The Short Biography of Archbishop Abune Nathnael (1923- 2008 E.C)

March 10, 2016
By Kassa Nigus & Tsegaye Girma 

aba_natn.jpgHis Grace Abune Nathanael was born on May 12, 1923, to a pious Christian family in Eastern Tigray, Killite Awlalo province, parish of Awda Saint Giyorgis church. His father was Ato Gebre Hiwot Atsedu and his mother w/ro Welete Kristos Gibretu. His Grace was born when his parents in grief because of the death of their children born before him.

He grew in hardship since his parents died in his early age, first his father and later his mother. After the loss of his parents, he started to live with his sister. His sister planned to raise him in accordance with parenting habits of the localities, to shepherd livestock, engage in agricultural activities and eventually to lead a married life. But, God chose him to shepherd men.
 
His Grace once told his associates, “my father was a pious and had been called me, “Abatachin” to mean our father since my early age but I didn’t prefer it. My teacher and some men prophesized about my future fate saying, he will be a great man.”
Education
• He joined Nibab bet (where instructions are given to identify Ge’ez alphabet with their syllable and master readings of various religious texts) at Deriba Abune Asay Church, Yeneta Welde Gabriel. Then, he moved to different parts of the country to upgrade his religious education. Originally his name was called Kassa but later he was named Me’aza Kidusan in accordance with the custom of traditional school of the church which gave the disciples new names to protect them from their parents’ interference in their studies. 
 • He, then, went to Lasta, (Amera Mariam church) and Gojjam (Beyela Iyyesus church) and studied Tsome digua and Me’eraf from teachers in the respective parishes, Yeneta Hailu and Yeneta Mekonnen respectively. He further studied Zema, Qinie and Akuakuam in North and south Gondar, at Debark Deresge Maryam from Yeneta Menberu, and at Endabet Shime Giyorgis from Yeneta Tibebu.  
 
• He studied interpretation of Old and New Testament,  Wuddasie Maryam (Praise of St Mary)  and Kiddasie Maryam (Liturgy of St Mary), Fitha Negest (Justice of kings), Timhirte Hibu’at and Kidan commentary. 
 
• He also perused his studies for two years and received a diploma in Theology from Holy Trinity College. 
 
• Through the scholarship award by Emperor Haile Sillasie, he was sent to Jerusalem St Georg Anglican Church and studied Church History and Administration for two and a half years. 
 
• Through the facilitation of Ministry of Education, he also went to England Oxford Osherop Catholic College for four years and graduated in Bachelor of Dignity Basic Philosophy Super mental and Developmental Psychology. His Grace was among high-ranking intellectuals of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church fathers. 
Ordination
• In 19 38, he was ordained Deacon by Abune Yeshak at Addis Ababa, Memorial of Minilik II, Ta’eka Negest Be’ata Lemariam Monastery. It is when he came barefoot from Gondar to Shewa. 
• In 1953, he was earned three levels of spiritual service: priesthood, monkhood and episcopate by Abune Baslios. 
 
• On January 13, 1971, he was among the 13 consecrated bishops and entitled as His Grace Abune Nathanael. He, was assigned archbishop of Tigray Diocese and served there till 1975. 
 
Teaching and leadership
He has been appointed to teach Ethical Education at Teferi Mekonnen School by the good will of Emperor Haile Sillasie from 1949 to 1954. This was rationally done to solve the religious variance between Jesuit students and their teachers after the Emperor found out the situation of the school. 
 
Following his return from abroad, he served as vice administrator at Holy Trinity Cathedral Church (the greatest and famous cathedral of the country) and from 19 57 – 19 60 and chief administrator from 1964 – 1967. 
 
At the time of Emperor Haile Silesia, he was also privileged to preach the gospel in a title, “Biblical studies and social life in the eyes of the church”which was aired in the church’s radio program. 
From 19 68 – 19 71, he served as a teacher in the department of Academy of Linguistic studies, at Ministry of culture. 
 
During the reign of Derg, he was the supreme guardian and member of the board of Sebbeta Bete Denagil Church. He was also persecuted for his teaching against the dictatorial rule of Dergue. During the Derg’s persecution, he said, “I am happy for God chooses me to share the fate of the Apostles and it is my apostolic responsibility.” 
 
During his service in Tigray diocese, he accomplished some from his plans despite his many responsibilities since the time was a time of war between the then military rule and the current government of Ethiopia (EFDR). Among his main accomplishments, he tried to rehabilitate churches in collaboration with Christian Relief & Development Associations (CCRDA) since church land was nationalized by the military rule; he also established parish council for churches that have no parish councils.  
 
After six years of service in Tigray diocese, he was assigned to serve in Arsi where he performed much apostolic service for about 33 years.  In his stay in Arsi, he was the very loved and respected father by the believers. When His Grace became archbishop of Arsi Diocese in 1975, there were only 117churches there.  Today, there are over 300. 
 
After the death of the fifth Ethiopian Patriarch H.H Abune Paulos in 2004, he was elected unanimously by the Holy Synod to be Akabe Menber (the keeper of the throne) and to serve the church till the current Patriarch Abune Mathias was elected in 2005.
 
