Contents

The exact contents of Sinodos varies considerably between manuscripts, especially in the portions that are not attributed to the apostles. The portions attributed to the apostles include multiple adaptations and translations of the same original texts which are interrelated in complex ways.

The books attributed to the apostles or Clement and included in the Ethiopian broader canon of scripture are:

• Ser’atä Seyon (30 canons)

• Te’ezaz (71 canons; the name means “Orders”)

• Gessew (56 canons; the name means “Exposition”)

• Abtelis (81 canons; the name is an adaptation of the Arabic version of Greek τίτλος, titlos; or Latin titulus, translated as “title”)

(Cowley, “Biblical Canon”; Mebratu, “Liturgical Cosmology,” 20n67; meanings of names from Bausi, “Heritage,” 17)

Sinodos also contains a variety of other material that is not attributed to the apostles and thus not included in the canon of scripture of the Ethiopian church. This includes a compilation of the canons of various local councils and of the council of Nicaea, as well as a compilation of homilies and treatises (Bausi, “Heritage,” 17–18).

For further details on the range of material generally included in Sinodos, see Bausi, “Heritage,” 16–18 and Hammerschmidt, “Pseudo-apostolische Schrifttum,” 116–18. These authors do not use the term Ser’atä Seyon, and it is not entirely clear how that title relates to the material they describe; however, comparing the list in Cowley, “Biblical Canon” with Bausi’s summary of Cowley, “Identification,” 41–42 suggests that it may be what Bausi identifies as Canons after the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Bausi, “Heritage,” 21). For the specific contents of two manuscripts of Sinodos, see Wright, Catalogue, 2–4, 266–269.