.<ref name="YAHOO-OSERVER"/> In particular he is credited with introducing Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity to Rastafarians throughout the Caribbean region, baptising an estimated 45,000 of them into the church.<ref name="BERMUDA"/> According to Norman Hugh Redington, editor of the [http://www.voskrese.info/spl/index.html St. Pachomius Library], many people would add that Abuna Yesehaq was an "Apostle to the Caribbean."<ref name="NORMAN3"/>

In particular he is credited with introducing ==As Author==* Archbishop Yesehaq. ''[http://www.amazon.ca/The-Ethiopian-Tewahedo-Church-Integrally/dp/1555237398/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335227916&sr=1-1 The Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity to Rastafarians throughout the Caribbean regionTewahedo Church: An Integrally African Church].'' J.C. Winston Pub. Co., baptising an estimated 45,000 of them into the church1997. 244 pp.<ref name="BERMUDA"/>ISBN 9781555237394