Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church | |
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የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን | |
Abbreviation | EOTC |
Classification | Eastern Christianity |
Orientation | Oriental Orthodoxy |
Scripture | Orthodox Tewahedo Bible |
Theology | Miaphysitism |
Polity | Episcopal |
Primate | Mathias |
Region | Ethiopia and Ethiopian diaspora |
Language | Geʽez, Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya |
Liturgy | Alexandrian |
Headquarters | Holy Trinity Cathedral, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
Founder | Saint Frumentius according to Ethiopian Orthodox tradition |
Origin | 4th century Kingdom of Aksum |
Branched from | Orthodox Tewahedo |
Separations | American synod-in-exile (1992-2018) |
Members | 36 million |
Other name(s) | Ethiopian Orthodox Church |
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን,[1]), or simply Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the largest Oriental Orthodox Church.[2][3][4][5]
It was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria from 4th century until 1959.
The Church accepts the doctrine of Miaphysitism, which believes in the one person of Jesus Christ, divinity and humanity are united in one.
The Church has 500 bishops in the patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem.[6]
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has an estimated 36 million adherents, nearly 14% of the world's total Orthodox population.
Orthodox 32,138,126
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In the early 21st century the church claimed more than 30 million adherents in Ethiopia.