Feasts of Saint John the Baptist
…when the holy head of Saint John was cut off, it flew up into the air…
Archangel Raphael
Glory to Raphael the archangel, the third of the vigilant, holy and heavenly archangels; and the dedication of his church which was built to him on an island outside the city of Alexandria in the days of Saint Theophilus the Archbishop; and the miracle which was made manifest therein.
The Seven Saints
The seven young men were first in the army Emperor Decius, and he appointed them to offices in his government. When he established the worship of idols, certain men made accusations against these saints to him, and he seized them and shut them up in prison. But as he wanted to go to another place he released them from their bonds and sent them away until he returned, thinking within himself that they would turn from their good counsel….
“Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name” (Psalm 89:12)
Accord, the prophet King David pronouncement about the great feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ on his psalm “Tabor and Hermon rejoice in Your name” on August 19, the festivity of our Lord Jesus Christ and how His appearance was changed on Mount Tabor, is commemorated.
“Listen to my tears” (Psalm 28:2)
Temptations, hardships, pain, diseases and disasters sometimes bring about tears. Especially if the person feels abandoned,or that it is a punishment as a result of his sins. Here, a spiritual factor enters into weeping, its reason being that the person feels that grace has departed from him, or that God has begun to deliver him to the hands of his enemies. He is then grieved and weeps.
Tears of Repentance
Many weep for different of reasons for our world is filled with evil, harm, tribulations and sufferings. This being the result of our sin, we shall seek repentance. Let us look at the some of the exemplary biblical stories.
The Creation of Man
The creator of all creatures our God made relationships between the body and soul; The Body made of the four elements being Earth, Water, Air and Fire; the three parts of soul, Mind, Will and Emotion in spiritual relation.
Abba Samuel: The Father who Set Monastic Order for 1500-Year Old Waldebba
December 22, 2016
On Tahisas 12/ November 22, the Ethiopian church commemorates the passing away of Abba Samuel of Waldebba. The brief memory of this great saint recorded in Ethiopic is Synaxarium as follows.
On Tahisas 12/ November 22, the Ethiopian church commemorates the passing away of Abba Samuel of Waldebba. The brief memory of this great saint recorded in Ethiopic is Synaxarium as follows. In the Name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, One God, amen.
On this day died Abba Samuel of Waldebba. He was born of Stephen, and Amata Mariam around 1295 Eth.ca. At his early age, his parent took him to the country of Aksum and taught him the Holy Scriptures. When his father and mother died, he went to Dabra Bankol to Abba Madhanina Egzi’e, and he put on the garb of the monastic life, and fought the fight with fasting and prayer. He ate nothing except withered and decayed herbs, and his drink was water, and he became the servant of the monks, in the grinding of corn, and the drawing of water.
When his family came to visit him repeatedly, he departed to another place and devoted himself to rigorous monastic life. Thence he departed to the desert, and he ate no food whatsoever for forty days and forty nights. There, the lions, and the leopards, and all kinds of terrifying wild beasts came and bowed down before him, and licked the dust at his feet.
One day as he was going along the road, he arrived at a valley which was full of water. At this time he had with him a book and some fire. After making a prayer, he entered and crossed the water by the power of God although the water engulfed him and dragged him down and found the fire not extinguished, and the book uninjured.
Satan used to try him with phantoms of every kind of wild beast, but he was not frightened because his mind was bound up with confidence in his God. As Abba Samuel was praying our Lord Jesus Christ came to him, and sealed his whole body and each limb thereof with His spittle, and he became filled with power. From that day he bound his feet with fetters, and wore sackcloth. And he thrust all his limbs into water, and he recited the Psalms of David five times each day, and he scourged his back frequently with strips. The lions used to peer into his cave like sheep, and of some he used to stroke their bodies, and of others he used to dress their wounds; and he pluck out the thorns from their paws.
During his lifetime, many disciples attached themselves to him, and of these the first was Abba Zarufael. One day Abba Samuel met Abba Gabra Maskal, of Dabra Laggaso and they passed the day in describing the great works of God. At the time for supper, when they were making their prayers, a table came down to them from heaven, and they ate and gave thanks to God.
