Are there English translations or critical editions of the books unique to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church?
Executive summary
Yes — many books unique to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church have been rendered into English in part, and there are both commercial compilations and scholarly projects that claim to translate the Ethiopic canon; however, gaps and disputes remain about which texts have authoritative, complete English translations or critical editions [1] [2] [3]. Specialist efforts continue — some texts were edited in Geʽez with Latin notes in the 19th century, and contemporary projects aim to fill remaining lacunae — but no single, universally accepted complete critical English edition of every uniquely Ethiopian canon text is established in the sources reviewed [2] [4] [5].
1. What counts as “books unique” to the Ethiopian canon
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church recognizes an expansive canon — commonly described as 81 books — that includes books not found in other Christian canons (for example, 1–3 Meqabyan and expanded Jeremiah/Baruch material), and it also contains a body of church-order and liturgical writings unique to the tradition [6] [3] [7]. Scholarship emphasizes that some of these works are difficult to locate and are unevenly available even within Ethiopia and Eritrea, making any assessment of English coverage necessarily provisional [3].
2. Commercial “complete” English Bibles: ambitious claims, mixed reliability
There are commercial volumes marketed as complete Ethiopian Bibles in English that advertise inclusion of Enoch, Jubilees, Meqabyan, and other deuterocanonical/apocryphal material, promising a full 81- or even 88-book canon to readers [1]. Such editions may be valuable for general readers, but independent commentary from specialist projects and critics warns that many commercial compilations are either selective, assembled from earlier partial translations, or mislabelled — and should not be mistaken for critical editions grounded in Geʽez manuscripts and scholarly apparatus [1] [2].
3. Scholarly and grassroots translation efforts: partial, careful, contested
Scholarly work dates back at least to August Dillmann’s 19th-century editions in Geʽez with Latin notes, which remain reference points for later translators [2]. Contemporary projects such as the Ethiopian Orthodox Bible Project explicitly document that certain texts “are not known to exist in any complete English translation” and advocate careful, manuscript-based work rather than repackaging unreliable compilations [2] [5]. Peer-reviewed discussion of the canon — including articles in The Bible Translator — treats the canon as a complex, historically contingent field and calls for rigorous philological study of Syriac, Greek, Geʽez and manuscript histories [4].
4. Which texts remain problematic or untranslated
Authoritative project statements and specialist commentary single out specific items — notably certain Baruch/Jeremiah cycle materials, parts of the broader “Books of Synodos” and some liturgical/constitutional texts — as lacking complete, reliable English translations or critical editions, even while fragments or older Latin/European editions exist [2] [7] [3]. The Ethiopian Orthodox Bible Project warns that some widely sold “complete” editions nevertheless omit or mistranslate items, and that truly complete, manuscript-founded English editions for several canonical works are still wanting [2] [5].
5. Reading the landscape: what to trust and what to watch for
Readers seeking authoritative English texts should prioritize scholarship grounded in Geʽez manuscript editions, transparent editorial notes, and peer review rather than marketing claims; 19th-century critical editions and ongoing specialist projects are the most reliable signposts, while many mass-market compilations must be treated with caution [2] [4] [1]. The Ethiopian Church itself has recently produced and publicized Geez editions of the full canon (reported releases in Geez), but converting that achievement into a single, definitive English critical edition remains a work in progress according to the sources reviewed [8] [3].