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Questions & Answers

Coptic and Ethiopian Churches

Faith Q&A › Metropolitan Youssef › The Church › Coptic and Ethiopian Churches

The question

Would you be able to explain how the Coptic Church views the additional books that are in the canon of our sister church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church? I am particularly wondering about the book of Enoch and the book of Jubilees, but I hope to understand the perspective all of the books in their canon not included in ours.

The answer

Although the Oriental Orthodox Churches, which include the Ethiopian Church under the auspices of H.H. Pope Pavlos I, there are some differences in the rites and rituals amongst these churches, although we stand united in dogma. Several books have been added to the Holy Bible which the Ethiopian Church and occasionally the Eritrean Church consider them to be canonical, such as the Book of Enoch. Actually, the Jewish tradition also does not recognize the Book of Enoch as canonical. The Book of Jubilees is not recognized by the Eritrean Church, nor by other Christian or Judaic religions. Our Coptic Orthodox Church does not accept these books and some others as inspired by God, but the church accepts some of them as authentic writings and teachings of the early fathers, such as "The Shepherd of Hermas".

Answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab)

Questions answered by His Eminence Metropolitan Youssef (opens in a new tab) of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. Question 1803 on the Diocese’s Q&A site. Questions and answers © Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States. All rights reserved.