Then one day he met a certain monk from the desert, and when they began to talk about the Mysteries which God had made for them, Abuna Samuel said, “Behold, for twelve years I have been standing in the heights and censing the throne of God with the Four and Twenty Priests of Heaven.” When he went in to consecrating the Offerings, there came down to him bread and a chalice from heaven; and when he was reading the Praises of our Lady Maryam, he was lifted up off the ground to the height of a cubit, and our Holy Lady, the Virgin Maryam, came and gave him a precious stone which shot out light from it, and some pure incense.
When the time of his departure drew nigh Michael the Archangel came unto him, and he caught him up on his wings and showed him all the delights of the heavenly Jerusalem. And he brought him before the throne of God, and then Abba Samuel received from him the promise concerning the man who should invoke his name or celebrate his commemoration. When he returned to his bed he told his disciples everything, which he had seen, and then he died in peace.
Salutation to Abba Samuel!
Waldebba monastery is one of the oldest and famous Ethiopian monasteries where the monks abstain entirely from eating food for ascetic life except “Rolled Quarf” which is made up of immature banana mixed with the root of a certain tree. According to the tradition of the monastery, Waldebba monastery is believed to have been established around five centuries earlier. Later on Abba Samuel of Waldebba expanded and formed a monastic order and drew up a set of rules in the 14th century.
May the intersession of Abba Samuel be with us and glory be to God!
Source: Synaxarium (December 21): The Book of the Saints of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Translation of Sir E. A. Wallis Budge with some revision.
Abu Al-Fath of Yemen: Echege Enbaqom of Debre Libanos Monastery
August 12, 2016
By Kassa Nigus
Echege Enbaqom, called Abu al-Fath in Yemen before conversion, was the eleventh abbot of the Monastery of Debre Libanos in Shewa, Ethiopia. Echege Enbaqom was consecrated in the See of St. Tekle Haymanot and made a unique contribution to the Ethiopian church in producing valuable literatures useful in the services of the church.
He was a foreigner (Yemeni) and of Islamic origin. Later on, he converted to Christianity and was the only abbot who twice held the rank of “Echege”, the highest ecclesiastical rank below the Patriarch in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church canonized him as a saint in view of his holiness and devotion in keeping and spreading the Word of God. The Church dedicated Miyazia 21 (April 29) to honor him and celebrate his contribution to the Church. His name has also been inscribed in the church’s Book of Saints.
The preparation of Echege Enbakom’s Gedl/Hagiography was finalized on September 30, 1580 E.C, 27 years after the death of the saint. Below is a brief biography of the saint extracted from his Gadl and Deacon Daniel Kibret’s book titled “Echegie Enbaqom – from Yemen to Debre Libanos”.
Echege Enbakom had a Muslim father and a Jewish mother in Yemen. His father had two wives- the mother of the Saint and his brother, and another one who bore 7 children. The mother of Abu al-Fath was rich and beautiful Jewish woman. Because of her beauty her parents named her ‘Shemshiya al-Yeman’. Echege Enbakom before christened Enbaqom (Habakkuk), was given the name ‘Abu Al-Fath’ (meaning the owner of treasures) by his father. His parents raised him teaching him their rules and literatures of the community. He was given lessons on horse riding, skills of war, hunting wild animals and many others as customary in their culture.
‘Abu al-Fath’ guarded the culture and tradition of his parents jealously. The people of his native land held him in high esteem for his personality and conservativeness in keeping the religion and tradition of his land. He was a Muslim of the strictest sect and the most dangerous enemy of Christianity before his conversion and that trait made him similar to St. Paul before his conversion. His passion in persecution of Christians arose from the intensity of his conviction and his zeal for the religion of his parents. He persecuted Christians of his country and Christian merchants who came from abroad.
