The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church holds that divine revelation is transmitted through both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Tradition includes the definitions of the three Ecumenical Councils accepted by Oriental Orthodox churches, the writings of the universal Fathers (especially the Alexandrian Fathers), the distinctly Ethiopian theological literature in Ge'ez (including the works of the Nine Saints and subsequent Ethiopian scholars), the ancient liturgical texts, and the Kebra Nagast.

The Kebra Nagast (Glory of Kings), a 14th-century compilation drawing on older Ethiopian, Egyptian, and Arab sources, occupies a unique place in Ethiopian Christian life—though not as canonical Scripture, it is regarded as a foundational theological and national narrative that situates Ethiopia within the history of salvation. The Ge'ez liturgical tradition is itself understood as a vehicle of divine Tradition, and the chant system of St. Yared is regarded as divinely inspired. Private revelations, however significant, do not add to the deposit of faith.