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

❤️"ታኅሣሥ 13"

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+*" ብጽዕት ሐና "*+

=>"ሐና" ማለት በእብራይስጥኛው "የእግዚአብሔር ስጦታ" እንደ ማለት ነው:: "ሐና: ዮሐና: ሐናንያ" የሚሉ የዕብራይስጥ ስሞች ትርጉማቸው ተወራራሽ ነው:: የዚህችን ቅድስት እናት ክብሯን መናገር የሚችል የለም:: እርሷ ሰማይና ምድርን ለፈጠረ ለእግዚአብሔር ወልድ በሥጋ አያቱ ተብላለችና::

+አንድም ለሰማይና ለምድር ንግስት ለድንግል ማርያም ወላጅ እናቷ ናትና:: ከዓለም ሴቶች ሁሉ የቅድስት ሐና ማሕጸን እንደ ምን ይከብር! በፍጥረት ታሪክ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ጥንተ አብሶ (የአዳም በደል) መተላለፍ የቀረው በማሕጸነ ሐና ውስጥ ነውና:: (ለዚህ አንክሮ ይገባል!!!)

+ይስሐቅን የተሸከመ የሣራ ማሕጸን ቡሩክ ከተባለ የቅድስት ሐናማ እንደምን አይባል! ከፍጥረታት ሁሉ እግዚአብሔር ድንግል ማርያምን እንደ መረጠ ሁሉ ቅድስት ሐናንም ለአያትነት መርጧታል::

=>ለመሆኑ ቅድስት ሐና ማን ናት? ለዚህ ክብርስ ያበቃት ምሥጢረ ቅድስናዋ ምንድን ነው?

+ቅድስት ሐና ትውልዷ: ነገዷ ከላይ ከቅዱስ አብርሃም: ከታች ደግሞ ከነገደ ካህናት ነው:: ይሕስ እንደ ምን ነው ቢሉ:-

*አብርሃም ይስሐቅን: ይስሐቅ ያዕቆብን: ያያዕቆብ ደግሞ ሌዊንና 11 ወንድሞቹን ይወልዳል::

*ሌዊ ቀዓትን: ቀዓት እንበረምን: እንበረም አሮን ካህኑን ይወልዳሉ::

*ቅዱስ አሮን አልዓዛርን: አልዓዛር ፊንሐስን እያለ ትውልዱ እስከ ቴክታና በጥሪቃ ይወርዳል:: ቴክታና በጥሪቃም ልጅ በማጣት ኖረው: የእንቦሳዎች: የፀሐይና: የጨረቃን ምሥጢር ተመልክተው ሄኤሜንን ይወልዳሉ::

*ሄኤሜን ዴርዴን: ዴርዴ ቶናሕን: ቶናሕ ሲካርን: ሲካርም ሔርሜላን ይወልዳሉ::

*ሔርሜላም ከክርስቶስ ልደት 90 ዓመታት በፊት ማጣት ("ጣ" ጠብቆ ይነበብ) የሚባል ደግ ሰው ከካህናት ወገን አግብታ በስርዓተ ኦሪት ትኖር ነበር:: እግዚአብሔር ለዚህች ደግ ሴት የተባረኩ 3 ሴቶች ልጆችን ሰጣት::

+የመጀመሪያዋን "ማርያም" አለቻት:: ይህቺውም የአረጋዊው ዮሴፍ ሚስትና የቅድስት ሰሎሜ ቡርክት እናት ናት:: ሁለተኛዋን "ሶፍያ" አለቻት:: እርሷም ቅድስት ኤልሳቤጥን (የመጥምቁን እናት) ወልዳለች::

+በመጨረሻ የወለዷትን ግን "ሐና" አሏት:: ይህቺውም የፈጣሪ የሥጋ አያቱ: የድንግል ማርያምም እናቷ ትሆን ዘንድ የተመረጠችውና ስም አጠራሯ የከበረው: ዛሬ የምናከብራት እናት ናት::

+መጽሐፈ ስንክሳርን ስመለከት እንዲህ የሚል ዓረፍተ ነገር አየሁ:: "ለዛቲ ቅድስት ኢያዕመርነ ገድላቲሃ ዘትገብሮን በኅቡዕ ከመ ንዝክሮን" ይላል:: ትርጉሙም "የዚህቺን ቅድስት ገድሏንና ትሩፋቷን እንዳንዘረዝር አላወቅነውም" እንደ ማለት ነው::

+የሚገርመው አበው እንዲህ ያሉት ክብሯን መግለጹን አልጠግብ ብለው ነው:: እኛም በመጠናችን የብጽዕት ሐናን ሕይወት በአጭሩ ቀጥለን እንመልከት::

+ብጽዕት ሐና ወላጆቿ (ማጣትና ሔርሜላ) ከካህናት ወገን በመሆናቸው ልጆቻቸውን በጥንቃቄ: በሥርዓተ ኦሪት እንዳሳደጉ ይታመናል:: ቅድስት ሐናንም ለአቅመ ሔዋን እስክትደርስ ድረስ በሕጉ: በሥርዓቱ አሳድገዋታል::