One day while he was reading the Qur’an, he found a passage that baffled him: “When Allah said: ‘O Jesus! I will recall you and raise you up to Me and will purify you (of the company) of those who disbelieve, and will set your followers above the unbelievers till the Day of Resurrection…..”, ( Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:55). Then, he thought about the followers of Jesus, the Son of Mary, who will be above the unbelievers? Are they not Christians? Who are those who disbelieve and do not follow Jesus – are they not my relatives?
Because of these confusing ideas, his mind became unsettled. Then he went to a teacher named Elqudah – meaning scholar of Islam and asked him by quoting Surah Ali ‘Imran 3:55: “Who are those disbelievers mentioned in this phrase?” But Elqudah became very angry and wanted to inflict serious punishment on him, and reprimanded him and told him not to ask such a question again.
Because of the anger he felt as a consequence of Elqudah failing to respond to his question, the heart of Abu al–Fath was in turmoil and he began to bring the Islamic faith under question mark. Then, he devoted himself to prayer to God to find the true faith; for he believed God is the source of all knowledge and wisdom.
While he was in a state of meditation asking of God to reveal the true faith, the people of his land rose against him in jealousy for he had been a highly respected man among the people of his country. They plotted to kill him. Servants of Abu al-Fath got news of the intention to kill him. These servants were Ethiopians captured in the Battle between the King of Habesha (Ethiopian Solomonic Dynasty) and Adal Sultanate, a medieval Muslim state located in Eastern Ethiopia from around 1415 to 1577 and the prisoners were passed on to the ruler of Yemen, who was the father of Abu al-Fath. Then, Abu al-Fath servants told him that his relatives were plotting to kill him and strongly advised him to depart to the land of Ethiopia which was under the rule of the Solomonic dynasty and told him that the king may help him in everything he needs.
Some days later he left Meka and sailed in a ship, with his servants, reached the port of Dahlak and then Hirgigo, near the port of Massawa in 1482 E.C. During his journey in the Red Sea, Abu al-Fath had three visions; a luminous cross led them but he was silent and did not communicate with men for his heart was in the deepest meditation.
Then, he travelled to the governor of Bahire Negash called Zecharias (could possibly be Debarwa, the ancient city of Midre Bahiri, found 25 km South of what is today Eritrea). Then, he went to Emperor Eskender (1471–1487), the son of Emperor Ba’eda Maryam, through the governor of Bahire Negash.
Unfortunately, because of the death of the emperor two years after that in 1487 E.C, Abu al-Fath found a chaotic situation when he arrived. Concerned about his wellbeing, the servants of Abu al-Fath made him stay at home till the situation subsided and returned to its normal condition. During his stay at the home of the commander (his servant), he began to learn about the teachings of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church including about St. Mary the Mother of God. Abu al-Fath also prayed throughout the day. Then, he had a revelation from God, “O Abu al-Fath, your prayer has reached the Lord of hosts; rise and follow me and I lead you to the path of life and will reveal to you the faith that pleases God.”
After this revelation, Abu al-Fath went to the Monastery of Debre Libanos through the guidance of God crossing the rivers of Jama and Agat, though the rivers were full as the time was the rainy season. When Abu al-Fath arrived at Debre Libanos, he settled with Abune Petros, the then abbot of the Monastery.
Abune Habte Mariam, one of the fathers at the Monastery, prophesized about the coming and future person to become of Abu al-Fath and told Abba Petros saying, “The man whom I told you about has now reached here and is sitting outside of the door with the crowd; he will be your son by grace and sit on your chair after you, and he will be the father of many in place of you.” Having said that, Abba Habte Mariam went out and brought the guest to Abba Petros. Following some conversation with the guest, Abba Petros ordered the chief of his disciples to accommodate the guest and make him feel at home in every possible way.
