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

✞And he became very powerful at war, was loved by the people and became a man of prayer and fasting. And at that time because Decius the Emperor had renounced Christ, death was decreed upon the faithful. And also because the Berbers had declared war on the Roman Empire Decius and St. Mercurius went out for war.

✞But when the Emperor saw the Berbers were as numerous as the sand, he was afraid. And when St. Mercurius prayed during the night as the battle was postponed for the next day, St. Gabriel descended and gave him his sword (that’s why he is called Abu-Seifein - the holder of two swords).

✞And the next day when they (the officers) asked, “What should we do?”, St. Mercurius responded saying, “I am a servant of Christ, I alone will stand before them”, they all laughed.

✞But he went up his black horse (which grew up with him) and said to the Berbers “You should not do battle but go in peace”. They also laughed at him. And at that instant, after praying, when he pulled out the angel’s sword, many fell. Not even one was left to deliver the news.

✞And when the news was heard in Rome, a great jubilation took place. But because the apostate Emperor, Decius, said “Victory was of the idols like Apollo”, St Mercurius spent the night in sadness.

✞And on the 3rd day, an order came to him from the Emperor that said, “Sacrifice to the idols”. But the Saint went to the square and took off his honorary clothing and gild and threw it before the Emperor.

✞Saying, ”My honor is Christ. May your property be for your demise”, he rebuked the Emperor in public. Then, Decius in anger got fire lit and ordered for a hot iron bed and placed St. Mercurius on it.

✞And as if that was not enough, when soldiers beat him taking turns, his blood flowed and extinguished the fire. And because of that the scholars say,
“They, who were of accursed, lit fire upon thee
And blood came forth from thy flogged body
And it quenched the flame as rain that was heavy”

✞Then, they took him to prison and threw him in. And so the Saint forsakes Christ, the Emperor tortured him with hunger, lashings, fire and blades. But finally he sent him to Asia in order that they kill him after afflicting him. And there, they tormented him much and beheaded him on Hedar 25 (December 4).

✞And after he was martyred, his blessed horse preached for years. And it destroyed heathens with fire that came out of its mouth. It is believed that the Mighty Martyr St. Mercurius was born in 200 AD, started enduring tortures from 220 AD and was martyred in 225 AD.

✞The Martyr, on this day, is commemorated for slaying the Emperor Julian the Apostate who used to torture and kill Christians in the 4th century.

The Saint’s honor is great!

✞✞✞ May the God of St. Mercurius safeguard us by his covenant and may He not displace us from his inheritance. And may He grant us from his blessing. And may the good God give us years for repentance and joy.

✞✞✞ Annual feasts celebrated on the 25th of Tir
1. St. Mercurius the Martyr of Rome
2. Sts. Basil and Gregory
3. Blessed Abba Peter the Ascetic (one who sold himself to give alms)
4. St. Sebastianus the Martyr
5. St. Askala the Martyr

✞✞✞ Monthly Feasts
1. St. Abakragoun Martyr
2. St. Domadius El-Souriani (The Syrian)
3. St. Thecla Apostolic
4. Abune Abib (Abba Bula)
5. St. Abba Abu Fana the Righteous

✞✞✞ “and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; Of whom the world was not worthy”✞✞✞
Heb. 11:35-38

✞✞✞ Salutation to God ✞✞✞

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

Feasts of Tir 25

✞✞✞On this day we commemorate the annual feast of the Miracle performed by the Great Martyr St. Mercurius (Philopater)✞✞✞

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

✞✞✞Saint Mercurius the Great✞✞✞
=>As the biggest price that can be paid for Christianity is martyrdom, the Church has a special honor for her witnesses, the martyrs. As a star is greater than a star, from martyrs those like St. George and St. Mercurius have higher honors.

✞The scholars describe St. Mercurius most of the time as “the Second Arch-Martyr”. If asked about his story, it is as follows.

✞At the end of the 2nd century, there was a man named Yares who lived with his wife and father in one of the provinces of the Roman Empire (in Aslet/Eskentos). Even though his wife was beautiful and he was a kind man, they worshipped idols.

✞One day, Yares left his wife at home and went to hunt with his father. And as usual they set a trap and hid. When they heard the bell, thinking that they caught an animal they run. But they were shocked by what they saw and froze. 2 creatures with dog like appearances, Cynocephali, were caught.

✞This creatures were people. But with an unfortunate incident it is believed that they became like this. But they were huge with a dog like appearance above their necks, midriffs like humans, knees were like a lion and their lower legs were like searing bronze.

✞This creatures can’t be handled by an earthly creature but a heavenly one. It is said that they even reaped apart lions and tigers like pieces of cloth. As their eyes seemed to be blazing (on fire) no one could see them directly. Only their God, Who created them, knows their mystery.

✞Coming back to what we have started, Yares and his father after seeing them fell down in shock. The Cynocephali immediately dismantled the iron trap like a tread and the father. But when they tried to eat Yares, a holy angel descended and stopped them with a fiery sword.

✞He said, “There is a holy fruit that will come from him. Don’t touch him.” Immediately, he stopped their aggressiveness. Then, both went before Yares and bowed before him. And Yares took them to his home, hid them and told his wife all what had happened.

