Introducing our Ethiopian Orthodox Brothers and Sisters

 The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) is based in Ethiopia. The church serves almost 39 million members. The country of Ethiopia was introduced to Christianity through the Ethiopian Eunuch baptized by Philip in Acts 8. The church in Ethiopia was finally organized at the synodal level in 328 AD. The first bishop was Frumentius who was raised in the palace of Axum and consecrated by Athanasius in Alexandira before returning to lead the church. Great saints would later travel to Ethiopia to introduce monasticism, translated scripture, and Monophysism. The language used by the EOTC is Geez, an Ethiopian language. The church has suffered greatly throughout the centuries- from Muslim empires to Jesuit missionaries. The last great persecution occurred under Benito Mussolini who invaded Ethiopia from 1935-1940. The church has historically included 81 canonical books in its Bible, the largest canon used throughout the Church Universal. I will be posting a separate blog post shortly in order to provide more information about the Ethiopian Canon. The church places a great emphasis on fasting and fasts on all major holidays as well as almost every Wednesday and Friday. The Patriarch of the EOTC convenes the Synod twice a year to discuss ecclesiastical and theological matters. Interestingly, eight bishops of the EOTC serve outside of Ethiopia (WCC). 

The EOTC is a source of national pride and is still a mostly ethnic-based church. Non-Ethiopians may join the church but the vast majority of parishioners are Ethiopian. There is a strong sense of national pride found throughout the church and the EOTC pervades much of Ethiopian life. There is great interest and pride in the connection between the ancient Ethiopian Church and its continuation to the present day. There is great emphasis placed on the Ethiopia mentioned throughout the Bible and how the Bible sometimes casts Ethiopia in an important and sometimes very favorable light. Race is also seen as important today as Africa and the rest of the world continue to wrestle with the history of White Supremacy. Ethiopian Christians take pride in being of a darker complexion and maintaining the "true" Christian faith (ETOC). The Church is seen as representing the past, present, and future of Ethiopia and gives hope and meaning to the struggles of Ethiopians. It is a fascinating church and I hope to post more about it in the future. My next post will be dealing with the Ethiopian canon. I hope you are looking forward to it as much as I am. Peace!


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