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.
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.
| Days per month (using the Ethiopian calendar) | Dedicated saint(s) [4] [ unreliable source? ] |
|---|---|
| 1st | Lideta (Birth of the Holy Virgin Mary) and Elias (Elijah) |
| 2nd | Thaddius |
| 3rd | Be'eta (Presentation of the Holy Virgin to the Temple of Jerusalem) |
| 4th | Yohannes Wolde Negedquad (John Son of Thunder) |
| 5th | Petros and Paulos (Peter and Paul) and Gebre Menfes Kiddus |
| 6th | Our Lady of Qusquam (Egypt) |
| 7th | Holy Trinity Day |
| 8th | Kiros (Cyrus) and Abba Banuda |
| 9th | Thomas (not the Apostle) |
| 10th | Kidus Meskel (Feast of the Holy Cross) |
| 11th | Hanna we Iyachew (St Anne and St. Joachim, parents of the Holy Virgin Mary) and Fasilides |
| 12th | Michael the Archangel, Samuel, and Yared |
| 13th | Feast of Igziabher Ab (God the Father) and Raphael the Archangel |
| 14th | Abuna Aregawi and Gebre Kristos |
| 15th | Kirkos and his mother Iyeluta (Cyricus and Julitta) |
| 16th | Kidane Mihret (Our Lady Covenant of Mercy) |
| 17th | Estifanos (Stephen the Martyr) and Abba Gerima |
| 18th | Ewostatewos |
| 19th | Gabriel the Archangel |
| 20th | Hnstata |
| 21st | Holy Virgin Mary, Mother of God |
| 22nd | Deqsius |
| 23rd | Georgis (Saint George) |
| 24th | Abune Tekle Haymanot |
| 25th | Merkorios (Saint Mercurius) |
| 26th | Thomas the Apostle |
| 27th | Medhane Alem (Savior of the World) |
| 28th | Immanuel |
| 29th | Bale Wold (Feast of God the Son) |
| 30th | Markos (Mark the Evangelist) |
The Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt, serving Africa and the Middle East. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the Pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the 13th among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular. The Coptic Pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. Christians in Egypt total about four million people, and Coptic Christians make up Egypt’s largest and most significant minority population, and the largest population of Christians in the Middle East.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in sub-Saharan Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates back to the acceptance of Christianity by the Kingdom of Aksum in 330, and has between 36 million and 49.8 million adherents in Ethiopia. It is a founding member of the World Council of Churches. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is in communion with the other Oriental Orthodox churches.
Frumentius was a Phoenician Christian missionary and the first bishop of Axum who brought Christianity to the Kingdom of Aksum. He is sometimes known by other names, such as Abuna and Aba Salama.
Saint Yared was an Aksumite composer in the 6th century. Often credited with the forerunner of traditional music of Ethiopia and Eritrea, he developed the music of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Eritrean Orthodox Church, in broder context the Coptic Orthodox Church and Syriac Orthodox Church the use in liturgical music, as well as the Ethiopian musical notation system. Additionally, he composed Zema, or the chant tradition of Ethiopia, particularly the chants of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches, which are still performed today.
The Ethiopian calendar, or Ge'ez calendar, is the official calendar in Ethiopia. It is used as both the civil calendar and an ecclesiastical calendar. It is the liturgical year for Ethiopian and Eritrean Christians belonging to the Orthodox Tewahedo Churches, Eastern Catholic Churches, and Eastern Protestant Christian P'ent'ay Churches. Most Protestants in the diaspora have the option of choosing the Ethiopian calendar or the Gregorian calendar for religious holidays, with this option being used given that the corresponding eastern celebration is not a public holiday in the western world. The Ethiopian calendar is a solar calendar that has more in common with the Coptic calendar of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and Coptic Catholic Church, but like the Julian calendar, it adds a leap day every four years without exception, and begins the year on 29 August or 30 August in the Julian calendar. A gap of seven to eight years between the Ethiopian and Gregorian calendars results from an alternative calculation in determining the date of the Annunciation.
The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, also called Immaculate Conception Day, celebrates the sinless lifespan and Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, nine months before the feast of the Nativity of Mary, celebrated on 8 September. It is one of the most important Marian feasts in the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church celebrated worldwide.
In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, these feast days celebrate the cross itself, as the sign of salvation. In Western Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Lutheranism and Anglicanism the most common day of commemoration is 14 September, or 27 September in churches still using the Julian calendar.
Buhe is a feast day observed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church on 19 August. On this date, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrates the Transfiguration of Jesus on Mount Tabor.
In Christianity, the Nativity Fast—or Fast of the Prophets in Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church—is a period of abstinence and penance practiced by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church and Catholic Church in preparation for the Nativity of Jesus on December 25. Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches commence the season on November 24th and end the season on the day of Ethiopian Christmas which falls on 7th of January. The corresponding Western season of preparation for Christmas, which also has been called the Nativity Fast and St. Martin's Lent, has taken the name of Advent. The Eastern fast runs for 40 days instead of four or six weeks and thematically focuses on proclamation and glorification of the Incarnation of God, whereas the Western Advent focuses on three comings of Jesus Christ: his birth, reception of his grace by the faithful, and his Second Coming or Parousia.
The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Christian origin, the date selected being the anniversary of either their death or the translation of their relics.
The Copts, who belong mostly to the Coptic Orthodox Church, observe fasting periods according to the Coptic calendar. These fasting periods are exceeded by no other Christian community except the Orthodox Tewahedo. Out of the 365 days of the year, Copts often fast between 210 to 240 days. This means that Copts abstain from all animal products for up to two-thirds of each year. Coptic Orthodox fasts have evolved over time to become more lengthier and severer. A lifestyle involving such fasts may have contributed to the pacifist mindset of the Coptic people for centuries.
Abuna Aregawi was a sixth-century Syrian monk and canonized by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by the Ethiopian Catholic Church, as well as the Eritrean Orthodox Church. He is one of the Nine Saints, who came from the Roman Empire to Ethiopia, and are credited for founding many monasteries and churches and was the main force behind installing monasticism in Ethiopia
Fasika (Ge'ez: ፋሲካ, sometimes transcribed as Fasica; [ultimately from Aramaic פַּסְחָא ] is the Ge'ez, Amharic, and Tigrinya word for Easter, also called Tensae.
The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church, after Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Thus, the Eritrean Church accords a primacy of honor to the Coptic Church.
Orthodox Tewahedo refers to two Oriental Orthodox Christian denominations with shared beliefs, liturgy, and history. The Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon is common to both churches, as is Orthodox Tewahedo music.
The Kidane Mehret Church in Jerusalem, popularly known simply as the Ethiopian Church, is part of the Debre Genet monastery, whose name means "Monastery of Paradise".
Fasting and abstinence have historically constituted a major element of the practice of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, following the counsel of Saint Paul to "chastise the body and bring it under subjection" per 1 Corinthians 9:27. It is generally agreed, and asserted by the Church itself, that the fasting regime of the Ethiopian Church is the strictest of any Church, with 180 mandatory fasting days for laypeople and up to 252 days for clergy and the particularly observant. The general list of fasts are laid out in the Fetha Negest.
On 20 January 2022, a group of Oromia police officers fired at Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo followers while the congregants transporting a tabot to Woybela Mariam Church during feast day of Saint Michael in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing three people from direct gunshot, and injuring ten other people.
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 Church and classified into fourteen anaphoras, with the normal use being the Twelve Apostles.