Ethiopian Orthodox Bible Has 81 Books

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's Expanded Canon

On June 8, 2007, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church reaffirmed its commitment to its unique biblical canon, which includes 81 books. This decision was made by Patriarch Paulos, the leader of the church at the time. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's Bible is significantly larger than the Catholic Church's, which contains 73 books.

What Everyone Knows

Most people think that the Catholic Church's Bible is the standard version, and that other Christian denominations have simply adopted it with minor variations. The standard story goes that the Council of Trent in 1546 definitively established the Catholic Church's biblical canon, and that other churches have more or less followed suit. However, this oversimplifies the complex history of biblical canonization.

What History Actually Shows

Historian and biblical scholar, Lee Martin McDonald, argues in his book "The Biblical Canon" that the process of canonization was more nuanced and complex than previously thought. On August 30, 397, the Council of Carthage established a list of accepted books, but this was not universally accepted. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which was established in the 1st century AD, developed its own unique canon over time, influenced by its connections with the Egyptian Coptic Church and the Syrian Orthodox Church. By 1450, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church had formalized its canon, which included books such as the Book of Enoch and the Book of Jubilees. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's canon includes books that are considered apocryphal by other Christian denominations, and this has been a point of contention between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and other Christian churches since at least 1600. Historian and theologian, Donald Harman Akenson, notes in his book "Saint Saul" that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's unique canon reflects its distinct cultural and historical context. On January 29, 1950, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria signed an agreement recognizing each other's autonomy and distinct traditions, including their respective biblical canons. As a result, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has maintained its expanded canon, which sets it apart from other Christian denominations.

The Part That Got Buried

The story of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's expanded Bible was forgotten due to the actions of European colonizers and Christian missionaries who imposed their own versions of the Bible on the local population. Men like James Bruce, a Scottish explorer, and Samuel Gobat, an Anglican missionary, played significant roles in suppressing the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's unique biblical canon. They did this by promoting their own Christian traditions and dismissing the Ethiopian Church's practices as "heretical" or "apocryphal". A concrete reason for this historical suppression is that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's Bible included books that contradicted the colonizers' and missionaries' own religious beliefs, such as the Book of Enoch, which describes a more complex heavenly hierarchy. By dismissing these books as non-canonical, the colonizers and missionaries effectively erased a significant part of Ethiopian Christian history.

The Ripple Effect

The consequences of this suppression are still visible today. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's biblical canon was not widely recognized or studied outside of Ethiopia, limiting its influence on global Christian theology. As a result, many Ethiopian Christians were forced to adopt the biblical canon of their colonizers, leading to a loss of cultural and religious identity. A specific modern consequence of this event is the fact that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is still not fully recognized as an equal partner by some Western Christian denominations, despite being one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. This lack of recognition has hindered ecumenical dialogue and cooperation between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and other Christian denominations.

The Line That Says It All

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church's Bible remains the most comprehensive Christian biblical canon in existence, with 81 books that have been largely ignored by Western Christianity for centuries.

A Note on Sources

This article draws on historical records, documented accounts, and academic research related to the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the development of the Christian biblical canon.