+በወቅቱ በፈቃደ እግዚአብሔር ትውልዱ ከነገደ ይሁዳ የሚሆን አንድ ደግ ሰው አጩላት:: ይህ ሰው "ኢያቄም" ይባላል:: አንዳንዴም "ሳዶቅ" ወይም "ዮናኪር" እየተባለ ይጠራል:: ቅዱስ ኢያቄም ማለት ክፉ ከአንደበቱ የማይወጣው: ምጽዋትን የሚወድ: አምላከ እሥራኤልን በንጹሕ ልቡ የሚያመልክ ሰው ነበረ::

+እንደ ኦሪቱ ሥርዓት 2ቱ (ኢያቄም ወሐና) ከተጋቡ በሁዋላ ቶሎ መውለድ አልቻሉም:: ይሕ ደግሞ የወቅቱ ከባድ ፈተና ነው:: በዘመድ የከበሩ: በጠባያቸው የተመሰገኑ: መልካምንም የሚሠሩ ሰዎች ልጅ ስለሌላቸው ብቻ "ኅጡአነ በረከት" እየተባሉ ከቤተ እግዚአብሔር ይገፉ: በአደባባይም ይነቀፉ ነበር::

+ምክንያቱም በብሉይ ኪዳን ልጅ አለመውለድ እንደ ኃጢአተኛ ያስቆጥር ነበር:: ደግነቱ የወቅቱ ሊቀ ካህናት ቅዱስ ዘካርያስ (የመጥምቁ አባት) እንደ እነሱ ልጅ ያጣ በመሆኑ አብረው ይጽናኑ ነበር::

+የሆነው ሆኖ እኒህ ቡሩካን ሰዎች አምላከ እሥራኤልን ከመለመንና ከማመስገን በቀር ሌላ ትርፍ አልተገኘባቸውም:: ምንም የሞላቸውና የደላቸው ባይሆኑም ደሃን ሳያጐርሱ አይበሉም ነበር::

+ቅድስት ሐናን ግን "ቢወልዷት እንጂ አትወልድ: ድንጋይ: በቅሎ" እያሉ ጐረቤቶቿ ይሳለቁባት ነበር:: ከማልቀስ በቀር ደግሞ መልስ አልነበራትም::

+አንድ ቀን ግን ርግቦች ከልጆቻቸው ጋር ሲጫወቱ ተመልክታ "ፈጣሪ ሆይ! የእንስሳትን ማሕጸን የምትከፍት: ዕፀዋትንም ከባሕርያቸው እንዲያፈሩ የምታደርግ:: እውነትም ሐናን ድንጋይ አድርገህ ፈጥረሃታልን?" ስትል አለቀሰች::

+ቅዱስ ኢያቄምም ወደ ተራራ ወጥቶ ለ40 ቀናት አለቀሰ: ተማለለ:: ይህ ሲሆን 2ቱም አርጅተው ነበር:: ሐምሌ 30 ቀን ግን ነጭ ርግብ 7ቱን ሰማያት ሰንጥቃ በማሕጸነ ሐና ስታድር አዩ:: ደስ ብሏቸው ለ7 ቀናት ሱባኤ ይዘው ቅድስት ሐና እመቤታችንን ነሐሴ 7 ቀን ጸነሰቻት::

+ይሕም ለእነርሱም: ለወገኖቻቸውም ታላቅ ተድላ ሆነ:: ብጽዕት ሐና ግን ፈጣሪዋን ታከብረው ዘንድ በጐነትንና ንጽሕናን አበዛች:: ጸንሳ ሳለም ዕውራንን አበራች: ድውያንን ፈወሰች::

+የጦሊቅ ልጅ በሞተ ጊዜም እያለቀሰች ስትዞረው ጥላዋ ቢያርፍበት አፈፍ ብሎ ተነስቶ:- "ሰላም ለኪ እሙ ለፀሐየ ጽድቅ" ብሎ ድንግል ማርያምን::
"ወሰላም ለኪ እምሔውቱ ለዘገብረ ሰማየ ወምድረ" ብሎ ቅድስት ሐናን አመስግኗል:: ትርጉሙም ድንግልን "የፀሐየ ጽድቅ እናቱ": ሐናን "ሰማይና ምድርን ለፈጠረ አያቱ" ማለት ነው::

+ይህንን ያዩ አይሁድ ቅድስት ሐናን ሊገድሉ ብዙ ጊዜ ሞክረዋል:: ግን መልአከ ሰላም ቅዱስ ገብርኤል አልፈቀደላቸውም:: ግንቦት 1 ቀንም የሰማይና የምድር ንግስትን ሊባኖስ ተራራ ላይ ወልዳ ሽሙጥን ከሁላችንም አራቀች::