One of the most remarkable contributions of His Grace in Arsi diocese is Debr Kidus Debre Me’aza Abune Tekle Haymanot Monastery which he established in Asella town.  
Previously, the land where the monastery is built was known as the palace of the officials of Emperor Haile Sillasie, but His Grace convinced current government officials and took possession of the land for the monastery. His Grace also established children development institute and clergy training center within the compound of the monastery. He has been raising orphans without religious discrimination till now. 
His Grace Abune Nathanael also established a health center in collaboration with European Union. The clinic has offered services to more than 25,000 people in the locality including orphans. His Grace also participated in helping the needy by collecting funds from the donors especially during the drought of 19 77. He takes part in conflict resolution efforts as well. 
His Grace passed away at the age of 85 on Yekatit 21, 2008 and was laid to rest at Debr Kidus Debre Me’aza Abune TekleHaymanot Monastery which he himself founded on Yekatit 24, 2008. The funeral service was attended by numerous archbishops, church scholars and the public at large. 
 
May the blessings and prayer of His Grace be up on us!
 
Note: the date is in Ethiopian Calendar (E.C.). 
 
Source: 
• January 4, 1971 E.C. Zena Betekristiyan, monthly news paper published by Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. 
• April 1998 E.C. Sem’a Tsidk, bimonthly newspaper published by Mahibere Kidusan. 
• Unpublished documentary life story film of His Grace Abune Nathnael. 
• Mahiber Kidusan Amharic website retrieved on March 3, 2016 at (http://eotcmk.org/site/-mainmenu-18/2079-2016-03-02-06-57-23). 

Jesus the Migrant: the hope of Migrants (Seqoqawe Dingil)

November 10,  2015
By ZeYared Zarema (zeyared2007@gmail.com)

   Part Three

In the last part of this continuing work, I only gave focus to the history of migration and the very hardship of the life of migration taking few examples. In the present and last piece, I will give emphasis to the migration of the second Adam, the hope of migrants, and the migrant Jesus as a hope of all migrants. Stay blessed!

  1.The Migration of the Second Adam

From the very definition of it, migration is moving from original place to another. Imagine what and where the place of the Word of God and the flesh or humanity He assumed are!? The place of the Word is, with no doubt, the Divinity and in the Highest. Contrarily, the place of the flesh is a creature and in the lowest. The difference is incomparable. Irrespective of this, the Word not only came to humanity but also into humanity and assumed human flesh.As to me, this is the very and ever distant migration in the totality of the history, but to find the migrant and grant him exodus. 
 

Thus, to my mind, the very migration in the God-human history is the humiliation of the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Son, as recorded in the Pauline epistle to Philippians: “But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil2:7f). Really wonderful and magnificent is the migration of Godhead to mankind, though He did not left His Divinity at all!
 

This inwardly migration of the Son of God is also clearly seen to humanity when He fled to Egypt, being not a single personality but being a cosmic man, representing the race of humanity. He there suffered all the suffering that Adam had to suffer and to weaken the earthly suffering we fear. Today no suffering is frightening for all the frights were carried on the shoulder of the Migrant Human-God (Paulos Mar Gregorios 1992: 25)
 

2.  What is the Hope of Migrants?

To the migrants, life is not as such easy, as I tried to highlight their life in the last part, and in most cases they lead a hopeless life. I only imagine two hopes, add please if you do have, in the mind of migrants. One is the sense of homage in their place of destination and the other is returning to their origin. Let’s see these two hopes in the life of one of the patriarch of the Israelites.
 

Joseph, the son of Jacob, when he was in Egypt, not only was a migrant but also was a slave the Egyptians bought. Despite these, for God were with him, he did not loss his hope. His hope was on his creator; the One Who gave him grace first in front of his brothers and later amongst the Egyptians, and got the feeling of homage. He was first appointed over all the properties of the house of Potiphar, and then lastly over all the wealth of Egypt and the Egyptian themselves right under the Pharaoh. This is witnessed in the Holy Scripture when “Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house” (Gen41:51).
 
The Ethiopian singer and teacher of the middle age, St. Giyorgis of Sagla, on his very celebrated composition for the night timely magnificence of God (ሰዓታት ዘሌሊት)  said “ቅዱስ ቅዱስ ቅዱስ እግዚአብሔር ዘምስለ ዮሴፍ ተሰይጠ ከመ ይስፍር ሲሳየ ለሕዝብ፡ Holy, Holy, Holy God, He was sold with Joseph, purposefully to prepare food for the people.” (ገብረ ሥላሴ ብርሃኑ 2000: 13)

 

The second hope of Joseph was his return to the land of his fathers, the land of covenant. His hope was not in partial faith, did he faithfully hope his return even after his death. This very full hope made, “Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.” (Gen50:24)
 

Whatever the life stories of migration the migrant enjoys could be good or bad, every migrant hope for return back home. Who can fulfill the double hope of migrants, except the migrant human-God Himself. This seems what the composer of the “Lamentation of Virgin” made to say “Jesus the migrant, the hope of migrants.

3.  Jesus the Migrant: the Hope of Migrants

It seems paradox! How a migrant could be the hope for other migrants and how migrants could hope on another migrant!? This leads us to another question; why the Word of God (Son the God)  the wilderness of Africa? The church scholars articulate the purpose of the humiliation of Word the God; He traveled the negative way the first Adam chosen. Adam was created to go high into the life of godliness through faithfulness and obedience, but he traveled the contrary, by disbelief and disobedience, to sinfulness and death.  
 
