Ethiopian Monks Just Released a Forbidden Page From The Bible — The Church Tried to Destroy It
A Secret Preserved for 1,500 Years
Deep in the mountains of northern Ethiopia, inside an ancient monastery carved into stone cliffs, monks guarded manuscripts for centuries.
These texts were not ordinary religious documents. According to recent research, they may contain some of the oldest Christian writings and illustrations ever discovered.
Researchers from University of Oxford eventually confirmed that these manuscripts had been preserved in the same monastery for nearly 1,500 years.
But the real mystery began when reports surfaced that some monks had once been instructed to destroy a specific page.
Instead of destroying it, they protected it.
And what that page reportedly describes could challenge parts of the traditional Christian narrative.
Ethiopia: One of the First Christian Nations
The Ancient Kingdom of Aksum
Christianity reached Ethiopia very early in history.
In the 4th century, the ruler of the Kingdom of Aksum, King Ezana, converted to Christianity after being influenced by a missionary named Frumentius.
This made Ethiopia one of the first Christian kingdoms in the world, even before Christianity became dominant in the Roman Empire.
Because of its isolated highland geography, Ethiopia developed its own Christian traditions and preserved texts that disappeared elsewhere.
A Different Biblical Canon
Most Christians today follow one of two main biblical traditions:
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The Protestant Bible contains 66 books
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The Catholic Bible contains 73 books
However, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has a much larger canon.
Its Bible contains 81 books, the largest canonical collection in traditional Christianity.
These additional texts include:
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Book of Enoch
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Book of Jubilees
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Mashafa Kedan (Book of the Covenant)
Many of these texts disappeared from Western Christianity centuries ago but survived in Ethiopia.
The Hidden Monastery
Abba Garima Monastery
The manuscripts were preserved in Abba Garima Monastery, located in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia.
Reaching the monastery requires climbing steep paths carved into rock cliffs.
Inside the monastery, manuscripts are stored in leather cases made from animal hide.
The pages themselves are written on vellum, a material made from prepared animal skin.
These manuscripts have been copied and protected by generations of monks.
Discovery by Western Scholars
The First Documentation
In the 1950s, a British historian named Beatrice Playne became the first Western scholar to document the manuscripts.
Because women were not allowed inside the monastery, monks carried the manuscripts outside so she could study them.
She immediately noticed the ancient artistic style of the illustrations and suspected they were extremely old.
But the true age would not be confirmed until decades later.
The Garima Gospels
The Oldest Illustrated Christian Manuscripts
In the early 2000s, specialists from the Ethiopian Heritage Fund began carefully restoring the manuscripts.
The texts became known as the Garima Gospels.
Radiocarbon testing performed at University of Oxford dated the parchment between 330 and 650 CE.
This means the Garima Gospels may be the oldest surviving illustrated Christian manuscripts in the world.
For comparison, the famous Rabbula Gospels from Syria date to 586 CE.
Some Garima manuscripts may be even older.
A Textual Tradition Older Than the Western Bible
Scholars analyzing the manuscripts discovered something remarkable.
The text appears to belong to an early Byzantine textual tradition, which predates many later revisions of the Bible used in Western Christianity.
This means the Ethiopian version may preserve a much older form of the Gospel text.
In other words, these manuscripts might be closer to the earliest Christian writings than many later versions.
The Book of Enoch
A Lost Text Preserved in Ethiopia
One of the most important texts preserved in Ethiopia is the Book of Enoch.
For centuries, Western scholars believed this book had been completely lost.
However, Ethiopian monks had preserved the full text in the ancient language Ge’ez.
In 1773, the Scottish explorer James Bruce brought copies of the manuscript to Europe.
Later discoveries of the Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed that the Ethiopian version preserved an authentic ancient tradition.
The Controversial Text
The Book of the Covenant
Among the most mysterious Ethiopian texts is the Mashafa Kedan (Book of the Covenant).
This book contains accounts describing the period after the resurrection of Jesus.
Unlike the canonical gospels, these writings claim that Jesus remained with his disciples for a longer period, teaching them deeper explanations about the nature of the divine.
Some reports suggest that within this text is a passage where Jesus warns that his teachings may later be altered or narrowed by institutions.
According to some monks, this passage was the reason certain authorities wanted the page destroyed.
However, the exact wording has not yet been officially translated or published in academic journals.
War and the Protection of the Manuscripts
The Tigray Conflict
In 2020, war erupted in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
During the conflict, a monk named Father Gebre Sadi made a dangerous decision.
Fearing the manuscripts could be destroyed, he secretly removed the Garima Gospels from the monastery and hid them.
Shortly afterward, soldiers occupied the monastery and looted or destroyed many items.
But the manuscripts survived.
After the conflict ended, the monk returned them safely to the monastery.
Why These Texts Matter
The Ethiopian tradition shows that early Christianity was far more diverse than many people realize.
Across history, different communities preserved different texts.
Many early writings disappeared during the formation of the biblical canon.
Ethiopia, because of its isolation, preserved some of these traditions.
Some scholars believe these texts may represent an older layer of Christianity, before later theological boundaries were established.
The Mystery of the Missing Page
The most intriguing question remains unresolved.
Some accounts claim that monks were instructed to destroy a specific passage describing a warning from Jesus about how his teachings might be controlled or altered by future institutions.
But the monks chose to protect the text instead.
To this day, the full passage has not been publicly released in a verified academic translation.
Which leaves a powerful question.
Was this text truly suppressed?
Or were the monks simply waiting for the right time to reveal it?