+ስሟን "ማርያም-የአምላክ ስጦታ" ብለው ሰይመው ለ3 ዓመታት አሳድገዋታል:: የሚገርመው በ3ቱ ዓመታት ውስጥ ቅድስት ሐና ድንግል ማርያምን ከክንዷ አውርዳት አታውቅም ነበር:: አንድ ጊዜም መላእክት ወስደውባት ፍጹም አልቅሳለች:: ሁዋላ ግን መልሰውላታል::

+ሌላኛው የሚደንቀው እግዚአብሔር የዓለም ውዱን ስጦታ እመ ብርሃንን ሰጣቸው:: እነርሱም ይሕችን ውድ ስጦታ ሳይሰስቱ ለፈጣሪ መለሱለት::
"እምቅድሜክሙ አልቦ::
ወእምድኅሬክሙ አልቦ::
ከመዝ መስዋዕት ለእግዚአብሔር ዘወሃቦ::" እንዲል::

+ቅድስት ሐና ድንግል ወደ ቤተ መቅደስ ከገባች በሁዋላ የእናትነት ፍቅሯ እያገበራት ለ5 ዓመታት እየተመላለሰች ትጐበኛት: ትስማት ነበር:: እመቤታችን 8 ዓመት በሞላት ጊዜ ግን የእግዚአብሔር ጥሪ ወደ ቅድስት ሐና ደረሰ::

+ከክርስቶስ ልደት 8 ዓመታት አስቀድማ ብጽዕት እናት ሐና ዐረፈች:: ትንሽ ቆይቶም ባለቤቷ ቅዱስ ኢያቄም ተከተላት እኛም ልጆቿ "ብጽዕት ሐና ብጽዓን ይገባሻል!" እያልን እናመስግናት::

❤️¤በዚህች ዕለት ቅድስት ሐና ድንግል እመቤታችንን እንደ ጸነሰች በግብጻውያን ወገኖቻችን ይታመናል:: እኛ ግን ጽንሰተ ማርያምን በጐላ በተረዳ መንገድ ነሐሴ 7 ቀን እናከብራለን::

✞✞✞Abba Abracius (Apraxios) the Monastic✞✞✞
=>Our fathers call this Saint as “A Powerful Monk”. After entering the desert at the age of 20, he struggled for 70 years and reached the age of 90 years. And he removed Satan from where he struggled after vexing him much.✞Satan because he was not able to make the Saint fall, began a new way to try him so that he would decrease from his fast, prayer and prostrations. He then approached the father and said, “Abracius (Apraxios) you have become weary. But you still have 50 more years to live”.

✞However, the Saint replied to the Satan, “You sadden me! I thought I had 100 more years and was fighting in small amounts. If that is the case, I will double upon the fast, prayer and prostrations.” Thus, Satan left humiliated. Nevertheless, Saint Abracius (Apraxios) departed in the same year at the age of 90 years.

✞✞✞May the God of Fathers preserve us in their perseverance. And may He grant us from their blessings.

✞✞✞ Annual feasts celebrated on the 13th of Tahisas
1. Abune Zera Biruk the Righteous
2. St. Macarius the Monastic
3. Abba Abracius (Apraxios)
4. Blessed Hannah (Anna) the Mother of our Lady
5. Abba Barsanuphius the Martyr
6. Abba Misael (Michael) of Qalamun

✞✞✞ Monthly Feasts
1. God the Father
2. St. Raphael the Archangel
3. The 99 Hosts of Angels
4. St. Arsanius the Wise Monastic
5. St. Askanafer
6. The 13 Spirit-borne (“Gehusan”/”Sowah”) Fathers

✞✞✞“He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”✞✞✞
Matt. 10:41-42

✞✞✞ Salutations to God ✞✞✞

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

✞But as his food was heavenly; he did not touch any of it. And 5 years later, all that food was found miraculously still hot and steam coming from it. And he was released from prison.✞God then judged the heretical Emperor and [his son] Fasil (Fasilides) was enthroned. And the [upright] faith was brought back. And the Saint found his Psalmodia which he put in the River of Abay without being drenched.

✞And when he reached Gojjam, he found Satan deceiving people looking like him, thus he cast him to hell. Abune Zera Biruk lived the rest of his life with much strife (fighting the good fight) and passed away on Tir 13 (January 21). And his birthday is commemorated on this day, Tahisas 13 (December 22).

✞As he is a wonderworking father, many miracles are done to this today at Geshe.

✞✞✞Abba Macarius the Ascetic✞✞✞
=>The name Macarius is Greek and it means, “Blessed”. Many saints including St. Macarius the Chief of the Monks were called by this name. And when learning about the saints, the famed father we commemorate today is known as “The one who eats partridges”.

✞And we will see the reason for it [as we go on]. St. Macarius was a fruit of the Era of the Righteous that lived in the 5th century in the Land of Egypt. Because before him came fathers like Macarius the Great, Macarius the Priest and Macarius of Qaw (Tkow/Qaw al - Kabir), it is accustomed to call him as Macarius the 4th. 

✞In his youth, the Saint left the world and entered a monastery. Then, he became a monk. And because he completely shunned chatter, gossip and pride; he went out of the monastery and departed to a desert which was void of people.

