Perspectives on the Nature of Christ in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church: A Case Study in Contextualized Theology

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC) is non-Chalcedonian, believing that Christ’s human and divine natures combined intone nature which is both human and divine. Do Western and Ethiopian Orthodox Christians have the same Christology, but express it differently? If not, how are they different? How should evangelicals in Ethiopia express their understanding of Christ’s deity and humanity so that they are clear, inoffensive and biblical? To answer these questions, one must understand historical, formal, linguistic and popular perspectives on the nature of Christ in the EOC. To do this, an ethnographic study of one Addis Abada neighborhood was conducted to begin to understand popular perspectives on the nature of Chris in the EOC. The findings suggest that there are some substantive differences between Chalcedonian and Ethiopian Orthodox perspectives on the nature of Christ. In speaking of Christ, evangelicals in Ethiopia should avoid referring to two natures while affirming his full deity and, especially, his full humanity. They should develop a fresh Christological creed for the Ethiopian context.