Old Testament customs, including as prohibitions on pork and other non-kosher items, are upheld tenaciously by Ethiopian Orthodox Churches. They also place a lot of emphasis on particular feast and fast days.It is customary for worshipers to take off their shoes before entering a church. Women sit apart from men and are not permitted to enter while they are menstruating.
Each of the Ethiopian Orthodox churches has a patron saint to whom they routinely worship in addition to Mary. Exorcism is another widespread practice. The local dialect is typically used in Ethiopian Orthodox churches for preaching and other forms of communication, but all liturgy is conducted in the Ge’ez language, which is no longer used for anything else.
The largest Oriental Orthodox Church in Ethiopia is the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Before the Great Schism, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church split from mainstream Christianity and now only acknowledges the first three ecumenical councils: Nicea, Constantinople, and Ephesus.
Exorcisms, food restrictions, and the use of the now-extinct language Ge’ez for official liturgical purposes are just a few of the Old Testament commandments that Ethiopian Orthodox churches place a heavy emphasis on. Additionally, they establish clear guidelines for who is eligible to partake in communion and dedicate their church structures to patron saints. More than 40 million people are reportedly members of this denomination.
