Christianity reached Ethiopia in the mid-4th century CE with the baptism of King ‘Ezânâ. It was introduced by monks from Syria. Although some manuscripts from prior to the 10th century are preserved, the Gospels are considered to be the first texts to have been translated into Ge’ez, probably around the 5th century.

Ge’ez, or Old Ethiopic, remains the liturgical language of the Ethiopian Church to this day. Unlike other Semitic languages, Ethiopic script runs left to right and has only unconnected letters.

In Ethiopia, the New Testament is not always contained in a single codex, but rather, in general, the Gospels are published separately. In Ethiopian liturgy, after the words of the divine office, the Gospel Book is handed to each of the faithful, who kiss it as a sign of reverence.

Gospel books from Ethiopia characteristically contain a preface and, after an introduction dedicated to the nature, use and order of the Gospels, the letter from Eusebius of Caesarea (Epistula ad Carpianum), the Eusebian tables of concordance with graphic details and, finally, the Gospels.