Christianity around the world

Christianity in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is one of the oldest Christian nations on earth. Its faith reaches back to the fourth century, when King Ezana of Aksum embraced Christianity, and Christians there also treasure the story in Acts 8 of an Ethiopian official baptized on a desert road. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has carried this ancient faith, with its own scriptures, fasts, and rock-hewn churches, for some seventeen centuries, and Christianity remains the faith of most Ethiopians today.

How Christianity came to Ethiopia

The New Testament already reaches toward this land. In Acts, an official of the Ethiopian court is reading the prophet Isaiah when Philip explains that the passage points to Jesus, and the man is baptized at once.

The lasting foundation came in the fourth century. According to the historian Rufinus, a young man named Frumentius, shipwrecked and brought to the court of Aksum, taught the faith there and was later consecrated as the first bishop by Athanasius of Alexandria. Around this time King Ezana became Christian, and coins from his reign begin to carry the cross. This makes the Kingdom of Aksum one of the earliest states in the world to adopt Christianity, close in time to Armenia and to Rome under Constantine.

Ethiopian tradition also cherishes a much older connection through the Queen of Sheba and the Ark of the Covenant. Scholars treat these traditions and the New Testament reference as belonging to different kinds of history, but for Ethiopian Christians they weave into a single long story of a people who have known the God of Israel for a very long time.

The church here today

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is one of the ancient Oriental Orthodox churches, alongside the Copts of Egypt. It keeps a distinctive life: a broad canon of Scripture, the ancient Ge'ez language in worship, long fasts, and the famous rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. Alongside it are Ethiopian Catholics and a growing number of Protestant and evangelical Christians, especially the large Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. Christianity is the faith of a majority of Ethiopians, living side by side with a substantial Muslim population.

If you are seeking here

If you are living in Ethiopia or of Ethiopian heritage and quietly wondering about Jesus, you are not alone, and you are welcome. Faith is not a nationality or a family tradition you are locked into or out of; it begins wherever one person turns to Christ and asks. You can start today by reading a Gospel, by praying honestly in your own words, and by finding a community that follows Jesus near you.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ethiopia one of the oldest Christian nations?

Yes. The Kingdom of Aksum embraced Christianity in the fourth century under King Ezana, making Ethiopia one of the earliest Christian states in the world, close in time to Armenia and Rome.

Who first brought Christianity to Ethiopia?

The faith was firmly established in the fourth century through Frumentius, consecrated as the first bishop by Athanasius of Alexandria. Christians also treasure the earlier story of the Ethiopian official baptized in Acts 8.

What is the main church in Ethiopia?

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, one of the ancient Oriental Orthodox churches, alongside a growing Protestant and evangelical presence and an Ethiopian Catholic community.