God, being naturally merciful, followed the negative path of the designed way Adam had to follow and missed, down to humanity to reverse the direction of the path of all humanity that they able go high into the life of godliness. This made St. Athanasius the apostle write that the Son of God travelled into the valley humanity that the fallen man get an ability to go high into the son-ship of God (On the Incarnation, by the St. Athanasius).

 

Adam, as I have mentioned in part two, left the angelic life of the paradise and migrated into the cursed earth. What was his hope being a stranger in a strange habitat? There is a tradition in our church which shows that God have given a covenant of hope to fallen Adam before his withdrawal from the paradise that foretold his return and made him stay with hope.
 
This tradition is articulated in one of the hymns of our father, St. Yared: “ወይቤሎ ለአቡነ አዳም እትወለድ እምወለተ ወለትከ ወእድኅክ ውስተ መርሕብከ ወእከውን ሕፃነ በእንቲአከ And (GOD) said to Adam our father, I will be born, from the daughter of your daughter, and I will creep inside your dwelling [the world or humanity], And will be a child for your sake” (Diggua Ze-Astemhro) [If መርሕብ is literally translated, it is a place where someone dwells. But in this context, what is the mind of Yared that made him say “creep inside your dwelling”? The dwelling of Adam inside which the Son of God crept is nothing but the human flesh He assumed and the humiliated earth, by the curse resulted from Adam’s fall, inside where God revealed in the flesh of man.]
 

In our tradition, being Word the God was revealed to us through the flesh of the Virgin Mary, she is honored the position of “the means of salvation, ምክንያተ ድኂን” and for this reason the honored anaphora in her name attributed to Abba Hriaqos of Nhissa, treasured the following message, “አንቲ ውእቱ ተስፋሁ ለአዲም አመ ይሰደድ እምገነት፣ You are the hope of Adam, at the time of his migration from the paradise” (ቅዳሴ ማርያም 1990፣ 40). Thus, for five days and half a day, or the 5500 years, (Ibid, 41), Adam was hoping not other than the migrant Jesus that we say is the“hope of migrants”.
 

Our fathers, the Ethiopian exegetes, gave an aggregated reason of the migration of the infant Jesus together with His mother to the desert area in the exegesis of the gospel according to Mathew showing that His migration as a fulfillment of the migration Adam and as a means of undoing of the fatal life of migration, and redirect the way to the origin, that is the paradise. See the words of the exegetes:

በዚያውስ ላይ ለምን ተሰደደ ቢሉ፣ እንደይሞት ጊዜው አልደረሰምና፣ ከዚያ ሳለ [በገሊላ ሳለ] ድኖም ቢሆን ምትሐት ነው ባሉ  ነበርና። አንድም አዳም ከዚህ ዓለም አፍአ ከምትሆን ከገነት ተሰዶ ነበርና ለዚያ እንደካሰ  ለማጠየቅ፣ አንድም ለሰማዕታት ስደትን ለመባረክ፤ ሰማዕትነት  በእሳት መቃጠል በስለት መቆራረጥ ብቻ አይደለም። አገርንም ጥሎ  መሰደድ ሰማዕትነት ነውና። አንድም ጕየተ ሕፃን አጕየዮ ለዲያብልስ እንዳለ አጋንንትን ከሰው ልቡና አስወጥቶ ለመስደድ።
 

On top of that, why He migrated? Not to die, for His hour was not yet come. And had he was save being there [in Galilee], they would have said He is a spirit. Again, for Adam was migrated from the paradise, which is outside of this earth, [He migrated] to prove that He ransomed that. Again, to bless migration to the martyrs; martyrdom is not only being burnt of fire, being cut and cut off of blade; for leaving a country is also a martyrdom. Again, as it is said „the run of the Kid made the devil run‟, to chase demons casting out of the heart of man. (ተስፋ ገብረ ሥሊሴ 1988: 88)
 

Why chased the demons from human hearts? The intention could not be other than making our hearts His own homes. Himself not to migrate, but to settle in His own house; as St. Paul declared, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? … the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” (1Cor3:16f)

 

God loves the migrants, irrespective of their faithfulness to Him.  He did not differentiate between the faithful and the non faithful, but He ordered all humankind to respect any displaced, to accept them as ones guest and to help them in their time of tribulation and sense of hopeless.How beautiful are the words of God given to the Israelites through Moses, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff necked. For the Lord your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deut10:16-19)

 

Who could be the strangers that got mention in the teaching of our Lord? These strangers for sure are not the people whom do we know. They are displaced people, and to make them feel the sense of homage, we have to accept and host them. This hospitality is made on behalf of God and for God. This is the reason why Jesus foretold us that, in His second coming, He will utter “I was a stranger, and ye took me in… Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Mat25:35, 40)
 

Today, migration can be of different. Other than the sufferings of the physical migration, there are additional migrations and their sufferings harder than that of physical. Some migrate from knowing God and suffer of their trial to know gods, others migrate from the church and suffer of the absenteeism of her Head, the migrant Jesus, others too, even being in the church migrate from the Eucharistic life and suffer of hunger and thirsty of the eternal food and drink. Who can be the hope of all these I mentioned and others I could not and I do like to mention? No other hope except Jesus the migrant, the hope of migrants.
 

