The Feast of St. Gabriel
December 29, 2015
According to his homily, St Gabriel is one of the archangels who strongly contended for the honor and wisdom of God when the fraud angle wished to be the highest in heaven, even above God. During that time of mystification, St. Gabriel heartened his fellow angles saying, "we shall persist till we realize our Creator”.
According to his homily, St Gabriel is one of the archangels who strongly contended for the honor and wisdom of God when the fraud angle wished to be the highest in heaven, even above God. During that time of mystification, St. Gabriel heartened his fellow angles saying, "we shall persist till we realize our Creator”.
All heaven fell in commotion as Satan attempted to conquer the Son of God and those who were submissive to his will. But the good angels prevailed, and Satan, with his followers, was driven from heaven. (Isaiah 14:12-20; Ezekiel 28:1-19; Revelation 12:7-9)
St Gabriel is also the angel who announced to Zacharias the priest that his sterile wife will give birth to a son who will be called John (Luke 1:13). He mentioned some prophecies about that son, which shows that angels are capable of knowing what will happen in the future as revealed to them by God. Gabriel is also the one who was sent to the Holy Virgin and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).
Gabriel also clarifies visions when ordered by God. This appears in the vision of the prophet Daniel. When Daniel was perplexed with the vision, the Lord sent Gabriel to clarify the meaning of the vision to Daniel. (Dan. 8:16) In the subsequent chapter, the angel said, “O Daniel, I now come forth to give you skill and understanding.” (Dan.9: 22)
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church celebrates colorfully the Feast of St. Gabriel on 19th day of each month of which two are great annual feasts – on Tahisas 19 (December 28) and Hamle 19 (July 26). Tahisas 19, in the Church, is dedicated to commemorate the deliverance of the three youths (Sidraq, Misaq and Abdenago) from the burning fire of Nebuchadnezzar through the help of St Gabriel (Daniel 3).