The OCMS Ethiopian Orthodox Project was recently featured by Scriptura, a group committed to helping Bible translators engage more fully with the beauty and complexity of Scripture’s poetry.
The presentation was given by Dr Ralph Lee, OCMS faculty member and lead on the Orthodox Project, together with Dr Calum Samuelson, Research Associate on the project. They introduced listeners to qǝne, the extempore poetic tradition of the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Täwaḥǝdo Churches, and shared some of the team’s work on how these deeply layered poems can be understood and translated.
Qǝne is a complex and spiritually formative poetic tradition, known for its “Wax and Gold” method of meaning-making, where words and phrases carry multiple layers of significance. In the session, Ralph and Calum explored both the tradition itself and the innovative translation methods being developed through the project in collaboration with the Stockholm School of Eastern Christian Studies.
The conversation was a particularly good fit for Scriptura, whose work supports Bible translators in engaging the language, emotion, and poetic beauty of biblical texts, especially the Psalms. Their interest in how poetry can be translated with both accuracy and depth made this a natural meeting point.
It was encouraging to see the Ethiopian Orthodox Project contributing to a wider discussion about Scripture, poetry, translation, and the resources needed to help the global church engage more fully with rich textual traditions.
You can watch the presentation online here