COVENANT
“Book of the Covenant” or “Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ”
Forty Days. One mission. Call to Holiness, community, and apostolic purpose. From resurrection to commission, the lost teachings that formed the early Church. This work is unique to the Ethiopian broader New Testament, comprising two volumes. It claims to record Jesus’ instructions to the apostles during the forty days between HIS Resurrection and Ascension, situating it within apostolic tradition.Christ’s Post‑Resurrection Ethical Teaching:
Jesus emphasizes moral purity, spiritual equality, and Holy living, echoing themes found in (Matthew 5:48), reinforcing that resurrection invites a transformed, communal ethic.Community Order & Clergy Roles:
The Ethiopian Bible and the Book of the Covenant are officially canonized within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, one of the oldest Christian traditions in the world. The early centuries of Christianity in Ethiopia, likely between the 4th and 6th centuries AD finalized its canon, though it has developed over time with liturgical usage. Detailing clear governance: hierarchies of bishops, priests, deacons; roles for widows, virgins, and presbyteresses; and norms for liturgy and discipline. Presbyter is an elder or minister, Greek presbyteros, meaning “elder”. Presbyteress is a female form, meaning a woman elder or a woman with ministerial duties.Celibacy & Spiritual Equality:
The teachings strongly encourage celibacy among ministers, mandate sexual purity, and affirm formal roles for women, within ecclesiastical leadership.Inclusivity & Shared Ministry:
Women and men are depicted as co‑responsible in the church, both praying and ministering. Female elders are recognized and serve alongside male counterparts.Support for Clergy Structure:
Validates formal ministry roles absent explicit New Testament mandates, especially for women serving as presbyteresses. Western scholarship generally regards these texts as post‑apostolic, 3rd–7th century compilations, not Scripture in the same sense as canonical writings. Beloved, Christ’s resurrection is not the end, it is the new beginning. According to the Book of the Covenant, Jesus spent forty days renewing the call to Holiness, to community, to shared ministry, and to purity of life, (Acts 1:3). HE speaks not only of belief, but also of becoming, becoming a people formed by virtue and service, united in spirit, whether male or female, clergy or congregation. There is no warrant here for exclusion; rather, there is a summons: to order our lives, to honor one another, to uphold community, and to live as the resurrected Body of Christ. The incorporation of this Book as scripture signals a deep integration of governance into the sacred, a conviction about the sanctity of church order worth thoughtful reflection. Deserves study as a liturgical‑ethical text reflecting early church formation in Ethiopia, but should not be equated with the four canonical Gospels or apostolic Epistles. Its instructions on spiritual equality and church structure offer a fascinating contrast to Western ecclesiology.