✞But he was not able to find anything to eat, a fruit of a tree nor a grass of any type, in the surrounding. And after he fasted when he became hungry, he prayed, “O Lord Who sustains the creation! Feed me my dinner?”

✞Then he ate as God had brought him one partridge. And after that, partridges became his only meal. He was able to catch a partridge each night and ate after praising for years.

✞Because God wanted to reveal the accounts of this ascetic, one Constantinopolitan monk came to the desert from his city. And while he searched for a place to take shelter in, he saw one elder hermit catching a partridge and was shocked.
 
✞Saying, “How could he eat meat while being a monk?” he was angered. And wanting to tell the matter to the Archbishop, he went back hastily via the way he came. Then, he said to the Patriarch of the nation, “Our father, one hermit to make a mockery out of our faith did such and such”. Thence, the Patriarch to make sure of the matter added one more person with the monk and sent both.
 
✞On that day, for the first time, St. Macarius caught 3 partridges in a trap. Then as he asked, “My Lord! What shall I do with the 2?” the monks reached him. Delighted and praising God, he prepared and presented to them [to eat].

✞But they despised the Saint and said, “We won’t eat.” Immediately, Abba Macarius breathed upon the roasted partridges, they gained their lives, and he made them fly. And the monks, who were shocked, prostrated before him and returned running to their country.

✞And with their tongues that they had used to slander him, they preached saying, “A great man has been found, may his blessing not pass you.” And when this was heard, the Patriarch with his people and the King with his soldiers went to the desert to be blessed. However, they reached when a holy angel carried the Saint up to the Realm of the Living.
  
✞And aloud they asked him, “Father! [Give us] your blessing, [what’s] your council for [our] salvation?” And he replied, “May your mouths fast from gossip and deceit. Priests do not have excess education nor do monks amplify austerity. Let not your heart be proud. And peace be with you!” and he disappeared before their eyes and entered the Realm of the Living.

#Feasts of #Tahisas_13

✞✞✞On this day we commemorate Abune Zera Biruk, Abba Macarius and Abba Abracius (Apraxios) ✞✞✞

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

✞✞✞ Abune Zera Biruk✞✞✞
=>Our country Ethiopia
*which is not lucking of the Old and New Testaments (as Judaism had existed here before the introduction of Christianity by the Eunuch and the Apostles), 
*which was blessed by Christ and the Holy Virgin as during their flight
*is a refuge of the Saints
*and is a blessed country since she had produced many Saints from her bosom.

✞All parts of our country have produced saints. All parts, East, West, North and South, are the abodes of saints as well. And one of the places that produced Saints in large numbers was the land of Gojjam.

✞And the Righteous Abune Zera Biruk was one of the renowned saints that arose in the area of Gojjam. He was in many ways a unique father. Here are a few of the things that made him distinctive.
1. He has counted the teeth of the 2 great beasts (behemoth and leviathan) which surround the Earth [after being taken up] and returned seeing many mysteries. (Science has not reached this matter with its labors).
2. The Saint, when he was born, did heal the blind. However, he had prayed for himself not to see this world of wickedness, and was blinded.
3. The Holy Bible testifies that St. Joshua had stopped the sun from setting at Gibeon [for a part of the day]. (Josh 10:12-13) Nevertheless, Abune Zera Biruk by the Power of God has stopped the sun on its path for 5 years.
4. The Saint was given 12 wings (spiritual wings) for his purity. In addition to this, he was completely occupied with fasting, prayer, austerity and the preaching the Gospel.

✞The Saint was born in the 16th century in Gojjam. His father was named Deme Kirstos and his mother was called Mariam Mogesa.  After his parents prayed to have a child as they were barren, they received this holy fruit. And they called him “Tsega Iyesus” (Gift of Jesus) as Jesus Christ had given them [their son].

✞And the next child they bore, they called “Tesfa Iyesus” (Hope of Christ). And he was the younger brother of the Saint. And over time, by the will of God, the Saint’s name was converted to Zera Biruk from Tsega Iyesus. And from what made the Saint renowned, what he has done during the reign of Emperor Susenyos I takes precedence. 

✞What happened was as follows. Emperor Susenyos who became Emperor of Ethiopia in 1598 E.C changed his faith due to his acquaintance with a foreigner and a heretic named Pedro Páez. And he became a Roman Catholic.

✞Later, a thorn named Afonso Mendes came to Ethiopia and discussed with the Emperor in how to make all the people of Ethiopia heretics. For the time being, the nobility around the palace joined [the heresy]. Through time, the news was heard all across the country.

✞Particularly in 1611 E.C, it was heard that the Bishop Simeon was killed at Teda as things had escalated between the Tewahedo faithful and the Emperor. And at that moment, [people from all walks of life,] the farmer came from his field, the woman left her household, the priest arose from his church and the merchant went from the market and all shed their blood for their upright faith.