Later on, Abba Petros assigned two senior teachers, named Yared Ze’amhara and Yared Ze’emoqie, for Abu al-Fath to teach him the Ethiopian Orthodox teachings and traditions. Accordingly, they taught him about the true faith starting from the Old and New Testament teachings. He was taught about God, His revelation and salvation, and he believed all that he was taught. He became a person of faith through the teaching of these teachers. Abba Petros and Abune Habte Mariam prayed and finally baptized him Enbaqom (Habakkuk), after the Prophet Habakkuk. Afterwards, he continued learning from various Orthodox scriptures and became one of the outstanding church elites of the Ethiopian Church. Having gone through many trials and experiencing a life of devout Christian, Abba Petros made him a monk in accordance with the existing Church canon.
Then, Enbaqom was ordained deacon by archbishop Abune Markos in 1490 E.C. through the presentation of Abba Petros. Enbaqom lived there many years providing different religious services including establishment of Churches, including the church of St. Mary named Bethlhem in Tiko, western Shewa, through the help of Abba Petros and Archbishop Abune Markos, the Egyptian Coptic bishop assigned then to serve Ethiopian dioceses. The Bishop consecrated the church and provided all the necessary sacred items for church service.
Abu al-Fath was also visited upon by various temptations, while he lived there providing evangelical services. One day he heard a rumor indicating that he will be the next abbot of Debre Libanos after Abba Petros. Right after that, he started a journey to Jerusalem in an attempt to flee from his being ordained. In this journey, when he reached at Keda, a place between Lasta and Tigray, God rebuked him strongly and told him to return to Debre Libanos.
When Abba Petros passed away in 1516 E.C., the monks of the Monastery began to make preparations to select the next Abbot of the Monastery. According to the custom of the selection process, 12 nominees of celibate monks would be selected to choose one among them in place of the deceased abbot on the 40th day of commemoration of Abba Petros. When the lot was cast, the name Enbakom came up as prophesized. These things happened only a few years before the revolt (1526 – 1543) of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ("Ahmad Gragn"), who sought to establish Islamic rule in Ethiopia in place of the Christian rule. During his administrative term, Echege Enbakom was a very vigilant father in keeping monastic rules and traditions.
He set forth a very strict rule to lead the Monastery suited to the needs of the Monastery. He had the idea that monks should be far away from a life of luxury and interaction with women. Then, the monks opposed him and accused him before Emperor Libne Dingil. The main points of his accusation that the monks presented to the emperor are:
• Lowering the dignity of the emperor
• Not praying for the emperor
• His prophesies are bad
Then, the Emperor ordered his soldiers to put Enbakom in jail at a place called Gunch where he experienced tribulations of various forms. The punishment for what he was accused of based on the tradition was being put under a certain type of tree where there are numerous worms living on the leaves of the chosen tree. Gradually, when the excretion of worms fell on the body of the person being punished for alleged trespassing, he would be immediately attacked by skin disease and pass away in a few days. But when Enbakom came near the site where the tree was, the tree came out of the earth and moved away a certain distance, away from the saint.
He was also thrown to goats’ stable to spend the night in the expectation that he will be ill and consequently die of it in three days, according to their traditional way of punishment. Instead, all the goats died and he passed the night in peace. Enbakom spent one whole year going through different types of punishment. Finally, due to the request of Church fathers who knew about the innocence of the saint, he was released from detention.
After the end of the destruction of Gragn Ahmed, Emperor Gelawdewos was enthroned in place of his father. Then, Emperor Gelawdewos requested Echege Enbakom to return to his original place. But Enbakom did not want to return. Instead, he planned to spend his remaining time in celibate life. However, later on Echege Enbakom returned to his place due to frequent entreating by Emperor Minas. Echege Enbakom was able to hold the position of Echegie, the highest position of the Monastery, a second time. He stayed one year and died on May 21, 1553 E.C. at the age of 147.
Some of the books prepared /or translated by Echege Enbakom:
1. Anketse Amin: the famous works of Enbakom prepared in 1533 E.C. Enbakom presents this writing in the form of comparison between the Bible and Quran. It was claimed that Echege Enbakom sent the book to Gragn Ahmed to raise issues by showing the difference between the two religious books and to show the Truth.
2. Barla’am and Josaphat: translated in1546 E.C during the reign of Atse Gelawdewos. The book was composed from ancient Indian proverbs and stories.
