Orthodox Tewahedo refers to three
Oriental Orthodox
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...
Christian Churches with shared beliefs, liturgy, and history. The
Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon
The Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon is a version of the Christianity, Christian Bible used in the two Oriental Orthodox Churches of the Ethiopian and Eritrean traditions: the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahed ...
is common to all churches, as is
Orthodox Tewahedo music
Orthodox Tewahedo music refers to sacred music of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The music was long associated with '' Zema'' (chant), developed by the six century composer Yared. It is essential part of liturgical service in ...
.
* The
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...
, autocephalous since 1959.
* The
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. It was given autocephaly by Shenouda III of Alexandria, pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, after Eritrea gained its in ...
, autocephalous since 1993.
* The
Tigrayan Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Tigrayan Orthodox Tewahedo Church is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Axum, Tigray Region. It declared autocephaly on 7 May 2021, due to the alleged involvement of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in wa ...
, self-declared autocephalous since 2021.
''Tewahedo'' ({{langx, gez, ተዋሕዶ ''täwaḥədo'') is a Geʽez word meaning 'being made one' or 'unified'. This word refers to the
Oriental Orthodox
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...
belief in the one composite unified
nature of Christ; i.e., a belief that a complete, natural union of the divine and human natures into one is self-evident in order to accomplish the divine salvation of humankind. This position is known as
miaphysitism
Miaphysitism () is the Christological doctrine that holds Jesus, the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature ('' physis'', ). It is a position held by the Oriental Orthodox Churches. It differs from the Dyophysitism of ...
and is in contrast to the "two natures of Christ" belief (unmixed, but unseparated divine and human natures, called the
hypostatic union
Hypostatic union (from the Greek: ''hypóstasis'', 'person, subsistence') is a technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the union of Christ's humanity and divinity in one hypostasis, or individual perso ...
), which is held by the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and the
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
.
See also
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Calendar of saints (Orthodox Tewahedo)
The following list contains calendar of saints observed by the Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It includes both annual feast days and calendar of saints by month.
Annual f ...
*
Oriental Orthodox Churches
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian tradition. Oriental Orthodoxy is ...
Oriental Orthodoxy