The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the Church that Haile Selassie I defends, One of His titles is Defender of the Faith and it is This Faith that he defends.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest organized churches (If not the oldest) in the world and dates back to biblical times (Read Acts 8:27-39 to learn more).

There are major differences between Rastafari and Haile Selassie's Church. The first being the worship of Emperor Haile Selassie as the Messiah/Savior. The church has stated many times that their commission from Emperor Haile Selassie was to lead Rastafarians away from worshiping him and turn to the worshipping of the God he worshipped. It is said that upon his return to Ethiopia from Jamaica, the Emperor spoke to Abuna Yesehaq, the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and declared "There is a problem in Jamaica.... Please, help these people. They are misunderstanding, they do not understand our culture.... They need a church to be established and you are chosen to go."

Initially many in the Rastafarian community welcomed the church however when it became clear that to be baptized in the church, a Rastafarian had to renounce the divinity of Haile Selassie, the problems started. The church today has continued to maintain the stance that it would only baptize in the name of Jesus Christ and not Haile Selassie.