✞Thousands of Saints came out of their cells and were beheaded. Hence, Abune Zera Biruk of Geshe went as well with his Psalmodia (Book of Psalms) to become a martyr. And when he reached the River Abay (the Blue Nile), he placed his Psalmodia in the river.

✞Then he crossed it and reached the Emperor’s courtyard at Denqez. And during that time, he endured trials as Fikerte Kirstos and Welete Petros did. The Emperor ordered his imprisonment and not death. And while he was jailed in a dark room for 5 years, they used to bring him hot meals.

✝✞✝ እንኩዋን ለጻድቃን ቅዱሳን "አቡነ ዘርዓ ቡሩክ" : "አባ መቃርስ" እና "አባ አብራኮስ" በዓል በሰላም አደረሳችሁ ✝✞✝

+*" አቡነ ዘርዓ ቡሩክ "*+

=>ሃገራችን ኢትዮዽያ:-
*ብሉይ ከሐዲስ ያልጐደለባት
*በክርስቶስና በድንግል እናቱ ኪደተ እግር የተቀደሰች
*የቅዱሳን መጠጊያ እና
*ብዙ ቅዱሳንን ከእቅፏ ያፈራች ስለ ሆነች የተባረከች ሃገር ትባላለች::

+ሁሉም የሃገራችን ክፍሎች ቅዱሳንን አፍርተዋል:: በምሥራቅም: በምዕራብም: በሰሜንም: በደቡብም ያሉ አካባቢዎች ሁሉ የቅዱሳን ቤቶች ናቸው:: ቅዱሳንን በብዛት ካፈሩ አካባቢዎች አንዱ ደግሞ ምድረ ጐጃም ነው::

+በጐጃም አካባቢ ከተነሱ ቅዱሳን ደግሞ አንዱና ስመ ጥሩ ጻድቅ አቡነ ዘርዓ ቡሩክ ናቸው:: አቡነ ዘርዓ ቡሩክ በብዙ ጐዳና የተለዩ አባት ናቸው:: ለመጥቀስ ያህል እንኩዋ:-

1.በታሪክ ዓለምን ከበው የያዙ 2ቱ ግሩማን አራዊት (ብሔሞትና ሌዋታንን) ጥርስ ቆጥረው: ብዙ ምሥጢራትንም ተመልክተው ተመልሰዋል:: (በነገራችሁ ላይ ይህ ጉዳይ ዛሬም ድረስ ሳይንሱ በብዙ ድካም ያልደረሰበት ነው)

2.ጻድቁ በልደታቸው ጊዜ ዓይነ ስውራንን አብርተዋል:: ለራሳቸው ግን ይህን የግፍ ዓለም ላለማየት ጸልየው ዓይናቸው እንዲጠፋ አድርገዋል::

3.መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ እንደሚል ቅዱስ ኢያሱ በገባኦን ፀሐይን አቁሟል:: ዘርዓ ቡሩክ ግን በጥበበ እግዚአብሔር ፀሐይን ለ5 ዓመት አቁመዋል::

4.ጻድቁ ከንጽሕናቸው ብዛት 12 ክንፍ (መንፈሳዊ ክንፍ) ተሰጥቷቸው ነበር:: ከዚህ በተረፈም በጾም: በጸሎት: በትርምትና በስብከተ ወንጌል ፍጹም ጽሙድ ነበሩ::

+ጻድቁ የተወለዱት በ16ኛው መቶ ክ/ዘ እዚያው ጐጃም ውስጥ ሲሆን አባታቸው ደመ ክርስቶስ: እናታቸው ደግሞ ማርያም ሞገሳ ይባላሉ:: ወላጆች በልጅ እጦት ተማለው ይህን የተቀደሰ ፍሬ አገኙ:: "ጸጋ ኢየሱስ" ብለውታል:: ከኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ተሰጥቷቸዋልና::

+ቀጥሎ የወለዱትንም "ተስፋ ኢየሱስ" ብለውታል:: ይህም የጻድቁ ታናሽ ወንድም ነው:: በሒደት ግን የጸጋ ኢየሱስ ስም በፈቃደ እግዚአብሔር ወደ ዘርዓ ቡሩክነት ተቀይሯል:: ጻድቁን ስመ ጥር ካደረጉዋቸው ሥራዎቻቸው መካከል በአፄ ሱስንዮስ ዘመን የሠሩት ቅድሚያውን ይወስዳል::

+ነገሩ እንዲህ ነው:: በ1598 ዓ/ም በኢትዮዽያ ላይ የነገሡት አፄ ሱስንዮስ ዼጥሮስ (ፔድሮ) ፓኤዝ  ከሚባል ፈረንጅ መናፍቅ ጋር በፈጠሩት ወዳጅነት ሃይማኖታቸውን ለወጡ:: ካቶሊክ (ሮማዊ)ም ሆኑ::

