RELATIONS WITH ORTHODOX CHALCEDONIAN CHURCHES

Even though the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in some respects differs from the Orthodox Chalcedonies Churches and has no canonical communion with them, it has always maintained a sense of unity with them; the origin after all is the same, Emperor Constantine wrote a letter in 356 A.D in which he addressed the king of Ethiopia Ezana and his brother “my precious brothers”. The Roman Emperor Justin asked Caleb to help the oppressed Christians in the Yemen in the sixth century. During the last quarter of the nineteenth century the Chalcedonies Orthodox Church made efforts for the progress of the Ethiopian monks. Emperor Yohannes invited the Russian Church to send missionaries to the country.

Representatives of the Greek, Russian, Rumanian and Yugoslavian Churches have repeatedly visited the Church. Recently the Russian Orthodox Church assisted the St. Paul’s school for church students by offering equipment of a Physics Laboratory. Scholarships have been made available for ecclesiastical studies in these churches. Publications are regularly exchanged. In turn the Ethiopian Church sends missions and delegations to these Churches and takes an active part in the conferences organized for the benefit common to Orthodoxy. In her relations with the Chalcedonies Orthodox Churches the Ethiopian Church will continue to proceed from the desire to “keep unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”. (Eph. 4: 3).

Ethiopian Students are sent to Greece, Russia and Rumania for higher ecclesiastical studies and visits are regularly received and sent.