The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (747 page)

Ethiopian Orthodox Church
.

The
monophysite
national church of Ethiopia. The Church entertains legends of its origin in the preaching of Matthew or the eunuch of Acts 8. 26–39, but the planting of Christianity in the country actually dates from the 4th-cent. work of Frumentius at the royal court. Frumentius was consecrated the first
Abuna
(patriarch) by Athanasius of Alexandria (
c.
340), thus establishing the dependence of the Church on the Church of Egypt. It became isolated from the rest of Christendom by the Islamic conquests of the 7th and 8th cents.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is in communion with the other
Oriental Orthodox Churches
. It is unique, however, in its observance of Jewish practices, e.g. the keeping of the
Sabbath
,
circumcision
, and the distinction of clean and unclean meats. The Church also claims a connection with biblical Israel through the Queen of Sheba. How these Jewish themes and legends in Ethiopian Christianity are to be explained is very obscure. See also
FALASHAS
.

 
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Eto
:

see
CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
.

 
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Etrog
.

Citron fruit used on the Jewish festival of Sukkot. The etrog is one of the
four species
used as part of the liturgy.

 
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(Gk.,
eucharistia
, ‘thanksgiving’). The principal service of Christian worship, at least in non-
Protestant
churches. It is also variously called (Holy)
Communion
, the
Lord's Supper
, and the
Mass
. The earliest account of the eucharist is
Paul's
reference to the ‘Lord's supper’ in 1 Corinthians 11. 23–5, which attributes its institution to the words and actions of Jesus at the
Last Supper
and identifies the bread and the ‘cup’ with his body and blood.

 
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(Gk.). The book containing the text and rubrics for the Orthodox liturgy of the
eucharist
, fixed parts of the daily
office
, and the other sacraments and minor rituals.

 
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Eudaimonism
(human flourishing)
:

see
ETHICS
.

 
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