Sabbath

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church uniquely observes both Saturday (Sanbat) as the Sabbath and Sunday (Qidame) as the Lord's Day of Resurrection. Saturday is kept in honor of the fourth commandment and the Old Testament Sabbath, which the Ethiopian tradition regards as unabrogated by the New Covenant; Sunday is celebrated as the Day of the Resurrection and the inauguration of the new creation. This dual Sabbath observance distinguishes the Ethiopian (and Eritrean) Orthodox tradition from all other mainstream Christian churches.

The Ethiopian canon's inclusion of the Book of Jubilees—which strongly emphasizes the eternal and binding nature of the Sabbath—reinforces this dual observance. Both days include liturgical prayer and, ideally, Eucharistic celebration. Fasting is prohibited on both Saturday and Sunday. This practice reflects the Ethiopian church's sense of standing in strong continuity with both Old and New Testaments—a characteristic of Ethiopian Christian identity rooted in its Solomonic self-understanding.