Scholars revisiting ancient Ethiopian biblical manuscripts have revealed long-preserved passages describing Jesus’ words after His resurrection, showing how centuries of geographic and historical separation shaped Scripture—and leaving modern readers both astonished and deeply moved.

For nearly two millennia, Christians across continents have read familiar accounts of Jesus’ resurrection, His appearances to the disciples, and His final words before the Ascension.

Yet beyond the pages of the Western biblical canon, an ancient Christian tradition preserved in Ethiopia has long guarded a broader collection of sacred texts—some of which include post-resurrection teachings attributed to Jesus that many believers elsewhere have never encountered.

Now, renewed scholarly attention to these manuscripts is pushing one of Christianity’s oldest canons back into the global conversation and raising fresh questions about how Scripture took shape.

The Ethiopian Bible, maintained by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, is widely regarded by historians as the most extensive biblical canon still in continuous use.

While most Western Bibles contain 66 books and Catholic editions include 73, the Ethiopian canon encompasses more than 80 texts, written and transmitted in Ge’ez, an ancient Semitic language used in Ethiopian liturgy for centuries.

Among these are books such as 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and lesser-known writings that were revered in early Christian communities but later excluded as theological debates intensified across the Roman and Byzantine worlds.

At the center of the renewed interest is a cluster of passages describing Jesus’ words and teachings after His resurrection—texts that do not contradict the familiar Gospel narratives but expand upon them.

According to Ethiopian tradition, these writings were not “hidden” in the sense of a secret vault; rather, they were never removed from Ethiopia’s Christian life.

While church councils in late antiquity worked to standardize Scripture elsewhere, the Ethiopian Church, geographically distant from imperial centers of power, preserved a wider inheritance of early Christian literature.

Scholars involved in recent re-examinations emphasize that these passages should be understood in historical context.

Many early Christians believed Jesus continued teaching His followers for weeks after the resurrection, offering guidance on faith, judgment, mercy, and the end of days.

Some Ethiopian texts echo these themes, presenting Jesus as urging compassion, warning against hypocrisy, and emphasizing spiritual readiness rather than political power.

“What stands out is not sensational new doctrine,” explained one historian of early Christianity during a recent academic symposium, “but how closely these teachings align with ideas circulating in the first centuries of the church.”

Manuscripts containing these passages date back more than a thousand years, with some textual traditions believed to preserve even earlier oral sources.

Carbon dating and paleographic analysis confirm that many Ethiopian biblical manuscripts are among the oldest surviving witnesses to Christian Scripture.

Their survival is due in part to Ethiopia’s unique historical path: Christianity became the state religion of the Aksumite Empire in the fourth century, and its church developed independently of Rome and Constantinople, largely insulated from later theological purges and political reforms.

The renewed debate was sparked when a group of international researchers began digitizing Ethiopian manuscripts in the late 2010s, making high-resolution images available to scholars worldwide.

As translations improved, attention returned to passages describing Jesus’ post-resurrection instructions—texts long familiar to Ethiopian clergy but largely unknown outside the region.

Social media amplified the story, often framing it as a “hidden message” suppressed by the West, a claim most historians reject.

Instead, they point to differing canonical traditions shaped by geography, language, and historical circumstance.

Religious leaders within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church have responded calmly to the sudden global fascination.

One senior cleric remarked during a recent interview that “these writings have never been controversial to us; they are part of the faith we received.

” He added that the renewed attention offers an opportunity for dialogue rather than division, encouraging Christians worldwide to learn how diverse early Christianity truly was.

The implications extend beyond theology.

For historians, the Ethiopian Bible underscores how fragile the idea of a single, universal canon can be when viewed through the lens of antiquity.

Texts now considered “apocryphal” were once read aloud in churches, quoted by early theologians, and copied by devoted scribes.

The Ethiopian tradition preserved this broader landscape while other regions narrowed it.

As scholars continue translating and contextualizing these manuscripts, few claim they rewrite Christian belief.

But many agree they enrich it, offering a fuller picture of how the earliest followers of Jesus understood His resurrection and His message.

What was once overlooked due to distance and language is now prompting a reassessment of Christianity’s formative centuries—and reminding the modern world that history often survives in places far from the centers of power that once tried to define it.