3. Dersan Zeyohannes Afewek (Chrysostom’s commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews): translated from Arabic to Ge’ez with Coptic monk Michael in 1515 E.C.
4. Book of Abushikr: translated from Arabic. The book consists of world history of the middle ages prepared by Abu shakir Ibn Al-rahib – a Coptic deacon writer of great distinction and one of the most eminent theologians of the Middle Ages around 1200 – 1295.
5. The Revelation of John: translated from Arabic to Ge’ez
6. Bihere Orit: This includes the first division of the Old Testament comprises of 8 books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, the book of Joshua, the book of judges, and the book of Ruth). Translated from Arabic to Ge’ez before 1551 E.C.
7. Other teachings of various church scholars
May the prayer and intercession of Echegie Enbaqom be with us!!
Source:
• Ethiopic Synaxarium, on Miyazya 21/April 29.
• ዲ. ዳንኤል ክብረት፡ 2008 ዓ.ም፡፡ እጨጌ ዕንባቆም ከየመን እስከ ደብረ ሊባኖስ፡፡ (Deacon Daniel Kibret, 2008 E.C. Echege Enbakom – From Yemen to Debre Libanos)
• ሥርግው ሐብለ ሥላሴ፡ 19 69 ዓ.ም፡፡ የቤተክርስቲያን አማርኛ መዝገበ ቃላት ፤ ቅጽ 5-8 ፣ ገጽ 164፡፡ (Sirgiw Hable Sillasie, 1969E.C. Church Amharic Dictionary. Vol. 5-8, pp. 164).
The Short Biography of Abba Iyyesus Moa
December 7, 2015
By Kassa Nigus
Abba Iyesus-Mo’a, one of the saints of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, was the founder and abbot of the famous monastery of St. Stephen of Lake Hayq in Wollo, about 630 km North of Addis Ababa. According to his hagiography, Abba Iyyesus Mo’a was conceived to his father Zekristos and his mother Egzi’e Kibra on Sunday, August 26, 1205 and was born on Wednesday, May 26, 1206 E.C during the reign of Ne’akuto Le’ab in a place called Dahina Gabriel, in Gondar.
He was raised up in his parents’ house learning religious and ethical education. At the age of thirty, he went to the Monastery of Debre Damo and started his ascetic life. After years of harsh trial and education, he received the monastic order from Abba Yohanni, the seventh abbot of Dabra Damo around 1247 E.C.
According to his hagiography, one day, the angle of God, St. Gabriel, appeared and told him to go to the place known as “Haiq,” where his name will be glorified and his legacy celebrated through generations. Then, he asked the angle saying, “How can I know the place?” But the angle ordered him to go forward obeying the order, so he started his journey and reached hurriedly after six hours walk, which could be a journey of several months, by the help of the angle.
Before his arrival to the Monastery of Haiq Estifanos, he remained and served there for about six months in the church of Saints Peter and Paul, which is found north of the Monastery. He offered evangelical sermons for the people in the day time and then entered into the lake in the night for prayer. As his Gadl (hagiography) has recorded, the entrance and departure of Abba Iyyesus Mo’a (in the form of light) into and from the lake every morning and every evening is divinely revealed to church fathers lived around the church of Haiq Estiphanos.
Eventually through the request of the fathers of the Monastery and by the order of God, he was nominated as abbot of the Monastery. During his stay of forty-four years as an abbot, he collected several manuscripts from different monasteries and made them to be copied, and he established the first modern Ethiopian church libraries. Similarly, he established the first great church schools there where he trained 800 disciples and sent them across the country for evangelical services authorizing with a title Neburane’ed (nebure’ed being the highest hierarchal church position).
