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Tewahedo

PinnedInspired by Tawahdo.org·7/30/2026·10 min read

On Addressing the Virgin Mary in Prayer

When we ask the Virgin Mary to intercede for us, we're addressing her — not praying to her. That distinction matters, and it's actually well grounded in Scripture, which shows this same kind of address happening all over the Psalms: to angels, to nature, to people, to one's own soul, even to evil spirits. None of that counts as prayer to those things. So if it's fine to address all of that within our prayers, why would addressing our mother the Virgin be any different?

Take angels, for instance. The Psalms call on them directly — mighty beings who carry out God's word and listen for His voice — and tell them to bless the Lord (Psalm 103:20–21), then widen the call to the whole heavenly host (Psalm 148:1–2).

Or nature. The Psalmist talks straight to the sun, the moon, the stars, the skies — telling them to praise God because He made them — and keeps going, addressing the seas, the weather, the mountains, even the trees (Psalm 148:3–9).

Jerusalem itself gets spoken to as well, told to praise God for strengthening her gates and blessing her people (Psalm 147:12–13), and elsewhere described as a city about which glorious things are said (Psalm 87:3).

People are addressed constantly throughout the Psalms — called to clap, to shout, to come and see what God has done (Psalm 47:1; 46:8), warned not to put their trust in princes or mere men (Psalm 146:3), and urged as "mighty ones" and servants of the Lord to give Him the glory due His name (Psalm 113:1; 29:1–2; 103:22).

Worshippers even address themselves. "Bless the Lord, O my soul," the Psalmist says, reminding himself of all God's benefits (Psalm 103:1–5), or asks his own soul why it's downcast and tells it to hope in God (Psalm 42:5). The Twelfth Hour Prayer does the same thing, calling the soul to repentance while it still has time on earth.

And prayer even turns to address evil directly — telling wrongdoers and adversarial spirits to depart because God has heard the weeping and pleading of His people (Psalm 6:8–10).

None of this means we're praying to angels, nature, people, ourselves, or the devil — that would obviously be wrong. It's simply how prayer has always worked biblically: addressing many different things within the act of prayer itself. Paul points to this same pattern when he describes believers gathering with psalms to share (1 Corinthians 14:26), and when he tells them to speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16). Given how thoroughly Scripture models this, there's nothing wrong with addressing our mother the Virgin in the same way during prayer — doing so isn't praying to her.

As for her perpetual virginity — that's a subject the Church Fathers wrestled with as far back as the second through fifth centuries, and it remains something the Orthodox Church holds to firmly.

Church clergy·7/28/2026·5 min read

What Does "Tewahedo" Mean?

Tewahedo (ተዋሕዶ) is a Ge'ez word meaning "being made one" or "unified." It refers to the Church's core belief about Jesus Christ: that His divine nature and human nature are united into one perfect nature, not two separate natures acting together. This is why the Church is called "Tewahedo Orthodox" — it's a defining belief, not just a name.

A Little History

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church traces itself back to the 1st century, connected to the Ethiopian eunuch baptized by Philip in Acts 8.
Christianity became the official religion of the Aksumite Kingdom in the 4th century, largely through Abune Selama (Frumentius), known as "Kesate Birhan" (Revealer of Light).
The Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches belong to the family of Oriental Orthodox Churches (along with Coptic, Armenian, Syriac, and Malankara churches), separate from Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches since the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) over this exact question of Christ's nature.

Core Beliefs (Simple Version)

One God, Three Persons — Father, Son, Holy Spirit (the Trinity).
Christ is fully God and fully man, united as one nature — this is the "Tewahedo" belief.
The Bible — includes 81 books (more than many Western Bibles), including books like Enoch and Jubilees.
Mary (Kidist Mariam) — deeply honored as the Mother of God (Theotokos).
Saints and Angels — honored as examples and intercessors.
Fasting — a major spiritual practice; Tewahedo Christians fast (avoiding meat and dairy) for over 180 days a year, including the 55-day Great Lent.

Worship Style

Services are held in Ge'ez, the ancient liturgical language.
Worship includes chanting, drums (kebero), prayer sticks (used for standing prayer during long services), and incense.
Churches are often built in three concentric circles, representing the Holy of Holies, the sanctuary, and the outer area for the congregation.

Introduction

Orthodox Faith Lecture Series·7/31/2026·10 min read

Preface

Part of the Orthodox Faith lecture series, hosted by suscopts.org.

Doctrine

Tewahedo

On Addressing the Virgin Mary in Prayer

What Does "Tewahedo" Mean?

A Little History

Core Beliefs (Simple Version)

Worship Style

Introduction

Preface

Introduction

Holy Tradition

Holy Tradition

Benefits of Holy Tradition

Tradition & Orthodoxy

False Traditions

Sola Scriptura

Holy Scriptures

Authenticity & Reliability of the Holy Bible

Infallibility of the Holy Bible

Biblical Interpretation

Alleged Discrepancies of the Holy Bible

How to Read the Holy Bible?

Theology

Theological Preliminaries

The Existence of God

The Attributes of God

Biblical Foundations of the Trinitarian Faith

Trinitarian Analogies

Trinitarian Heresies

The Triunity of God

Trinitarian Terminology & Vocabulary

Implication of the Concept of Perichoresis

Pneumatology

The Person of the Holy Spirit

The Deity of the Holy Spirit

The Filioque Controversy

Speaking in Tongues

Christology

Heresies Concerning the Nature of our Lord Jesus Christ

The Nature of our Lord Jesus Christ

Biblical Defense of Our Faith

Lord Jesus Christ & the Father

Lord Jesus Christ & God's Attributes

Lord Jesus Christ & God's Works

Things Hard to Understand (Holy Gospel of St. John)

Things Hard to Understand (Holy Gospel of St. Matthew)

Things Hard to Understand (Holy Epistles of St. Paul)

Soteriology

Original Sin & Atonement

Scope of Salvation

The Pelagian Controversy

Grace in the Orthodox Perspective

Predestination in the Orthodox Perspective

Would a Believer Perish?

Confidence in Salvation

Salvation in the Orthodox Perspective

Faith in the Orthodox Perspective

Faith vs. Works

Works in the Orthodox Perspective

The Salvation of the Thief

Ecclesiology

The Doctrine of the Church

The Notes of the Church

The Church & our Salvation

The Alleged Primacy of St. Peter

The Alleged Papal Infallibility

Holy Sacraments

What is a Sacrament?

The Sacrament of Priesthood

The Order of Melchizedek

The Question of Women's Ordination

The Sacrament of Baptism

Baptism in the Holy Gospels

Baptism in the Holy Book of Acts

Baptism in the Holy Pauline Epistles

Baptism in the Holy Catholic Epistles

The Sacrament of Confirmation

The Sacrament of the Eucharist

The Question of the Real Presence

The Church Fathers & the Real Presence