ዝክረ ቅዱሳን ማኅበረ ቅዱስ ዳዊት - ዘብሔረ ጎንደር (ዲ/ዮርዳኖስ አበበ)

2. Saint Xenophon (Askenafer) the Roman
3. The 13 Anchorite/Sowah Fathers (who were bandits)
4. Saint Timothy the Bishop of Ansena (Antinoe)
5. Abba Zacharias the 64th Pope of Alexandria✞✞✞ Monthly Feasts
1. God the Father
2. St. Raphael the Archangel
3. St. Arsanius the Wise Monastic
4. Abune Zera Biruk

✞✞✞“And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. . . But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”✞✞✞
Heb. 1:7-14

✞✞✞ Salutations to God ✞✞✞

(Translated by Mhr. Esuendale Shemeles with the permission of Dn. Yordanos Abebe)

=>The life account of this holy man is delightful and instructional. The Saint was not an ascetic. Rather he was a very wealthy man in the city of Rome, married, a father of one child and the city’s official. This man was very compassionate and Abrahamic. 

✞He spent his day, from morning to dusk, receiving the destitute and hosting them. However, his only son became ill. And he was bedridden for 35 years. Nonetheless, St. Xenophon (Askenafer) did not murmur against his Creator nor tried to minimize his charity. Rather, he kept on feeding the destitute and receiving guests.  

✞And in those days, there were 13 outlaws in the Roman Empire that thieved by mutilating and killing people. After they heard about St. Xenophon’s kindness, they conversed to kill him and loot his riches. However, because he was a commander of a regiment, they went with a disguise.  

✞Since he loved ascetics, all 13 wore the garb of the monks and reached his gate hiding their swords and requested, “We are guests of God, let us spend the night here.” And when St. Xenophon heard their voices, he was surprised.

✞He glanced at them and said in joy, “My Lord! Though I am a sinner, I believed that You would come to Your servant one day.” He said this because he thought that as they were 13 the Lord had come followed by His 12 Apostles.

✞He then took them in and washed their feet. Afterwards he took the water (slop) and poured it over his son. And suddenly, his son that was bed ridden for 35 years rose speedily. At that moment, St. Xenophon bowed down to the 13 bandits. And the thieves were confused and shocked.

✞And the countrymen that had heard the Lord had come with His 12 Apostles started flocking and prostrating before them. At that instant, the crooks removed their clothing and spoke the truth. They said to St. Xenophon, “We are bandits. And we came to kill you. However, your God for your kindness did all this. Now, please take our swords that you take our lives.”

✞Nevertheless, he replied to them with, “Repent, you should not die.” And he sent them on their way with a ration. The 13 bandits then, taking a small portion of lentils, went up a mountain. They threw the lentils on the ground and consuming from it only during the night, they struggled in prayer and fasting. And on this day, all 13 received martyrdom and were endowed with the heavenly crown. And St. Xenophon, after living a righteous life diligently, departed on this day as well.

✞✞✞Saint Timothy✞✞✞
=>This holy father was a Christian that lived in Ansena (Antinoe), Egypt in the 3rd century. Fathers that loved his virtuous life chose and appointed him to be the Bishop of the city and the shepherd of the people.

✞Because the era was one of tribulation, after some time, the governor started to kill Christians. He then arrested St. Timothy saying, “You must renounce your Christianity.” And he had him lashed every morning until his blood poured. He also had his disciples killed one by one.
 
✞However, the Saint endured all in patience. And in the middle of all these, the Era of Persecution/Martyrs came to an end and St. Timothy was freed. At that moment, the Saint gathered the people and prayed. He prayed saying, “O Lord! Please forgive this governor as he has done all that he did without knowing.”

✞And the governor who heard this through a scout was greatly amazed and went before the Saint and prostrated. He said, “O father who loved me when I hated you! Forgive me.” Thereafter, St. Timothy taught and baptized him. Thence, they both lived struggling and departed.

✞✞✞May the God of the Saints keep us by the aid of the angels and forgive us for the intercessions of his beloved. And may He grant us from their blessings. 

