Epistle
September 10, 2021
O believing, beloved, and Orthodox brethren, it is meet that ye should magnify our Lord Jesus Christ and His honorable Blood, and that we should praise God the Most High, and multiply His praises, and exalt His highness exceedingly, because He hath given unto us the grace of His goodness and the greatness of His compassion, which have brought us to this hour, which is the end of the revolution of the year of mercy of Egypt, and of Ethiopia, and Nubia.
We are sound and healthy in our bodies and souls, and we are strong in the True Faith, following our holy fathers. God shows patience towards us, and He hath mercy upon us, and He wait for us to turn from our transgressions and from our evil works. He doth not destroy us, as He destroyed many nations who were before us, but He abide us patiently, and He wait for us to turn from our sins, an our transgressions, and our folly, and for us to rouse ourselves up out of our sluggishness, and for us to rise up from our fall.
It is meet that we should weep before Him, and cry to Him to set aside His abomination of our transgressions, and our many sins, and that we should ask Him to strengthen us in the True Faith in this world, and in that which is to come, and during all the days of our life, and to preserve us from the snare of Satan, our Enemy, so that we may arrive at the end of this coming year, and that we may be strong in the True Faith, and joyful in good works, and healthy in our bodies. let us ask Him to give rest to the souls of those who have died among us, and may He set grace in our country, and bless our land, and bring us into our abode in houses in joy, and in peace, forever and ever, Amen.
Source: The Ethiopic Syanaxarium, page 740