Orthodox Theology: Views from Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

Orthodox theology refers to the study and interpretation of Christian belief, practice, and doctrine within the Orthodox Churches. Among others, it encompasses a wide range of topics such as Christology, ecclesiology, sacraments, eschatology, and the nature of God. Orthodox theology is based on the Holy Scriptures, the early Christian writings, the teachings of the Church Fathers, and the decisions of the Ecumenical Councils. The ultimate goal of Orthodox theology is to deepen one's understanding of God and to facilitate communion with Him through prayer, worship, and the sacraments.

Orthodox theology encompasses a wide range of topics, but some of the most important ones include:

1. Theology proper, which deals with the study of God, including His nature and attributes.
2. Christology: the study of the person and work of Jesus Christ, including His incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension.
3. Pneumatology: the study of the Holy Spirit, including His role in the life of believers and the church.
4. Anthropology: the study of human beings, including our creation, fall, and redemption.
5. Ecclesiology: the study of the church, including its nature, mission, and sacraments.
6. Eschatology: the study of the end times, including the second coming of Christ, the final judgment, and eternal life.
7. Ethics: the study of moral principles and values, including issues related to social justice, bioethics, and environmental stewardship.

These are just some of the main topics that are typically covered in Orthodox theology. Other important areas of study might include liturgy, spirituality, and the history of the Church. 

This article focuses on the section related to Theology Proper from the list provided above.

1.     Theology Proper

Theology proper in Orthodox theology refers to the study of God - His nature, attributes, and relationship to the world and humanity. Here are some key aspects of the Orthodox Church's understanding of theology proper:

a. The Unity and Simplicity of God: The Orthodox Church believes that there is one God who is indivisible and simple. This means that God cannot be divided into parts or aspects - all of His attributes are present in every aspect of His being.

Biblical Evidence:

v  "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one." (Deuteronomy 6:4) “እስራኤል ሆይ፥ ስማ፤ አምላካችን እግዚአብሔር አንድ እግዚአብሔር ነው::”

v  "I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides me there is no god." (Isaiah 45:5)

“እኔ እግዚአብሔር ነኝ ከእኔም ሌላ ማንም የለም፤ ከእኔም በቀር አምላክ የለም::” 

Church Father Quote:

"The nature of God is single and undivided, and cannot admit of plurality." - Athanasius of Alexandria

b. The Trinity: The Orthodox Church affirms the doctrine of the Holy Trinity - that there is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity is fully God, yet distinct from the others.

Biblical Evidence:

v  "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

“እንግዲህ ሂዱና አሕዛብን ሁሉ በአብ በወልድና በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ስም እያጠመቃችኋቸው፥ ያዘዝኋችሁንም ሁሉ እንዲጠብቁ እያስተማራችኋቸው ደቀ መዛሙርት አድርጓቸው::”

v  "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Corinthians 13:14)

“የጌታ የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ጸጋ የእግዚአብሔርም ፍቅር የመንፈስ ቅዱስም ኅብረት ከሁላችሁ ጋር ይሁን።”

v  "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me." (John 15:26)

“ዳሩ ግን እኔ ከአብ ዘንድ የምልክላችሁ አጽናኝ እርሱም ከአብ የሚወጣ የእውነት መንፈስ በመጣ ጊዜ፥ እርሱ ስለ እኔ ይመሰክራል::”

Church Father Quote:

"We acknowledge the Trinity, holy and perfect, to consist of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." - Tertullian

c. The Uncreated and Eternal Nature of God: The Orthodox Church teaches that God is uncreated and eternal, existing before all things and beyond time and space. This means that God is not subject to change or decay, but is immutable and everlasting.

