Ethiopian Contextualization: The Tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church

Abstract

Our study of contextualization must be basically descriptive, that is, to observe and describe how the gospel is understood and shapes practices in the context of a people. Especially we have to take into consideration different global church traditions in our discussion of contextualization. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (eotc) provides a compelling historical example of contextualization. It has developed its own unique tradition by weaving together elements from different sources of both internal and external traditions through dynamic interaction with other traditions. These include Ethiopian primal, Hebraic-Jewish, apostolic, Syriac and Egyptian Coptic. Ethiopian nationalism has functioned as the guiding principle underlying Ethiopian contextualization. The eotc will continue to display how a church with a long history and tradition copes with new challenging situations and establishes its distinctive tradition in a dynamic interaction of its local and global orientations.