Dabre Hayq became a center of education and pilgrimage even during the lifetime of its founder. Abba Iyyesus Mo’a is one of the most eminent personalities of Ethiopian monasticism and is said to have been the spiritual father of many disciples, who stayed with him on the island and who in return established other monasteries. Among the few prominent disciples of Abba Iyyesus Mo’a are:
- Abune Tekle Haymanot of Debre Libanos
- Abba Hirute Amlak of Tana Haiq
- Abba Giyorgis of Gasicha
- Abba Ze Iyyesus
- Abba Betselote Michael
- Abba Aron of Zedebre Daret (of the Parish of Daret)
According to the same source, Abba Iyyasus Mo’a played a great role in the restoration of the Solomonic Dynasty in 1270. There was a strong relationship between Abba Iyyasus Mo’a and Yekunno Amlak. It has been known that before Yekunno Amlak, the Solomonic Daynasty was lost and the power was seized by the Zaguwe Dynasty for about 373 years.
Gadle Abba Iyyasus Mo’a narrated this historical event as follows: “…ወእምዝ ፈነወቶ ለሕፃን ምስለ ወልዳ ከመ ይትመሀር ቃለ እግዚአብሔር እምኀበ…. ኢየሱስ ሞዓ ወሶበ አእመረ ኢየሱስ ሞዓ ከመ ሀሎ ኃይለ እግዚአብሔር ላዕለ ውእቱ ሕፃን ይቤሎ ለሕፃን ለእመ አግብአ ለከ እግዚአብሔር መንግሥተ አቡከ መሐል ሊተ ከመ ትግበር ፈቃደ ልብየ ወመሐለ ሎቱ..’Then, she sent him to learn the word of God from Abba Iyyesus Mo’a; during this time, Abba Iyyasus Mo’a had understood divinely as the Power of God exists upon this boy (Yekunno Amlak) so that he must be credited with helping the young boy to seize power from the Zaguwe Daynasty.
Then Abba Iyyasus Mo’a made the boy to promise, to accomplish his will if he became a king, and Yekunno Amlak promised’”. Thus, Yekunno Amlak was grown and studied under Abba Iyyasus Mo’a. Later on, when Yekunno Amlak came to power, he accomplished what he promised to Abba Iyyasus Mo’a. The covenant made between Abba Iyyasus Mo’a and Yekunno Amlak was listed below:
- The children of Abba Iyyasus Mo’a shall attend when the letter of the king is presented (declared).
- The succeeding kings shall not loot the Gult (plot of land given to the monastery for its service) given to Abba Iyyasus Mo’a.
- Any criminal shall be saved from the judgment of death if he entered into the compound of the Monastery of Haiq.
- Those who are born in flesh (the laity) shall not inherit the inheritance of the Monastery.
- Those who have not accepted the monastic yoke shall not inherit the inheritance of the Monastery.
- The king also granted Abba Iyyasus Mo’a the authority of Aqqabe Sa‘at (administrative head), the title given to the one who was the third of the kingdom.
Abba Iyessus Mo’a was also responsible for cleansing Atse Yikuno Amlak from his sin through repentance when the king was claimed to have married the wife of his father, which is strongly condemned in the Christian matrimonial custom. Due to this historical ties, Abba Iyyesus Mo’a has had a strong relationship with the emperors of the time. For instance, the manuscript of the four gospels Abuna Iyyasus Mo’a donated to the Monastery is still found in its library and it contains written references for visits to the Monastery by the two most powerful Ethiopian monarchs of the day, Yekunno Amlak (1270-1285) and Amda Seyon (1314-1344).
Abba Iyyesus Mo’a contributed, with unreserved effort, in the restoration of Christianity after the damage by Yodit Gudit through his evangelical programs by sending his disciples across the country especially towards southern parts of the country. Most of the monasteries that we have today are the fruit of his efforts and that of his disciples trained from Haiq Estiphanos, the ancient church university.
Abba Iyyesus Mo’a died on Sunday, November 26/ 1292 E.C after he lived there for 44 years. According to his hagiography, during his departure from this world, light was occupying the surrounding area witnessing his religious devotions.
Source:
- The Hagiography of Abba Iyyesus Mo’a.
- The Dictionary of Ethiopian Biography, V.1, 1975.