Sources: The Kebra Nagast (Glory of Kings, ~14th century Ge’ez); the Ge’ez Bible (including deuterocanonical and other books); Acts 8:26–40 (the Ethiopian eunuch); Rufinus, Ecclesiastical History 1.9–10.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church claims a founding rooted in Acts 8 (Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch) and confirmed through Frumentius’s mission under King Ezana of Aksum (~330 AD). After Chalcedon (451 AD), Ethiopia aligned with Alexandria’s Miaphysite position — “Tewahedo” means “unified” in Ge’ez, describing the one united nature of Christ. Distinctive features: (1) The Kebra Nagast — the national epic claiming the Queen of Sheba bore Solomon’s son Menelik I, who brought the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia; the Ark is believed to be currently kept at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Aksum — an extraordinary claim taken with complete seriousness by the Ethiopian church; (2) The Ge’ez canon — the broadest biblical canon of any Christian church, including books not in any other canon (1 Enoch, Jubilees, 1–3 Meqabyan, and others); (3) Jewish practices — the Ethiopian church maintains practices unusual in Christianity: Saturday Sabbath alongside Sunday worship, dietary laws resembling kashrut, circumcision on the 8th day; (4) The Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews, “Falasha”) — a community that maintained Jewish practice without rabbinic tradition, possibly of ancient Israelite origin, evacuated to Israel in Operations Moses (1984) and Solomon (1991). Ethiopia is one of the oldest continuously Christian nations.