4.  Conclusion

Migration is not a human fate. It is the result of the fallen nature of man as a consequence of disbelief and disobedience. Or it is a negative reward for the negatively practiced will. Adam chose to go away of God, and God having granted the free will cannot resist. But, the good God did not left him; He followed him, showed him that the life of migration is fatal, and instructed him how he can return, participated in his life of migration and its tribulation, and reversed his way toward Himself and the original life of godliness.
 

No more, today, fearing is the earthly migration. Our hope, not only of the earth but of the heavens, Jesus the migrant, the hope of migrants, is with us. Whether we are home or abroad, whether we are migrants in one way or the other, we never fill hopelessness, He is the ever and very nearer helper Who never neglects any migrant. Instead He calls us all, who in any case are away of his careful arms, to return as He called Adam from the sheol and the murderer on his right side into purity.
 

In every time and at every place, or at any time-space reference, the hope of all migrants is Jesus. He is always with them, to treat and comfort them; that is why He said “Inasmuch as ye havedone it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” and I, with the composer of the  “Lamentation of the Virgin”,  called Him  “Jesus the migrant, the hope of migrants”.
 

May all glories be to Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God!

May the intercession of the Virgin Mary help us all be always with the Migrant and the hope of migrants, for being near to Him leads being in communion with Him. Amen!
 

Sources፡

• St. Athanasius (4th c), On the Incarnation, St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church

•  Holy Bible, King James Version

•  Dr. Paulos Mar Gregorios (1992), A Human God, MGF Spectrum Book, India

•  Tsehaye Dedimas (2014), Soteriological teachings of saint Yared in his hymns of

Sundays, Addis Abeba, Ethiopia (Unpublished)

•  መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ፣ የብሉይና የአዲስ ኪዳን መጻሕፍት፣ 1962 ዓ/ም፡፡

•  ተስፋ ገብረ ሥላሴ(1988)፣ ወንጌል ቅዱስ ዘእግዚእነ          ወመድኃኒነ       ኢየሱስ  ክርስቶስ    ንባቡና  ትርጓሜው፡፡

•  

ገ

ብረ 

ሥላሴ

 ብርሃኑ (2000)፣ መጽሐፈ  ሰዓታት   ከነምሌክቱ ምስለ  ኵለሉ ጸዋትዊሁ  ወባሕረ      ሐሳብ፣ አደስ አበባ፡፡

• ኤፍሬም (ቅደስ) እና ሕርያቆስ (አባ) (1990)፣ ውዳሴ ማርያምና ቅዳሴ ማርያም ንባቡና ትርጓሜው፣ ትንሣኤ ማተሚያ ቤት፣ አዱስ አበባ::

Jesus the Migrant: the hope of Migrants

November 9, 2015
 
By ZeYared Zarema (zeyared2007@gmail.com)
 Part Two

 In the last part, I presented to you my readers the introduction of the parts and treated what happens in the “Season of Flower” every year in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and the economic implications ofmigration.  In this part, I am going to deal with the history of migration and its features. Bear with me esteemed readers. May God reveal His wisdom to us all.

   The History and life of Migration

  1.1.The History of Migration

The “New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia”, as religious document, states the wandering over the face of the earth of the people of Shinar, later was named Babel for the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth, as the earliest migration recorded in the Bible (Gen11:1-9) in man’s history. (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10291a.htm). On the other hand, the online secular document, “Wikipedia- the free encyclopedia” states that, “Historical migration of human populations begins with the movement of Homo erectus out of Africa across Eurasia many centuries ago.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_human_migration) 

But, I disagree at all. The definitions tell all about the movement from original place to another, without showing the difference between physical migration and spiritual migration. When I send my mind to the Holy Scripture that it gathers an emigrational history and in a very fast speed it took me to the first book, the book of Genesis and to its third, line 8.  

The scripture reads “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken” (Gen3:22f). For me, this is a very crucial evidence of physical migration as a consequence of the spiritual. Our ancestors, Adam and Eve, withdrawn from the Garden of Eden, their original dwelling place and moved to the earth, another temporary residence, though with a hope of return.

In addition to this, we encounter several personal, family and communal migrations in the scripture. The patriarch Abraham made three known migrations. He, answering the call of God, physically left Ur to Canaan, spiritually migrated from worshipping idols to worshipping God (Gen12), then from Canaan first to Egypt and later to Gerar, but returned, with wealth and grace, to Canaan, the land of honey and milk. The other patriarchs Isaac and Jacob too made family and personal migration to Gerar and Syria, in search of food and security respectively. (Gen26 and
28)

 The most common and most referable migration in the Old Testament is of Jacob and his children and grand children; the 12 tribes of Israel and their children counted to seventy. (Gen42 to 46)  In the era of Christianity, we read an account of migration of the Christian community in the Acts of the Apostles right after the martyrdom of Archdeacon and first martyr St. Stephen and when the persecution of the Disciples of Christ increased. But, fortunately, it was useful for the spread of the gospel of truth all over the then empires.

