We are Oriental Orthodox Christians of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church — heirs of the faith handed down from the Apostles and kept by the Fathers. Begin with the summary below, then study any topic in great depth through the readings further down the page.
The heart of our faith
Select a topic to expand it. Each one links to a full, in-depth reading.
We worship one God in three Persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — one in essence (nature) and undivided. The Father is the source, unbegotten; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father alone. The three Persons are co-equal and co-eternal in glory and majesty. This is the "Monarchy of the Father": the one source from whom the Son is begotten and the Spirit proceeds.
The eternal Son of God took flesh from the Virgin Mary for our salvation — true God and true man. We confess Tewahedo ("made one"): the one incarnate nature of God the Word, united from divinity and humanity without confusion, change, division, or separation. As fire and iron become one glowing piece while the iron remains iron and the fire remains fire, so the natures are united in the one Christ, each keeping its own properties. This is not a mixing or absorption of the humanity — that error (of Eutyches) the Church rejects — nor a division of Christ into two persons (the error of Nestorius).
The Holy Spirit is the Lord, the Giver of Life, true God of one essence with the Father and the Son, who proceeds from the Father alone and is worshipped and glorified together with the Father and the Son. He spoke by the prophets, descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost, and gives life and grace to the Church.
We receive the Holy Scriptures — the broad Orthodox canon of 81 books — read within the living Tradition of the Church, not by private interpretation. We hold the three Ecumenical Councils: Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381), and Ephesus (431), which gave us the Nicene Creed and defended the truth of Christ and of the Theotokos. We do not accept the Council of Chalcedon (451).
We honor the Virgin Mary as Theotokos — the God-bearer — ever-virgin, and we ask the prayers of the saints and angels who live in Christ. This is veneration and honor, never the worship due to God alone. Christ alone is our one propitiatory Mediator; the saints intercede for us by their prayers, as Scripture itself shows the righteous praying for others.
Read in depth: The Virgin Mary and the Intercession of the Saints →
The Church is the one holy, catholic, and apostolic Body of Christ. Through her Mysteries (Sacraments) — Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist (Qiddase), Penance, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Unction of the Sick — the invisible grace of God is given through visible signs for our healing and salvation. Holy Orders continues the ministry of the Apostles through apostolic succession.
The faith is not only confessed but lived — in prayer, fasting, repentance, almsgiving, and love. Our beliefs and values shape how we worship, how we keep the feasts and fasts, and how we treat one another as members of one Body.
"Stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle."
— 2 Thessalonians 2:15
Study in depth
These readings were compiled by Dn Yonnas, drawing on the teaching of Dr. Kesis Solomon Mulugeta Zewde and the parish library.
All teaching is offered in the faith of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Questions of doctrine should always be brought to your father confessor or parish priest.