Christianity in Ethiopia dates to the 1st century AD, and this long tradition makes
Ethiopia unique amongst sub-Saharan African countries. Christianity in this country is divided into several groups. The largest and oldest is the
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (in Amharic: የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተክርስትያን Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan) is an Oriental Orthodox church in
Ethiopia that was part of the
Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by
Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa
Cyril VI.