✞✞✞ Annual feasts celebrated on the 13th of Hedar
1. A’elaf - The Myriads of Angels (The 99 Hosts of Angels)

#Feasts of #Hedar_13

✞✞✞On this day we commemorate the 99 Hosts of Angels, Saint Xenophon (Askenafer) and Saint Timothy✞✞✞

✞✞✞In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen!✞✞✞

✞✞✞The Myriads of Angels - The 99 Hosts✞✞✞
=>When God created the Holy Angels, He divided them into 100 Hosts and 10 Orders. And they reside in 3 heavens (spheres) in 10 cities (worlds).

✞The cities that the angels reside in are called (according to the Ethiopic tradition) as Eror, Rama and Eyor in ascending order (when observed from bottom up). The 10 Orders with their commanders are listed as follows. (1-4 reside in Eyor, 5-7 reside in Rama, and 8-10 reside in Eror.)

1. Lordships (Their previous leader was Satan and those left when he fell are now under St. Michael)
2. Cherubim (Their leader is Cherub)
3. Seraphim (Their leader is Seraph)
4. Powers (Their leader is Michael)
5. Dominions (Their leader is Gabriel)
6. Thrones (Their leader is Raphael)
7. Authorities (Their leader is Suriel)
8. Principalities (Their leader is Sedaqiel/Zedekiel)
9. Archangels (Their leader is Selatiel/Sarathiel) and
10. Angels (Their leader is Ananiel)

✞From these *Lordships * Cherubim * Seraphim and *Powers reside in Eyor (the 3rd heaven/sphere). While *Dominions *Thrones, and * Authorities reside in Rama (the 2nd heaven/sphere), *Principalities, *Archangels, and *Angels reside in Eror (the 1st heaven/sphere).
 
✞The creation of the angels is from ex nihilo (non - existence) to existence. The angels do not hunger, thirst, reproduce or die. Their creation is immaterial. Their act is to daily praise their Creator saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” And their virtue is this (praising God).

✞They know not rest as the text states, “Their praise is their rest and their rest is their praise.” As the name angel means a messenger, a servant, they are sent to the children of men for mercy or wrath.

✞They bring down mercy and they take up pleas. They smite when ordered and protect nature (the four seasons) to keep its order.

*They always intercede for the children of man. (Zech. 1:12)
*They reveal mysteries (Dan. 9:21)
*They aid/support (Josh. 5:13)
*They protect us so we do not stumble (Ps. 90(91):11)
*They save (Ps. 33(34):11)
*They are deserving of prostration/veneration (Judg. 13:20, Josh. 5:13, Rev. 22:8)
*On Judgement Day they separate the righteous from sinners (Matt. 25:31)
*All in all, for the sake of the life and salvation of the children of man they live keeping the order and executing the will of their Creator that was given to them.

✞✞✞”A’elaf” - Myriads✞✞✞
=>This day is called “A’elaf” (Myriads) by the scholars. And it is a day on which the 99 Hosts of Angels that live in faith, ministry, and praise are commemorated altogether.  Though there are Altar Boards dedicated to them in some of the parishes of Gondar including “Fit Michael”, I (the author) have not seen the churches holding their feast with processions. 

✞However, it is known that the scholars in nightly vigils of “Mahlets – chants” and the priests in the Divine Liturgy commemorate them. Saying that their annual feast day is Hedar 13 (November 22) means that their monthly feast is on the 13th of each month hence we should commemorate them accordingly.

✞As Holy Writ tells us in name and rank about the holy angels, It also expresses to us their ministry as a congregation/hosts. For example:
*Jacob has seen them ascending and descending a ladder. (Gen. 28:12)
*Elisha has shown them to Gehazi. (2 Kgs. 6:17)
*Daniel has seen them. (Dan. 7:10)
*Saint Luke has written that they were revealed while chanting hymns during the Nativity. (Luke 2:13)
*And John has seen them in his revelation. (Rev. 5:11)

✞In addition to this, they have been mentioned in many parts of the Bible. And because the holy angels are called angels of light, spirituals, praisers, hymnists, and beseechers, we should remember them that they remember us as well.✞✞✞Saint Xenophon (Askenafer) the Roman✞✞✞