Apparent from these physical migrations, there is, to my mind, another migration, mental or spiritual migration. Our spirit has no problem of moving up-down and east-west or vice versa. Some physically migrated individuals/community can have non migrated mentality or spirit. And contrarily  others  may  migrate  mentally  or  spiritually  while  their  physic  is  at  home,  or  or contrarily may physically migrate while their mental or spirit never left home. We may also face with both physically and mentally or spiritually migrated people or physically and mentally or spiritually non-migrants.

Prior to their physical withdrawal from  heaven to earth, by the wrath like goodness of God, Adam and eve moved mentally and/or spiritually from following God to following Satan; this is the fatal Adamic migration resulted to the rest of all other migrations. In the course of the time of the prophets the proclaimed to the people that God called upon them to return to Him (Jer3:14, 22, 18:11, 25:5, Ezk14:6, Joe2:12, Zech1:3f). Why? Because they were spiritually far from their origin of spirituality; they were worshiping idols and committing sin. The call of God for the return of His people continued even in the time of New Testament (Act3:19f, Rom12:1f, Eph4:22-32). The spiritual call of the apostles for spiritual return clearly shows the spiritual departure of the respective addressees.

The above short history show that migration, whether carnal or spiritual, exists to our present time. Do all have any hope at their migration time? If do not believe they have any hope, let them know the only primary hope of migrants. If they really hope, let them know the true hope of migrants. Wait please to the next parts of this little work of your little brother in Christ.

1.2.The Life of Migration
Not all, if I cannot generalize, those who did not test the life of migration conceive the very self of emigrational life. I strongly believe, experience matters. But through imagination and information, almost all know what migration and its life are, if not feel. It is, to my imagination, a life of divorce; a divorce from a country (or a very first origin of place), earthly speaking, and from  godliness spiritually. Chronologically, divorce comes, if happens,  after marriage.  Non official divorces resulted from non official marriages get no attention traditionally, apart from being rebuked as adultery.

A divorced woman/man, known for her/his marriage, feels unworthy of a first marriage, and truly is unworthy, except searching of another divorced partner. This feeling of unworthiness of the divorced life allegorizes, if it is not worthy the actual, the life of migration. S/he can compromise, but the happiness of the second marriage cannot reach the quality of the happiness of the first. In a like manner, the migrants cannot sense what they feel when at home though in a better life style. As the prophet Haggai symbolized dramatically, though in his case are the spiritual migrants, helpful to conceptualize the bad life of migration; the migrants can eat, but may not satisfied; can drink, but may not get quenched; can wear, but may not comforted; can lie on a comfort bed, but may not sleep (Hagg1:5f). Why?

The very entity that makes all work, being in home, is missed. Here, I remember the sayings of Tigringa languge, spoken in the  northern parts of Ethiopian told as, “ዐድማትካያ ጃኖስ ዳርጋ ዲኖ”, which translates approximately as, “Wearing royal attire when you are a migrant in a foreign land is not better than wearing hide (sheepskin)."   What makes the preferred royal wear downed to the raw leather is the feeling of being a migrant.

Let’s see the life of migrants taking Adam and the Israelites as an example. What happened to Adam when he started living as a migrant on earth? Has he led an easy and comfort life like that of his origin, the paradise? No, according to genesis account of God’s words to the fallen Adam, he lived a cursed life in a cursed earth. The account shows the life of migrants and is read: And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Gen3:17-19)

Adam’s life was full of sorrow, with the thought of his sinfulness. For this reason, it is witnessed in the introduction of the Ethiopian New Testament exegesis that “he had no other mind other mourning for his sin አልቦቱ ካልዕ ኅሊና ዘእንበለ ብካይ ላዕለ ኃጢአቱ” (ተስፋ ገብረ ሥላሴ 1988:20). For Adam the life on earth was a life of hardship, a life of sadness, a life of cry, a life of fear and so on. The same introduction more clarifies the migration of Adam and its life in the following manner: “ወተሰዱ እምድረ ገነት ኀበ ምድረ ሕማም፣ ከገነት ወደ ምድረ ፋይድ ወረዱ፣ (ሐተታ) ምድረ ፋይድ ማለት ምድረ ኃሣር ወመርገም ምድረ ድንጋፄ ወረዓድ ማለት ነው and they migrated from the land of Garden [heaven] to the land of pain; land of pain means land of humiliation and curse, land of fear and anxiety.” (Ibid: 19) But contrary to this unspeakable bad life of migration, hope was with him. What was that hope? It will be dealt with the coming part.

In the case of the Israelites, the life of migration was not less than that of Adam’s, if not harder. They unfortunately shared all the curses of Adam, and added their own surplus curses. Though for the mercifulness of God and the righteousness of their brother got rest for some times as gusted immigrants , but after a pharaoh who did not know [the honor of] Joseph, they suffered to the level of being killed at their birth day. (Exo1) But still within the heart of Israelites, hope prevailed; the hope of exodus and freedom.