+በሁዋላም አልፎንሱ ሜንዴዝ የሚሉት እሾህ መጥቶ ሁሉም የኢትዮዽያ ሕዝብ መናፍቅ እንዲሆን ከንጉሡ ጋር መከረ:: ለጊዜው በቤተ መንግስቱ አካባቢ የነበሩ መሣፍንት ተቀላቀሉ:: እየቆየ ግን ዜናው በመላ ሃገሪቱ ተሰማ::

+በተለይ በ1611 በተዋሕዶ አማኞችና በመናፍቁ ንጉሥ መካከል ነገሩ ተካሮ ዻዻሱ አቡነ ስምዖን ጠዳ ላይ መገደላቸው ተሰማ:: በዚህ ጊዜ ገበሬው ከእርሻው: ሴቷ ከማዕድ ቤት: ካህኑ ከመቅደሱ: ነጋዴው ከገበያው እየወጡ ስለ ቀናችው ሃይማኖት ደማቸውን አፈሰሱ::

+በበዓት የተወሰኑ በሺህ የሚቆጠሩ ቅዱሳንም ወጥተው ተሰየፉ:: በዚህ ጊዜም የግሺው አቡነ ዘርዓ ቡሩክ ዳዊታቸውን አንግበው ለሰማዕትነት ሔዱ:: ዓባይ ወንዝ ላይ ሲደርሱ ዳዊታቸውን ወደ ወንዙ ውስጥ ጣሉት::

+ተሻግረውም ከንጉሡ አደባባይ ደንቀዝ ደረሱ:: በጊዜውም ልክ እንደነ ፍቅርተ ክርስቶስና ወለተ ዼጥሮስ እርሳቸውም መከራ ደረሰባቸው:: ንጉሡም ሳይገደሉ እንዲታሠሩ አደረገ:: በጨለማ እስር ቤትም 5 ዓመታትን ሲያሳልፉ ትኩስ ምግብን ያመጡላቸው ነበር::

+እርሳቸው ግን ምግባቸው ሰማያዊ ነበርና አልነኩትም:: ከ5 ዓመት በሁዋላም ያ ሁሉ ምግብ በተአምራት በትኩስነቱ እየጨሰ ተገኝቷል:: ዘርዓ ቡሩክም ከእሥር ተፈትተዋል::

+እግዚአብሔርም በከሐዲው ንጉሥ ላይ ፈርዶ ፋሲል ነግሷል:: ሃይማኖት ተመልሷል:: ጻድቁም በዓባይ ወንዝ ላይ የጣሉት ዳዊታቸውን ሳይርስ አግኝተውታል::

+ጐጃም ሲደርሱም ሰይጣን እርሳቸውን መስሎ ሲያስት ስላገኙት ወደ ጥልቁ አስጥመውታል:: በተረፈ ዘመናቸው አቡነ ዘርዓ ቡሩክ ብዙ ተጋድለው ጥር 13 ቀን ዐርፈዋል::
>

+"+ አባ መቃርስ ገዳማዊ +"+

=>"መቃርስ" የሚለው ቃል በዮናኒ ልሳን "ብጹዕ" እንደ ማለት ሲሆን የመነኮሳት አለቃ ቅዱስ መቃርስን ጨምሮ በርካታ ቅዱሳን በስሙ ተጠርተውበታል:: በነገረ ቅዱሳን ታዋቂ ከሆኑት አንዱና ተጠቃሹ ዛሬ የምናከብረው አባት ሲሆን ብዙ ጊዜ "ዘይሴሰይ ቆቅሃ - ቆቅን የሚበላው" እየተባለ ይጠራል::

+የዚህንም ምክንያቱን እንመለከታለን:: ቅዱስ መቃርስ በ5ኛው መቶ ክ/ዘመን በምድረ ግብጽ የነበረ የዘመነ ጻድቃን ፍሬ ነው:: ከእሱ በፊት ታላቁ መቃርስ: መቃርስ ቀሲስና መቃርስ ዘቃው የተባሉ አባቶች ስለ ነበሩ እርሱን 4ኛው መቃርስ እያሉ መጥራት የተለመደ ነው::

+በወጣትነቱ ከዓለም ወጥቶ ገዳም ገባ:: ቀጥሎም መነኮሰ:: ግን ግን ወሬን: ሐሜትንና ትዕቢትን ፈጽሞ ይጠላ ነበርና: ከገዳሙ ወጥቶ ሰው ወደማይኖርበት በርሃ ሔደ::

+ግን በአካባቢው የሚበላ ነገር: ከዛፍ ፍሬ: ከሣር ዘርም እንኩዋ ምንም ነገርን ማግኘት አልቻለም:: ጾሞ በራበው ጊዜም "ፍጥረትን የምትመግብ ጌታ ሆይ! ራቴን አብላኝ?" ሲል ጸለየ::

+እግዚአብሔርም አንዲት ቆቅን አምጥቶለት በላ:: ከዚህ በሁዋላም ምግቡ ቆቅ ብቻ ሆነ:: ማታ ማታ 1 ቆቅ ይያዝለታል:: እርሱም አመስግኖ እየበላ ዘመናት አለፉ::