የዲ/ዮርዳኖስ አበበ ትምህርቶች የሚተላለፉበት ዝክረ ቅዱሳን ማኅበረ ቅዱስ ዳዊት:
††† በስመ አብ ወወልድ ወመንፈስ ቅዱስ ፩ አምላክ አሜን! †††

††† እንኩዋን "ለ99ኙ ነገደ መላእክት": "ቅዱስ አስከናፍር" እና "ቅዱስ ጢሞቴዎስ" ዓመታዊ በዓል በሰላም አደረሳችሁ †††

††† አእላፍ መላእክት †††

=>እግዚአብሔር ቅዱሳን መላእክትን ሲፈጥራቸው በነገድ መቶ (100): በክፍለ ነገድ አሥር (10) አድርጉዋቸዋል:: አቀማመጣቸውንም በ3 ሰማያትና በ10 ከተሞች (ዓለማት) አድርጉዋል::

+መላእክት ያሉባቸው ከተሞች ከታች ወደ ላይ "ኤረር: ራማና ኢዮር" ይባላሉ:: አሥሩ ክፍለ ነገድ ደግሞ ከነ አለቆቻቸው ይህንን ይመስላሉ:-

1.አጋእዝት (የቀድሞ አለቃቸው ሳጥናኤል: አህን የተረፉት በቅዱስ ሚካኤል ሥር ናቸው)
2.ኪሩቤል (አለቃቸው ኪሩብ)
3.ሱራፌል (አለቃቸው ሱራፊ)
4.ኃይላት (አለቃቸው ሚካኤል)
5.አርባብ (አለቃቸው ገብርኤል)

6.መናብርት (አለቃቸው ሩፋኤል)
7.ስልጣናት (አለቃቸው ሱርያል)
8.መኩዋንንት (አለቃቸው ሰዳካኤል)
9.ሊቃናት (አለቃቸው ሰላታኤል)
10.መላእክት (አለቃቸው አናንኤል) ናቸው::

+ከእነዚህም *አጋእዝት: *ኪሩቤል *ሱራፌልና *ኃይላት መኖሪያቸው በኢዮር (በ3ኛው ሰማይ) ነው:: *አርባብ: *መናብርትና *ስልጣናት ቤታቸው ራማ (2ኛው ሰማይ) ነው:: *መኩዋንንት: *ሊቃናትና *መላእክት ደግሞ የሚኖሩት በኤረር (በ1ኛው) ሰማይ ነው::

+መላእክት ተፈጥሯቸው እምኀበ አልቦ ኀበ ቦ ነው:: አይራቡም: አይጠሙም: አይዋለዱም: አይሞቱም:: ተፈጥሯቸውም ረቂቅ ነው:: ተግባራቸውም ዘወትር "ቅዱስ: ቅዱስ: ቅዱስ" እያሉ ፈጣሪያቸውን ማመስገን ነው:: ምግባቸውም ይሔው ነው::

+ዕረፍት ብሎ ነገርን አያውቁም:: "አኮቴቶሙ ዕረፍቶሙ: ወዕረፍቶሙ አኮቴቶሙ" እንዲል:: በተጨማሪም መልአክ ማለት ተላላኪ (አገልጋይ) ነውና ከፈጣሪ ወደ ሰው ልጆች ለምሕረትም: ለመዓትም ይላካሉ::

+ምሕረትን ያወርዳሉ:: ልመናን ያሳርጋሉ:: ቅጡ ሲባሉም ይቀጣሉ:: ስነ ፍጥረት (አራቱ ወቅቶች) እንዳይዛቡ ይጠብቃሉ::

*ዘወትርም ስለ ሰው ልጆች ያማልዳሉ (ዘካ. 1:12)
*ምሥጢርን ይገልጣሉ (ዳን. 9:21)
*ይረዳሉ (ኢያ. 5:13)
*እንዳንሰናከል ይጠብቃሉ (መዝ. 90:11)
*ያድናሉ (መዝ. 33:7)
*ስግደት ይገባቸዋል (መሳ. 13:20, ኢያ. 5:13, ራዕ. 22:8)
*በፍርድ ቀንም ኃጥአንን ከጻድቃን ይለያሉ (ማቴ. 25:31)
*በአጠቃላይ ለሰው ልጆች ሕይወትና ድኅነት ሲባል ከፈጣሪያቸው የተሰጣቸውን ትዕዛዝ ሲጠብቁና ፈቃዱን ሲፈጽሙ ይኖራሉ::

