The Growing Significance of the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥǝdo Church and Global Christianity

Image from Ura Kidane Mihret Monastery – Lake Tana near Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. (Source: WikiCommons)

As a theologian with ministerial credentials in the Methodist tradition, I’ve been surprised by the number of peers and colleagues who have regarded my academic focus on the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥǝdo Church (EOTC) as “obscure”—and a few have called it downright “pointless.” To some extent, feelings of obscurity must be shouldered by all scholars, so I try to practice what I preach to my 6-year-old and avoid complaining….

But the EOTC is far from obscure.

Today, there are roughly 55 million Täwaḥǝdo Christians in Ethiopia alone and likely over 60 million when diaspora communities across the globe are factored in. Put in perspective, the EOTC is roughly twice as large as the Anglican Church in England, four times the size of the Southern Baptist Convention, five times the size of the United Methodist Church, and more than twenty times the size of denominations like the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Church of the Nazarene (Global), and the Assemblies of God (USA). By the year 2050, the EOTC is projected to eclipse the Russian Church as the largest Orthodox Church in the world, around which time it will also most likely surpass the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, the World Methodist Council, the Lutheran World Federation, and the Worldwide Anglican Communion.

These statistics are impressive and important. But far more significant is the fact that Ethiopia is the only country in all of Africa that was never colonized at any point in its history and has developed its own distinctive theology in its own indigenous language of Gǝʿǝz (ግዕዝ) since before the early 5th century (when the entire Ethiopic Bible was translated from Greek). The weight of this becomes even more pronounced when we consider the fact that Africa now has more Christians than any other continent. Thus, the history of Christianity in Ethiopia exhibits an inimitable expression of the Christian faith that is simultaneously indigenous from inception while also firmly rooted in the Nicene faith (known as the faith of the “318 Orthodox Fathers” [፫፻፲ወ፰፡ ርቱዓነ፡ ሃይማኖት።]). Arguably more than any other Christian tradition on earth, the EOTC has resisted the dualistic, disembodied, discursive, and individualistic approaches to knowing God (እግዚአብሔር) that so many in Western seminaries love to complain about.

But the status of the EOTC is not all bright. Ironically, one of the major factors threatening the future of the EOTC is pressure to conform to Western modes of education and governance. This dynamic can be described as a sort of “native colonialism,” which Yirga Woldeyes has perceptively identified and explored. Far more tragic and urgent is the ongoing conflict in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia. Although Westerners now almost never see headlines about this horrific reality, it was recently confirmed through the independent investigation of humanitarian organizations that one million people have been killed in this conflict since 2020—roughly on par with the loss of life in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and orders of magnitude greater than the heinous death toll in Palestine. Although it is often difficult to know how to pray, I invariably urge my friends and associates to do so. Unfortunately, I have found that multiple layers of misunderstanding effectively prevent most from consistently following through.

Some Reasons for Misunderstandings:

Historically speaking, Ethiopian Christianity has been misunderstood or ignored by most Christians living in places formerly ruled by the Roman Empire. Often, such misunderstandings revolved around matters of ecclesiology, liturgy, and Christology. Against some earlier opinions among scholars, modern research has sufficiently invalidated the notion that the EOTC developed in isolation from other traditions, but the points of contact are nevertheless relatively modest, such as: A documented community in Jerusalem since the 7th century, a small delegation of Ethiopian monks present at the Council of Florence (1441), the first printed Gǝʿǝz Psalter produced in Rome in 1513, and Martin Luther’s brief interaction with Ethiopian monk Abba Mika’el (ሚካኤል) in 1534 (although the depth of understanding seems to have been rather limited and perhaps mutually self-serving).

Today, various folks on the internet have become aware of the EOTC in connection to (often sensationalized) information about the Ark of the Covenant (‘tabot’; ታቦት) or the book of 1 Enoch (መጽሐፈ፡ ሄኖክ።), which I have written about briefly here. Still, few Christians in the West have benefited from sincere engagement or dialogue with Täwaḥǝdo Christians (who now have sizeable communities in most major cities of North America and Europe). Amidst important calls to reclaim the ancient foundations of our faith (especially those solidified at Nicaea), it seems sensible to explore the ancient foundations of the EOTC that are perhaps the least studied of any Christian tradition, stretching back through the Ethiopian Eunuch (‘Bakos’; ባኮስ) all the way to Solomon and the son he conceived with the Queen of Sheba, ‘Menelik’ (ምኒልክ). It is my deep conviction that Christians of all kinds should not only engage with but also learn from EOTC Christians if they wish to navigate the complex challenges of the world today and truly make known “the kaleidoscopic wisdom of God” (ἡ πολυποίκιλος σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ; Eph 3:10).

So, what might this look like on a practical level for those of us within, connected with, or sympathetic to Wesleyan expressions of the Christian faith and committed to the cultivation of intellectual virtue? Taking cues from Wesley himself, I would like to offer three avenues ripe for engagement with the EOTC: 1) Looking back at the religion of the “primitive church”; 2) looking around at the present plight of the common person; and 3) looking ahead towards the expressions of the faith that will be needed for the global church of the 21st century.