Biblical Evidence:

v  "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God." (Psalm 90:2)

“ተራሮች ሳይወለዱ፥ ምድርም ዓለምም ሳይሠሩ፥ ከዘላለም እስከ ዘላለም ድረስ አንተ ነህ።”

v  "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit.'" (Isaiah 57:15)

“ለዘላለም የሚኖር ስሙም ቅዱስ የሆነ፥ ከፍ ያለው ልዑል እንዲህ ይላል፦ የተዋረዱትን ሰዎች መንፈስ ሕያው አደርግ ዘንድ፥ የተቀጠቀጠውንም ልብ ሕያው አደርግ ዘንድ፥ የተቀጠቀጠና የተዋረደ መንፈስ ካለው ጋር በከፍታና በተቀደሰ ስፍራ እቀመጣለሁ።”

v  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

“ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ትናንትና ዛሬ እስከ ለዘላለምም ያው ነው።”

Church Father Quote:

 "There is no beginning of God since he is eternal, nor can any limit be conceived to his existence, since he is infinite." - John of Damascus

d.The Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence of God: The Orthodox Church believes that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere at once. This means that nothing is impossible for God and that He is intimately involved in every aspect of His creation.

Biblical Evidence:

v  "Ah, Lord GOD! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you." (Jeremiah 32:17)

“አቤቱ ጌታ እግዚአብሔር ሆይ፥ እነሆ፥ አንተ ሰማይንና ምድርን በታላቅ ኃይልህና በተዘረጋች ክንድህ ፈጥረሃል፥ ከአንተም የሚያቅት ነገር የለም።”

v  "Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure." (Psalm 147:5)

“ጌታችን ታላቅ ነው፥ ኃይሉም ታላቅ ነው፥ ለጥበቡም ቍጥር የለውም።”

v  "Am I a God at hand, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 23:23-24)

“እኔ የቅርብ አምላክ ነኝ እንጂ የሩቅ አምላክ አይደለሁም። ሰው በስውር ቢሸሸግ፥ እኔ አላየውምን? ሰማይንና ምድርንስ የሞላሁ እኔ አይደለሁምን? ይላል እግዚአብሔር፡፡”

Church Father Quote:

"God is everywhere present and fills all things." - Cyril of Alexandria

e. The Love and Mercy of God: The Orthodox Church emphasizes the loving and merciful nature of God, who desires the salvation of all people and offers forgiveness and redemption through Jesus Christ.

Biblical Evidence:

v  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

“በእርሱ የሚያምን ሁሉ የዘላለም ሕይወት እንዲኖረው እንጂ እንዳይጠፋ እግዚአብሔር አንድያ ልጁን እስኪሰጥ ድረስ ዓለሙን እንዲሁ ወዶአልና።”

v  "But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." (Psalm 86:15)

“አቤቱ፥ አንተ ግን መሓሪና ርኅሩኅ አምላክ ነህ፤ መዓትህ የራቀ ምሕረትህም እውነትህም የበዛ፤”

v  "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)

“ፍቅርም እንደዚህ ነው፤ እግዚአብሔር እርሱ ራሱ እንደ ወደደን ስለ ኃጢአታችንም ማስተስሪያ ይሆን ዘንድ ልጁን እንደ ላከ እንጂ እኛ እግዚአብሔርን እንደ ወደድነው አይደለም።”

Church Father Quote:

"God's goodness is unchangeable and eternal." - Augustine of Hippo

f. The Mystery of God: While affirming what can be known about God through revelation and reason, the Orthodox Church also acknowledges that God is ultimately beyond human comprehension and understanding. This element of mystery is an important part of the Orthodox approach to theology, which seeks to embrace the paradoxes and tensions inherent in the Christian faith.

v  "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:33)

“የእግዚአብሔር ባለ ጠግነትና ጥበብ እውቀቱም እንዴት ጥልቅ ነው፤ ፍርዱ እንዴት የማይመረመር ነው፥ ለመንገዱም ፍለጋ የለውም።”

v  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9)

“አሳቤ እንደ አሳባችሁ መንገዳችሁም እንደ መንገዴ አይደለምና፥ ይላል እግዚአብሔር፡፡ ሰማይ ከምድር ከፍ እንደሚል፥ እንዲሁ መንገዴ ከመንገዳችሁ አሳቤም ከአሳባችሁ ከፍ ያለ ነው።”

Church Father Quote:

"The more we know God, the more we understand that there is an infinite distance between Him and us." - John Chrysostom

In summary, Orthodox theology places a high value on the study of theology proper as a way of deepening our understanding of God and His relationship to the world. Through prayer, worship, and contemplation, Orthodox Christians seek to encounter God and grow in their knowledge and love of Him.