+"+ አእላፍ +"+

=>ይህ ዕለት በሊቃውንት አንደበት "አእላፍ" እየተባለ ይጠራል:: በሃይማኖት: በተልእኮትና በምስጋና የሚኖሩ 99ኙ ነገደ መላእክት በአንድ ላይ የሚከበሩበት ቀን ነው:: ምንም እንኩዋን የጐንደሩን ፊት ሚካኤልን ጨምሮ በአንዳንድ አድባራት ታቦቱ ቢኖርም ሲያነግሡ ተመልክቼ አላውቅም::

+ሊቃውንቱ በማሕሌት: ካህናቱም በቅዳሴ እንደሚያከብሯቸው ግን ይታወቃል:: ሕዳር 13 ቀን ዓመታዊ በዓላቸው ነው ማለት በየወሩ በ13 ወርሃዊ በዓላቸው መሆኑን ያሳያልና ዘወትር ልናስባቸው ይገባል::

+ቅዱስ መጽሐፍ ቅዱሳን መላእክትን በስምና በማዕረግ እንደሚነግረን ሁሉ በማሕበር (በትዕይንት) አገልግሎታቸውም ይነግረናል:: ለምሳሌ:-

*ያዕቆብ= በረዥም መሰላል ሲወጡና ሲወርዱ ተመልክቷል:: (ዘፍ. 28:12)
*ኤልሳዕ ለግያዝ አሳይቶታል:: (2ነገ. 6:17)
*ዳንኤል ተመልክቷል:: (ዳን. 7:10)
*በልደት ጊዜ በዝማሬ መገለጣቸውን ቅዱስ ሉቃስ ጽፏል:: (ሉቃ. 2:13)
*ዮሐንስ በራዕዩ አይቷቸዋል:: (ራዕይ. 5:11)

+ከዚህም በላይ በብዙ የመጻሕፍት ክፍል ተጠቅሰዋል:: ቅዱሳን መላእክተ ብርሃን: መንፈሳውያን: ሰባሕያን: መዘምራን: መተንብላን (አማላጆች) ተብለውም ይጠራሉና ያስቡን ዘንድ ልናስባቸው ይገባል::

+"+ ቅዱስ አስከናፍር ሮማዊ +"+

=>የዚህ ቅዱስ ሰው ሕይወት ታሪክ ደስ የሚያሰኝና የሚያስተምር ነው:: ቅዱሱ የገዳም ሰው አይደለም:: በሮም ከተማ እጅግ ሃብታም: ባለ ትዳር: የአንድ ልጅ አባትና የከተማዋ መስፍን ነው:: ይህ ሰው በጣም ደግና አብርሃማዊ ነው::

+ከጧት እስከ ማታ ነዳያንን ሲቀበልና ሲጋብዝ ነበር የሚውለው:: ነገር ግን አንድና ብቸኛ ልጁ መጻጉዕ (ድውይ) ሆነበት:: ለ35 ዓመታትም ከአልጋ ላይ ተጣብቆ ይኖር ነበር:: ቅዱስ አስከናፍር ግን ፈጣሪውን ያማርር: ደግነቱን ይቀንስ ዘንድ አልሞከረም:: አሁንም ነዳያኑን ማጥገቡን: እንግዳ መቀበሉን ቀጠለ እንጂ::

+በዚያ ወራት ደግሞ በሮም ግዛት ቁዋንጃ የሚቆርጡ: ሰው እየገደሉ የሚዘርፉ 13 ሽፍቶች ነበሩ:: ስለ ቅዱስ አስከናፍር ደግነት ሰምተው ገድለው ይዘርፉት ዘንድ ተማከሩ:: የሠራዊት አለቃ በመሆኑ በማታለል ሔዱ::