The hardship of the life of migration is highly highlighted in the “Lamentation of the Virgin” (ሰቆቃወ ድንግል), in the life migration of the holy family from the persecution of the then crueler emperor. One of the hymns is read as follows:
 

እፎ ቇቍዐ በሐዊረ ፍኖት መከየደ እግርኪ ወርኀ ዘይሤዓን፣ ለባሲተ ፀሐይ ማርያም ወለተ ብርሃን፣

አመ አጉየይኪ ወልደኪ በጕጕዓ እምገጸ ሄሮድስ ተመን፣ ዘበጽሑኪ ምንዳቤያተ ሶበ ይሰምዕ በዕዝን፣

ሰብእ አኮ እምበከየ እብን።

  Translation:

How much! Your feet, that wear the moon, burst due to the [distant] way, Mary, she who wears the sun and is the daughter of light,The tribulation you faced, when you fleet in harry from the sight of Herod the anaconda, Had it heard by ear, A stone would have been cried, not only man. (ገብረ ሥላሴ ብርሃኑ 2000: 685)

Today even, our world is suffering from the bad life of migration and its results. The racism and its consequences all over the world, from America to Arabia and from North Europe to South Africa, are in one way or the other the results of migration. It is reported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that 232 millions of the population of our world are migrants (World Migration Report 2015, 2015: 17); this much people of our day lead a life of fear and discomfort. What and who could be their hope?

I took the number of migrant from the IOM report, but whom shall I ask the number of spiritual migrants? I do not know how a census for the spiritual migrants could be done. But, whatever the data could be, the life of spiritual migration is incomparably worrying than that of physical migration. The hardship of carnal migration may be ended when the migrant dies, but what could be the end of that of the spiritual migrant! The next parts will show us more on what and whom to hope.
May our Lord, the migrant Jesus grant us all to see, write and read the next part which is going to focus on the hope of all migrants. Amen!

Sources:
•  Holy Bible, King James Version
• International Organization for Migration (2015), World Migration Report 2015 Migrants and Cities: New Partnerships to Manage Mobility, Imprimerie Courand et Associes, France
• http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10291a.htm).
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_human_migration)
• መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ፣ የብሉይና የአዲስ ኪዲን መጻሕፍት፣ 1962 ዓ/ም፡፡
• ተስፋ ገብረ ሥላሴ(1988)፣ ወንጌል  ቅዱስ  ዘእግዚእነ  ወመድኃኒነ  ኢየሱስ         ክርስቶስ              ንባቡና    ትርጓሜው  
• ገብረ ሥላሴ ብርሃኑ (2000)፣ መጽሐፈ ሰዓታት ከነምልክቱ ምስለ ኵሉ ጸዋትዊሁ ወባሕረ ሐሳብ፣ አዲስ አበባ፡፡

Jesus the Migrant, the Hope of Migrants

October 27, 2015

 ZeYared Zarema (zeyared2007@gmail.com) 

Part One: Introduction

The season which starts on the 26th of the first month of the Ethiopian calendar, the month of Meskerem (or October 6th in the other years and October 7th  in the leap year) and stays for 40 days is a season assigned for the commemoration of the migration of the Holy Family: Jesus, Mary His mother, the old Joseph and Salome. In the Ethiopian Orthodox Church liturgical calendar, the season is known by the name “Season of Flower” (ዘመነ ጽጌ).

 In this season the celebrated Ge’ez hymn poetries “Hymn on the Flower” (ማኅሌተ ጽጌ) and “Lamentation of the Virgin” (ሰቆቃወ ድንግል) get emphasis and sung for, the former, i.e Hymn on the Flower, relates the season and its wealth with the plant, the flower and the fruit, symbolizing Mary, the Mother of God, and her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the later, Lamentation on the Virgin, mostly focuses on the hardship that Mary faced during their fleet, or flight, to Egypt and their wandering with great tribulations of fear, hanger, thirst and fatigue in the wilderness of their migration destination during their stay for three and a half years.

I took the title “Jesus the Migrant, the Hope of Migrants”, translated from the Ge’ez texts “ኢየሱስ ስዱድ   ተስፋሆሙ  ለስዱዳን”,  from  the  15th    century  composition  entitled  “ሰቆቃወ  ድንግል”  (Lamentation of the Virgin). This prayer book is known for its richness of the tribulations that Jesus and His Mother Virgin Mary faced during their migration to Egypt. It has 57 hymn parts, and one of them found in the 14th order reads as follows:

ኢየሱስ ስዱድ ተስፋሆሙ ለስዱዳን፣
ኢየሱስ ግፉዕ ምስካዮሙ ለግፉዓን፣
እግዚአብሔር ማሕደር ዘአልቦ  ከመ ነዳያን፣
ኢየሱስ ነግድ ወፈላሲ እንዘ ውእቱ ሕፃን፣
ወልደ አብ ፍቁር ዘበኀበ ሰብእ ምኑን፣
መኃልየ ብካይ ኮነኒ ዘእሙ ኀዘን።

Jesus the migrant, the hope of migrants;
Jesus the oppressed, the protection/shield of the oppressed;
God, the homeless like the needy;
Jesus the traveler and stranger being a child;
The beloved Son of the Father, but abandoned to men;
His mother’s grief become unto me the lamentation of cry. (ገብረ ሥላሴ ብርሃኑ፣  2000: 686)

I have tried to assess different sources to get the central definition of migration and migrant, but found no unique meaning. Let me put some definitions with their references:

 Human migration is the movement by people from one place to another with the intentions of settling temporarily or permanently in the new location. The movement is  typically  over  long  distances  and  from  one  country  to  another,  but  internal migration is also possible. Migration may be individuals, family units or in large groups. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_migration)

The term migrant can be understood as "any person who lives temporarily or permanently in a country where he or she was not born, and has acquired some significant social ties to this country." However, this may be a too narrow definition when considering that, according to some states’ policies, a person can be considered as a migrant even when she/he is born in the country.(http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/international- migration/glossary/migrant/)

The Amharic Bible Dictionary almost agrees with the above UNESCO and WIKIPEDIA definitions. It states “one who forcefully emigrated from his birth country and resides in another country” for the migrant, but it identifies migration with tribulations and torments. (Ethiopian Bible Society, 1992: 84)
From these all, it is understood that in addition to the non-unique nature of it, migration in the case of man is the movement of man to different places home or abroad, and for different reasons, forced or voluntarily.

Migration or fleet from home is not an odd phenomenon to the human history and it is not new life in the course of time. The first man, Adam, fled from paradise to the earth but with hope of return and his descendants led their life with different migration from that time till now; the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, again made various fleet that He fulfills or to undo the flight of the first. God willing, I will deal with these issues and the like in the coming parts, in the present “Season of Flower”. You may expect more on the history and life of migration, on the duality of migration, on the migration of the first and Second Adam, on Jesus as a hope of migrants, etc. Till then, I beg you for your prayers that I may uninterruptedly witness the word of God.

O Mary! I am in need of your intercession to participate in your and your Son’s flight that I partake in the grant of the return from migration. I heartily venerate you, the Mother of God, and worship your Son, the Savior of the world; as one who owns you and your Son has not and will not be ashamed forever. Amen!

Source: 

•  Holy Bible, King James Version
•http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/international- migration/glossary/migrant/
•  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_migration
•  መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ፣ የብሉይና የአደስ ኪዱን መጻሕፍት፣ 1962 ዓ/ም፡፡
• የኢትዮጵያ መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ ማኅበር (1992)፣ የመጽሐፍ ቅዱስ መዝገበ ቃላት 6ኛ፣ ባናዊ ማተሚያ ቤት፣ አዱስ አበባ
• ገብረ ሥላሴ ብርሃኑ (2000)፣ መጽሐፈ ሰዓታት ከነምልክቱ ምስለ ኵሉ ጸዋትዊሁ ወባሕረ ሐሳብ፣ አዲስ አበባ

The Eyes of All Wait upon Thee

September 1, 2015
By Kassa Nigus 
The period consists of from August 10 – August 29 in Ethiopian Calendar.  This period is the third sub division of the Ethiopian rainy season comes halfway through the rainy season when the level of rainfall decreases and the   ground gets less moist.

 During this time, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church remembers, in her liturgical services, all living things and islands enclosed by water bodies. This is the time when the soil becomes less moist; the volume of water decreases; the clean earth, the clear sky and the clean water appear; and the earth gets decorated with flowers.  

Ethiopians highlight in their sayings that this period almost signals the end of the rainy season. Birds which hid themselves in the warmth of their nests begin to re-emerge as the rain fades away. And as Solomon the Wise mentioned in his Song, this is a moment when the call of birds is heard: “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.” (Song 2:12)

During this season, the church praises God with different recitals from Psalms:

“The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou gives them their meat in due season. Thou open thine hand, and satisfy the desire of every living thing.” (Psalms 145:15-16); “Who gives food to all flesh: for His mercy endures forever. O gives thanks unto the God of heaven: for His mercy endures forever.” (Psalms 136:25-26)
   Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is very ready to hear and answer the prayers of his people.  God will give us the rain of our land which is a precious gift for the existence of every creature in the due season.  He satisfies the desire of every living thing by the constant supply of all living creatures with their necessary. This period is recognized by the following names:

 

A. Egule Qu’at (The fowl of crow): This is nominated after the teachings of St. Yared in his hymn saying “… the fowl of crow praise God….”, and the church associates it to the fact that when the eagle has incubated her egg, the fowl appears in the form of flames devoid of tresses. So, being afraid of the color of her little fowl, the mother crow runs away from her fowl.
 
During this time, the fowl feels hungry and opens its mouth so that pests and other insects flow towards its mouth, and then it satisfies itself by eating the flying insects through the generosity of God as it is stated in the following readings: “Who provides for the raven his food? When his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of meat” (Job 38:41); “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds  them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26).
 
The fowl of crow symbolizes all flying creatures in the teachings of the genesis. Among the common readings of these days are sited from the verse “who executes judgment for the oppressed: who gives food to the hungry. The Lord looses the prisoners” (Psalms 146:7).

 B. Desseyat (Islands): This is also nominated after the teachings of St. Yared in his hymn saying “The islands are delighted in times of winter.”  Even if the islands are surrounded by water bodies, God saves them and all the creatures living in the islands from the calamities of winter, so they provide praise to their Lord. The church prays for the comfort of all creatures of islands as God saves Noah, his family, and a remnant of all the world’s animals from the flood through the ark, which is the symbol of the church.

