A Course of the Caribbean Open Learning Initiative

Reading the Ethiopian Canon

A free, guided reading of three works the Ethiopian Orthodox Church carried through the centuries — books the wider world set aside, preserved complete only in Ge’ez.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church holds one of the broadest scriptural canons in Christianity — traditionally counted as eighty-one books — including works that vanished from other Bibles. In this course you will read three of them in trustworthy public-domain translations, with a short introduction, a guided reading, and questions to carry with you.

No prior study is needed. Each lesson stands on its own; together they open a door into the mind of a tradition that treated the copying of a book as an act of prayer.

The Lessons

Lesson I

The Kebra Nagast

The Glory of Kings — the Queen of Sheba, Solomon, and the coming of the Ark to Aksum.

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Lesson II

The Book of Enoch

Visions of the Watchers and the judgment — quoted in the New Testament, kept whole only in Ge’ez.

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Lesson III

The Book of Jubilees

Genesis retold through the cycles of jubilee — the Book of Division.

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How to Take This Course

I.Read the introductionA short, plain-language orientation to the book and why it matters.

II.Read the textOpen the public-domain translation from our Open Library and read the suggested passages.

III.ReflectSit with the guided questions — alone, or with a study circle in your parish or community.

CC BY 4.0

This course and its study materials are © Abyssinian Orthodox University, released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. The primary texts it draws on are in the public domain. Free to reuse, adapt, translate, and share with attribution.