+መነኮሳትን ይወዳልና 13ቱም ልብሰ መነኮሳትን ለብሰው: ሰይፎቻቸውን ደብቀው: ከበሩ ደርሰው: "የእግዚአብሔር እንግዶች ነን: አሳድረን" አሉት:: ቅዱስ አስከናፍር ድምጻቸውን ሲሰማ ደነገጠ::

+ብቅ ብሎ አያቸውና "ጌታየ! ምንም ኃጢአተኛ ብሆን አንድ ቀን ወደ ባሪያህ እንደምትመጣ አምን ነበር" ሲል በደስታ ተናገረ:: እንዲህ ያለው ሽፍቶቹ 13 በመሆናቸው ጌታ 12ቱን ሐዋርያት አስከትሎ የመጣ መስሎት ነው::

+ወዲያውም ወደ ቤቱ አስገብቶ እግራቸውን አጠባቸው:: የእግራቸውን እጣቢ ወስዶም በልጁ ላይ አፈሰሰበት:: ድንገትም ለ35 ዓመታት አልጋ ላይ ተጣብቆ የኖረው ልጅ አፈፍ ብሎ ከአልጋው ላይ ተነሳ::

በዚህ ጊዜ ቅዱስ አስከናፍር ለ13ቱ ሽፍቶች በግንባሩ ሰገደ:: ሽፍቶቹ ግን ነገሩ ግራ ቢገባቸው ደነገጡ::

+ጌታ 12ቱን ሐዋርያት አስከትሎ መምጣቱን የሰሙ የሃገሩ ሰዎችም እየመጡ ይሰግዱላቸው ገቡ:: በዚህ ጊዜ ሽፍቶቹ ልብሳቸውን አውልቀው እውነቱን ተናገሩ:: "እኛ ሽፍቶች ነን:: የመጣነውም ልንገልህ ነው:: አምላክ ግን ባንተ ደግነት ይህንን ሁሉ ሠራ:: አሁንም እባክህ ትገድለን ዘንድ ሰይፋችንን ውሰድ" አሉት::

+እርሱ ግን "ንስሃ ግቡ እንጂ መሞት የለባችሁም" ብሎ: ስንቅ ሰጥቶ አሰናበታቸው:: 13ቱ ሽፍቶችም ጥቂት ምሥሮችን ይዘው ወደ ተራራ ወጡ:: ምስሩን በመሬት ላይ በትነው ማታ ብቻ እየቀመሱ በጾምና በጸሎት ተጋደሉ:: በዚህች ቀንም 13ቱም በሰማዕትነት የክብር አክሊልን ተቀዳጁ:: ቅዱስ አስከናፍርም በተቀደሰ ሕይወቱ ተግቶ ኑሮ በዚህች ቀን ዐርፏል::

+"+ ቅዱስ ጢሞቴዎስ +"+

=>ይህ ቅዱስ አባት በ3ኛው መቶ ክ/ዘመን በዘመነ ሰማዕታት የነበረ የእንጽና (ግብጽ) ክርስቲያን ነው:: በጐ ሕይወቱን የወደዱ አበው በወቅቱ የከተማዋ ዻዻስ: የሕዝቡም እረኛ እንዲሆን መርጠው ሾሙት::

+ጊዜው የመከራ በመሆኑ ከትንሽ ጊዜ በሁዋላ የከተማው መኮንን ክርስቲያኖችን ይገድል ገባ:: ቅዱስ ጢሞቴዎስንም "ክርስትናህን ካልካድክ" በሚል አሠረው:: ጧት ጧት እያወጣም ደሙ እስኪፈስ ድረስ ይገርፈው ነበር:: ደቀ መዛሙርቱንም አንድ አንድ እያለ ፈጀበት::

+ቅዱሱ ግን በትእግስት ሁሉን ቻለ:: በዚህ መካከል ዘመነ ሰማዕታት አልፎ ቅዱስ ጢሞቴዎስ ነጻ ወጣ:: ያን ጊዜም ሕዝቡን ሰብስቦ ጸሎትን አደረገ:: "ጌታ ሆይ! ይህንን መኮንን እባክህ ማርልኝ? ያደረገው ነገር ሁሉ ባለ ማወቅ ነውና::"