 C. Ayne Kulu (The Eyes of All): Farmers patiently wait enduring all the temptations of winter to reap their harvest that is sown in pain (cold weather) of the winter, Christian farmers trust in Lord Jesus Christ that their hope of harvest will be fulfilled. So, the eyes of all wait upon the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

During this period, the church also commemorates the passing away of three of the 22 prominent fathers who lived in the era of the Old Testament. The passing away of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is particularly remembered from 27 August to 29.The list of the 22 prominent fathers of the Old Testament are: Adam, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They are called prominent because Jesus Christ was in their lines of generation. (Gen. 5:1-32; 11:10-29)
 
Hence, this period is also named after Abraham, the most prominent of all the fathers.  The church also highlights Abraham’s obedience and the salvation of Isaac after he was taken to a mountain where he was to be sacrificed.

  Source:

• ‘Hamer’ magazine (5th year, No. 2), 1989 E.C. PP. 6-7

• The liturgical year of the Ethiopian church. Fr. Emmanuel Fritsch, cssp.      2001: 304-305.

 

Lightning and Thunder

July 31, 2015

By Welde Gabriel  

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church uses the terms as lightning, thunder, sea, river and dew to refer to the second sub division of the rainy season that extends from 19 Hamle – 9 Nehase (26 July – 15 August). This is apparently related to the features that characterize the rainy season.

The following verses are among the common readings for this time of year:

ቃለ ወሀቡ ደመናት አሕጻከ ይወፅኡ ፡፡ ቃለ ነጐድጓድከ በሰረገላት ፡፡ አስተርአየ መባርቅቲሁ ለዓለም፡፡ርዕደት ወአድለቅለቀት ምድር ፡: (መዝሙር ፸፮ ፡ ፴፫)

“The clouds poured out water; the skies sent out a sound; your arrows also went abroad. The voice of your thunder was in the heaven; the lightning lightened the world; the earth trembled and shook.” (Psalms 76: 33-36); Luke 10:17-24; Matthew 24:36-51; Mark 6:47-56)

During this time, the church also commemorates the 72 disciples of Jesus. It uses the moment to recount their deeds. The lightning and thunder are mentioned to illustrate the teachings of the disciples who were sent to enlighten the world with their teachings. They were the early students of Jesus, whom He sent out in pairs on a specific mission. ( Luke 10:1–24)

Source:

     •  ‘Hamer’ magazine (5th year, No. 4), 1989. PP. 6-7   

    •  The liturgical year of the Ethiopian church. Fr. Emmanuel Fritsch, cssp.      2001: 304-305

The Word of God in the Rainy Season of Ethiopia

July 8, 2015

By Kassa Nigus 

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church uses all seasons of the year and their peculiar features to illustrate its teachings in analogical and simple way. It seizes every moment and relates it to the lives of people so as to help them learn from the seasons and prepare themselves to be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church likens the summer season to the life of Christianity. Just as the farmer endures the hardships of the rainy season (cold weather, mud, etc), the church also advises its children to be devout Christians even in the face of tribulations. It encourages them to remain steadfast saying “We shall be ready to accept the calamity upon us for the sake of the Kingdom of God; you shall be alert for prayer, fasting and repentance for the body shall be governed for the need of the soul”. 

 

Biblical words related to rain and sowing are frequently read in the rainy/summer season that we are in. The church cites the following biblical words to highlight its message:   
 

 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalms 126:5-6) 

“Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man.” (James 1:12-13). 
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church categorizes the year into four seasons of three months. These are: 

1. Matsaw (Autumn): the windy season from 26 Meskerem to 25 Tahisas  (6 October up to  January 3)

2. Hagay  ( Winter): the dry season from  26 Tahisas  to  25 Megabit (January 4, up to April 3)

3. Balg (Spring): the sowing season (that of the light rains) from 26 Megabit  to 25 Sene; and (April 4 up to July 2) 

4. Kiremt (summer): the rainy season from 26 Sene to 25 Meskerem E.C.  (July 3, up to October 5 G.C.) 

These four divisions are named after their peculiar features mentioned in the Psalms. Each of them is also divided into further sub-divisions. There are many types of divisions of the rainy season but now let us exploit the common and frequently used categories of the church.

  The first sub division of the rainy season is treated as follows:
 

A. ‘Seed’, ‘Cloud’ and ‘kiremt (rainy season)’:  it  extends from 25 Sene – 19 Hamle (July2 up to July 26 ) 
This period is manly named based on its main features. During this season, the church recites biblical readings pertaining to seed and sowing. It draws many verses from the bible to teach her children. Some of the relevant verses of the time are:
 

“And He spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” (Mathew 13:3-8); 
 

 “For the earth which drinks in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and brings forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receives blessing from God: But that which bears thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.”   (Hebrew 6:7-8) 
 

The church draws analogies between the lives of Christians and farmland, and urges its children to bear fruit like the seed sown on good ground based on the cited verses. The church regularly advices its children to be a good ground to hear Christ’s message. The good ground received the seed, the word, it took root and grew, meaning it was believed and it produced the fruit of righteousness and obedience.

 
Note: The Date is in Ethiopian calendar. 

Source: 

• ‘Hamer’ magazine (5th year, No. 2), 1989. PP. 6-7   

• Fr. Emmanuel Fritsch, cssp  2001: The liturgical year of the Ethiopian church, pp.304-305