About Our Church

The full name of our congregation is Gishen Debre Kerbe Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The church is also known as Gishen Debre Kerbe Mariam Church (“Gishen Debre Kerbe Mariam EOTC”).

The Church was incorporated as a British Columbia Society in March 2012. However, the Vancouver Ethiopian Orthodox Congregation has been active and has served the community since 1995. It was first incorporated as an Extra-Provincial Society under the Ontario Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Canada. Due to the various conflicts with in, the Vancouver congregation had gone through multiple challenges for about 18 years, from 1994 to 2012. Since the incorporation of our church as a society in British Columbia in the name of “Gishen Debre Kerbe Mariam Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church,” its regular congregants or membership established an unbreakable bond based on love & respect. We are all siblings in Christ.

The following are our church purposes based on the principles of Orthodox Tewahedo teachings:

To maintain a local Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christian community under the authority and protection of the Ruling Bishop of the Diocese of Western Canada; and to worship God in accordance with the tradition of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.
To preserve, protect, defend and propagate the Holy Orthodox Tewahedo Faith.
To provide charitable aid to the poor and Christian education for its members, their children, and others in the community
To build and maintain churches, chapels, schools and such other religious, educational and benevolent institutions for families, children, and seniors and to provide immigration and integration services to children, women, and seniors' services, as expedient.
To maintain Patriarchal succession in accordance with EOTC
To be ever ready to accept into its fellowship, all persons who desire to follow the Orthodox Tewahedo Faith, that is, become members of the EOTC and to live in accordance with its teachings.