1) Looking Back:

It is well known that Wesley sought to recover the religion of the “primitive church” because he believed it would be indispensable in bringing people all around him to salvation. One could argue (as Täwaḥǝdo Christians do) that there is no church more ancient than the EOTC, but no arguing is required to demonstrate that it is one of the least studied examples of the “primitive” Christian church in the world—especially with regard to its historical importance and theological distinctiveness. Perhaps such neglect was excusable 100 years ago. I don’t think it is excusable today.

Furthermore, Wesley's ascetic lifestyle and appreciation of Christian mysticism are also well known. In particular, he esteemed Macarius of Egypt and Ephrem the Syrian, both of whom are prime examples of Oriental Orthodox traditions that are closely related to the EOTC and in full communion with it today (Coptic and Syriac, respectively). I have no doubt that Wesley would have devoured mystical and monastic texts of the EOTC if they had been accessible to him during his time at Oxford. Knowing what we know about global trends in Christianity, is it not wise for us to learn from the only uncolonized expression of "primitive" Christianity on the continent with the most and fastest growing communities of Christian faith in the world?

2) Looking Around:

Just as John Wesley was intimately acquainted with the daily challenges of the common person in 18th-century England, I believe it is necessary for us to become more intimately acquainted with the daily challenges of the common Christian in our world that is now a "global village".

The most typical Christian today is a young, African woman. How many of us know the joys, struggles, hopes, and fears of a young female Christian from Africa? How many of us would be willing to listen and learn from her if we had such an opportunity? How useful is our theology if it does not consider or accommodate the most typical Christian in the world today?

John Wesley was also keenly informed about overarching cultural realities and institutional dynamics. Today, thanks largely to the cultural paradigms developed by Eugene Nida, it has become fairly well established (especially within missiology) that most Christians globally do not function primarily along the continuum of innocence–guilt, but rather along those of honor–shame and power–fear. Moreover, most people of the Majority World do not prioritize individualistic aspirations or, in the words of Iain McGilchrist, that which is “fixed, static and systematized” (The Master and His Emissary, 323). The generalizations of the previous two sentences apply thoroughly to the EOTC. These realities continue to be emphasized by numerous scholars of Majority World Theology generally, but my conviction is that the EOTC offers invaluable, neglected, and completely unique insights for Global Christianity due to the fact that it has never been colonized or substantially shaped by Western modes of thinking.

3) Looking Ahead:

Finally, we know well how Wesley strived to articulate ancient Christian truths with fresh language that helped the people of his time better experience the fullness of life in Christ. The EOTC is a tradition replete with articulations of the Christian faith that Western Christians have only just begun to explore, but which offer crucial precedents and insights for people throughout the Majority World wrestling to articulate the eternal truths of God in the culturally constrained terms of their own indigenous languages. Thankfully, this avenue of exploration already has numerous pioneers in whose footsteps we can follow, ranging from Leslie Newbigin to Lamin Sanneh and from Sebastian Brock to William Abraham. Perhaps the most concise and pertinent statement for endorsing specific engagement with the EOTC, however, comes from Kwame Bediako, who insisted that: “Mother tongues and new idioms are crucial for gaining fresh insights into the doctrine of Christ” (“The Doctrine of Christ and the Significance of Vernacular Terminology,” p. 111). Many of us who have received formal theological education recall moments when a fresh articulation of a concept changed or even revolutionized our entire perspective of the faith. I believe that many more of those moments will come as humble learners allow millennia of faithfulness to God in Ethiopia to reveal new layers of meaning and hope for the Global Christianity of this century. Scholars of Majority World Christianity naturally grasp the imperative of ecclesial and cultural particularity, and perhaps the EOTC especially offers a reason to revisit with renewed zeal the unfinished conversation of Canonical Theism proposed so helpfully by William Abraham.     

Concluding Thoughts:

In the end, I must emphasize that deep engagement with another Christian tradition will never be a "quick fix" for our own. Perhaps such engagement is itself the antidote for the very desire we have in much of Western Christianity for quick fixes. One approach that seems to me especially ripe for such increased ecumenicity is Majority World Theology, which, thus far, has tended to be pursued mostly by Protestant Theologians. Deep ecumenical engagement with the EOTC in particular is still in its infancy and will likely require decades of dedicated work before any type of enduring fruit within Western Christian traditions is produced. However, just as Wesley hungered for greater understanding of the Triune God and dedicated himself to knowing more and more of His holiness, I contend that it is worthwhile to seek greater measures of God's kaleidoscopic wisdom wherever His Name is praised.

That is happening on a daily basis among 55+ million Täwaḥǝdo faithful, and with God’s help, I will continue seeking greater knowledge of Him from these amazing Christians who have already shaped me so much.

Calum Samuelson is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Stockholm School of Eastern Christian Studies (Sweden) and a Research Associate at the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (UK).