+እግዚአብሔር የዚህ ገዳማዊ ዜና እንዲገለጥ ስለ ፈለገ አንድ የቁስጥንጥንያ መነኮስ ከሃገሩ ተነስቶ ወደ በርሃ ወረደ:: መጠለያ በዓት ሲፈልግም አንድ አረጋዊ ባሕታዊ ቆቅ ሲያጠምድ ተመልክቶ ደነገጠ::

+"መነኮስ ሆኖ እንዴት ሥጋ ይበላል" ሲልም ተናደደ:: ነገሩን ለሊቀ ዻዻሳቱ ይነግር ዘንድም በመጣበት መንገድ እየቸኮለ ተመለሰ:: የሃገሩን ፓትርያርክም "አባታችን አንድ ባሕታዊ እምነታችን ሊያሰድብ እንዲህ አደረገኮ" ቢለው ነገሩ እርግጥ ይሆን ዘንድ ፓትርያርኩ አንድ ሰው ጨምሮ 2ቱን ላካቸው::

+በዚያች ቀንም ቅዱስ መቃርስ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ 3 ቆቆች ገቡለት:: "ጌታየ! 2ቱን ምን ላድርጋቸው?" ሲል መነኮሳቱ ወደ እርሱ ደረሱ:: ደስ ብሎት ፈጣሪን እያመሰገነ ሠርቶ አቀረበላቸው::

+እነርሱ ግን ቅዱሱን ናቁት:: "አንበላም" አሉት:: አባ መቃርስም የተጠበሱት ቆቆች እፍ እፍ እያለ ነፍስ ዘራባቸውና እንዲበሩ አደረገ:: በዚህ የደነገጡት መነኮሳቱ ሰግደውለት እየተሯሯጡ ወደ ሃገራቸው ተመለሱ::

+ባሙበት አፋቸው "ታላቅ ሰው ተገኝቷል: በረከቱ አይለፋችሁ" ሲሉ ሰበኩ:: ይህ ሲሰማም ፓትርያርኩ ከነ ሕዝቡ: ንጉሡ ከነ ሠራዊቱ ሊባረኩ ወደ በርሃው ወረዱ:: ግን ቅዱስ መልአክ ተሸክሞት ወደ ብሔረ ሕያዋን ሲያርግ ደረሱ::

+እየጮሁ "አባ በረከትህን: የድህነት ቃልህን?" አሉት:: እርሱም "ይጹም አፉክሙ እምነገረ ውዴት ወሐሜት - አፋችሁ ከሐሜት: ከነገር ሥራት ይጹም:: ካህናት ትምሕርት: መነኮሳት ትሕርምትን አታብዙ:: ልቡናችሁ አይታበይ:: ሰላም ለእናንተ ይሁን!" ብሏቸው ከዐይናቸው ተሰወረ:: ወደ ብሔረ ሕያዋንም ገባ::

+"+ አባ አብራኮስ ገዳማዊ +"+

✞And he labored for the service followed by wild beasts day and night. The Saint used to consume a moldy cabbage and water that had changed its color because of his strict austerity for the sustenance of his body.✞One day, our Savior, Christ, appeared and blessed him. And he anointed his body with His holy spittle. And at that moment, the Saint was filled with the Holy Spirit. And contemplating the passions of Christ, Abune Samuel used to prostrate thousands of times a day and lashed his back.
 
✞And he also fought by tying a chain to his legs. And with these deeds, he humiliated the demons and delighted his Creator. And after a while, Waldiba was filled with monks and disciples became numerous. And from the disciples Abba ZeRufael takes precedence.

✞Abune Samuel had a great love for our Lady. And he used to pray her Theotokia and Anaphora, and he used to praise her wholeheartedly. And while he did this, he used to rise a cubits length from the ground and hover. 

✞And when his disciples were hungered, he used to turn water into white bread with the Anaphora of St. Mary.
As the scholar has said,
“While he blessed the water praying your anaphora
Samuel the bloom of faith changed it to bread, he of the desert of Waldiba
So that I speak the mercy and judgment of your miracle
Have my sins forgiven and lessen my trouble
Since Mary you can see to all”
(Mahlete Tsege)

✞And the Mother of Light for his love gave him a white gem, nourished him from a heavenly bread, and gifted him a heavenly incense.  And the Saint censed with the Heavenly Priest for 12 years. And while the Virgin Mary had said to him, “I will intercede for him who like you recites the Theotokia and Anaphora (of St. Mary)” the Lord on the other hand blessed his monastery, Waldiba. The Lord had previously blessed the monastery during His flight to Egypt as well. As the accounts of the Saint are numerous, let us stop here for today. The Star of Waldiba, Abune Samuel passed away on this day, Tahisas 12 (December 21) in the year 1395 E.C. He was a 100 years old.

✞Honor is due for the Righteous.

✞✞✞Saints Anicetus and Photinus of Nicomedia✞✞✞
=>These Saints were brothers and the fruits of the Era of Persecution. When I think of their chronicle, it amazes me (the author). In their fiery age, their youth, preserved in faith, the love of Christ blazed upon them.

