We all know that passage from Acts 8, where Philip preached and baptized the Ethiopian Eunuch.
I've read in an article that Ethiopian Christian tradition talks about this Eunuch, who came from Jerusalem with the message of Jesus.
But are there any early Ethiopian records of that story? I've searched and found nothing.
Around 180 CE, Irenaeus summarises the account in Acts 8, then writes:
Against Heresies III.12.8: This man was also sent into the regions of Ethiopia, to preach what he had himself believed...
The account in Against Heresies does not prove the existence of an earlier Ethiopian record, given that, while he was familiar with Acts of the Apostles, Irenaeus did not visit Ethiopia. It is even possible the account by Irenaeus may be the earliest reference to the Ethiopian eunuch preaching in Ethiopia.
So many doubtful Christian and Jewish traditions are held in Ethiopia, that caution is required when accepting any Ethiopian Christian tradition unless verified by ancient records of known provenance. According to one story, Ethiopian Queen Makeda travelled to Jerusalem in the tenth century BCE, to learn from King Solomon how to be a good ruler; she was so impressed with Solomon that she converted to Judaism. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church also claims to house the Biblical Ark of the Covenant, given to Mekeda's son by King Solomon.
Christianity became the state religion of Ethiopia in 330 CE. There may have been Christians in the region even before this date, but Wikipedia says that pinpointing a date as to when Christianity emerged in Ethiopia is uncertain. In order to eliminate any risk of contamination by Ethiopian nationalism, the earliest Ethiopian accounts of the eunuch ought to be supported by extant physical records that can be dated before the fourth century.
The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: Acts-Philemon, Volume 2 (page 65) says there is no record of the influence of Christianity in that regions before the fourth century, from which we can infer that there is no early Ethiopian record of the eunuch, dating from before the fourth century. The most reliable information about the eunuch preaching in Ethiopia comes from Irenaeus, followed by the fourth-century Christian historian, Eusebius.
