Early Christian literature in Ethiopic

ALIN SUCIU: Panel on Early Christian Literature Preserved in Classical Ethiopic (Ge’ez) (from Timothy B. Sailors). The Panel meets in Warsaw at the 19th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in August of 2015.

One of the more important sources for the study of early Christian literature are the versions of these writings preserved in Classical Ethiopic (Ge’ez). This panel will provide the opportunity to focus upon the all too often under-appreciated Ge’ez versions of these works of literature originally composed in the first several Christian centuries. These include books that would come to be part of the Christian Bible, writings categorized among the so-called ‘Apostolic Fathers’ or ‘Apologists’ or ‘Church Fathers’ and so-called early Christian ‘Apocrypha’, consisting, for example, of apocalypses, acts of apostles and testaments. Moreover, many of the ancient church orders from this era are importantly preserved in Ge’ez versions, as are other writings of a monastic, didactic or legendary nature.

As is well known, some important Jewish literature from the Second Temple period — 1 Enoch and Jubilees – is also preserved complete only in Ethiopic.