✞Loving Christ wholeheartedly and not just with the lips is truly what a fortune! The person who loves Christ will also have the love of His Virgin Mother and His beloved saints abundantly but not lessen in love.

✞The Saints Anicetus and Photinus, not being deceived by the life of the world, prepared themselves for martyrdom. And while different types of tortures that could even scare away wild beasts awaited them in line, they were not frightened.

✞First, the persecutors brought forth Anicetus. Then, they lashed him but he was not harmed. They burned him but he was not scorched. And then, they gave him to lions but they prostrated before him. Hence, Photinus, his brother, who was observing the scenes from the side, jumped into the arena of torments. 

✞He then shouted out, “My brother is Christ’s; you won’t be triumphant over him.” And at that instant, many of the gentiles that were gathered there said, “The God of these youths is our God.” And the official in charge had the 2 Saints with many of [the converted] people beheaded.

✞And a sinner like I, shall pray in their name as follows.
“I say salutations to the followers of Anicetus
Who completed in fire their contest and race
Aid me to reach the chants of the angelic hosts
So that a destitute youth like me, poor of cognizance
Can beat the drums like the virgins”
(Arke)

✞✞✞May the God of Samuel keep our country from war and its people from flight by his intercession. And may He not deprive us from the Saints’ overflowing blessings.

Memhir Esuendale:
#Feasts of #Tahisas_12

✞✞✞On this day we commemorate the Departure of the Great Saint Abune Samuel of Waldiba and the Martyrs Anicetus and Photinus✞✞✞

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

✞✞✞ Abune Samuel of Waldiba ✞✞✞
=>Our country has bore myriads of saints. Not only in those past days that were blessed but today also we have many fathers and mothers that live in the deserts and caves who pray not only for the country but for the world.
  
✞And from the saints that rose in Ethiopia the “Samuels” have a unique place. In a time span of merely 20 years, the 6 Samuels came to be and showed the good path from a life of sanctity to evangelization, from the monastic life to asceticism. And these Saints were:

1. Samuel of Waldiba
2. Samuel of Tareta
3. Samuel of Qoyetsa
4. Samuel of Gish
5. Samuel of Hallelujah and
6. Samuel of Wegeg

✞Similarly, in Egypt, including the Star of Qalamun (the one who interceded for an angel named Qewestos before God) there have risen many Samuels. Our mothers, in the past, were proficient in giving names as Samuel means, “God has heard me”.

✞Coming back to what we have started, the Great Ethiopian Saint Abune Samuel was born in the 13th century (in 1295 E.C) in the city of Axum. His parents were called Estifanos (Stephen) and Amete Maryam.

✞Since the Saint’s lineage was from a priestly family, he studied the mysteries of the faith in his childhood. And it seems like that was the reason why he wanted to become an ascetic while he was just a teen.

✞Samuel, who obeyed and served his parents from his infancy, when he completed his education went to Debre Benkol. It is said that at the time, when he left for Debre Benkol, the Saint’s parents had departed. Debre Benkol is the monastery of Abune Medhanine Egzi the Great Star who was a father to the monks.

✞While Medhanine Egzi labored to become a luminary for the country; God gave him the 7 Stars. And from these, Abune Samuel takes precedence. And the rest included the fathers like Abune Yasay of Mandaba, Samuel of Tareta, Samuel of Qoyetsa and Yafekerene Egzi of Guguben.

✞Abune Samule with his 6 companions started his strife at Debre Benkol. He fetched water, grinded legumes, was obedient with his whole heart and side by side he studied patience, humility, austerity and the rites of a monastery from the Holy Abbot Abba Medhanine Egzi.

✞And because of his loved service, he pleased all. And at that moment, the Righteous Abbot brought forth Abune Samuel of Wali and the 6 Fathers to be tonsured as monks. And saying, “Axios - You deserve it!” he elevated them from being novices to monks.

✞And as light had descended and was seen when the 7 were being tonsured, they were called “Luminary Stars”. And they served there in the monastery for some time. However, because the relatives of Abune Samuel used to come and made things hard for the Righteous, all 7 Saints conversed and after being blessed by their father, Medhanine Egzi, left Debre Benkol.

✞Hence, all went to where the Holy Spirit guided them. The 3 (Samuel of Wali, Yasay of Mandaba and Yafekrene Egzi of Guguben) went to Lake Tana. And there, after staying together for some time, they separated for ministry. While Abune Yasay stayed at Mandaba and Abune Yafekrene Egzi at Guguben, islands in Lake Tana, Abba Samuel went to Waldiba.


✞Waldiba was established in the 5th century by the will of the Lord by 860 Saints. Nonetheless, because the founding Saints had become spirit-borne anchorites (sowah) the area was considered as a wilderness thus Abune Samuel re-established it.

✞The Saint, before he started his last austere strife, ministered the Gospel greatly. And after that, he made his dwelling with wild beasts. And as it can be seen in his icon, he rode a lion for years.