✞A bit later, his wife conceived and bore a child. And they named their child Philopater which means “Lover of the Father”. Then, Yares took his wife, his son and the creatures to church and was baptized.

✞ Then the priests named him “Noah”, his wife “Ark” (Saphina) and their son “Mercurius”. Mercurius means “Christodoulos-servant of Christ”.

✞Then they raised their son Mercurius while they joyously worshipped Christ and while they gave to the needy. But because the governor heard about the creatures, he said to Noah “Bring them”. And because Noah prayed and they returned to their former might and appearance many gentiles died in shock.

✞And because the governor was scared, he made Noah an officer in the army. And during war because the might and appearance of the creatures showed, he never lost. But one day the governor deceived the 2 Cynocephali and took them. And when he tried to make them renounce their faith, because they said “No”, one was killed and the other escaped.

✞And during that time Noah was captured in battle. And because the governor said let me marry you to Ark, she fled with her 5 year old child St. Mercurius. And while in flight she saw her husband Noah.

✞Even though she knew him, he had forgotten her. But later because he was able to remember by the child Mercurius, they were joyous. And while they were there around Rome, the other Cynocephaly came and met them. And because of it, he was also appointed as an officer in the land of exile.

✞There, Noah built a church, made his home a hostel for the destitute and he lived for years. And when St. Mercurius was a young man, his parents Noah and Ark passed away. And while he lived in prayer and fasting with the Cynocephaly, they made him an officer in place of his father.

††† ጥር 25 ቀን የሚከበሩ ዓመታዊ የቅዱሳን በዓላት
1.ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ ሰማዕተ ሮሜ
2.ቅዱሳን ባስልዮስና ጎርጎርዮስ
3.ብፁዕ አባ ዼጥሮስ ጽሙድ (ለምጽዋት ራሱን የሸጠ አባት)
4.ቅዱስ ሰብስትያኖስ ሰማዕት
5.ቅዱስ አስኪላ ሰማዕት

††† ወርሐዊ በዓላት
1.ቅዱስ አበከረዙን ሰማዕት
2.ቅዱስ ዱማድዮስ ሶርያዊ
3.ቅድስት ቴክላ ሐዋርያዊት
4.አቡነ አቢብ
5.አባ አቡፋና

††† "የሚበልጠውን ትንሳኤ እንዲያገኙ እስከ ሞት ድረስ ተደበደቡ:: ሌሎችም መዘበቻ በመሆንና በመገረፍ ከዚህም በላይ በእስራትና በወኅኒ ተፈተኑ:: በድንጋይ ተወግረው ሞቱ:: ተፈተኑ: በመጋዝ ተሰነጠቁ: በሰይፍ ተገድለው ሞቱ:: ሁሉን እያጡ: መከራን እየተቀበሉ: እየተጨነቁ: የበግና የፍየል ሌጦ ለብሰው ዞሩ:: ዓለም አልተገባቸውምና . . . " †††
(ዕብ. 11:35)

††† ወስብሐት ለእግዚአብሔር †††

†✝† እንኳን ለታላቁ ሰማዕት ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ (ፒሉፓዴር) ዓመታዊ የተአምር በዓል በሰላም አደረሳችሁ፤ አደረሰን። †✝†

†✝† በስመ አብ ወወልድ ወመንፈስ ቅዱስ አሐዱ አምላክ አሜን! †✝†

†✝† ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ ኃያል †✝†

†✝† ለክርስትና ሃይማኖት የሚከፈል ትልቁ ዋጋ ሰማዕትነት ነውና ቤተ ክርስቲያን ለምስክሮቿ ሰማዕታት ልዩ ክብር አላት:: ከኮከብ ኮከብ እንዲበልጥ ሁሉ ከሰማዕታትም ቅዱስ ጊዮርጊስን እና ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስን የመሰሉት ደግሞ ክብራቸው በእጅጉ የላቀ ነው::

ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስን ብዙ ጊዜ ሊቃውንት "ካልዕ (ሁለተኛው) ሊቀ ሰማዕታት" ሲሉ ይገልጹታል:: ጥንተ ነገሩስ እንደ ምን ነው ቢሉ:-
በ2ኛው መቶ ክ/ዘመን መጨረሻ አካባቢ ከሮም ግዛቶች በአንዱ (አስሌጥ) ከአባቱና ከሚስቱ ጋር የሚኖር "አሮስ" የሚሉት ሰው ይኖር ነበር:: ሚስቱ ደም ግባት የሠመረላት: እርሱም ደግነት ያለው ሰው ቢሆኑም የሚያመልኩት ግን ጣዖትን ነበር::

አንድ ቀን አሮስ ሚስቱን ከቤት ትቶ ለአደን ከአባቱ ጋር ወጣ:: እንደ ልማዳቸው ወጥመዱን አስተካክለው ተደበቁ:: የወጥመዱ ደወል ሲያቃጭል: "እንስሳ ተያዘልን" ብለው ሲሯሯጡ ዐይናቸው ያየው ነገር በድንጋጤ እንዲፈዙ አደረጋቸው:: 2 ገጻተ ከለባት በወጥመዱ ውስጥ ተይዘው ነበር::

እነዚህ ፍጡራን ሰዎች ናቸው:: ግን ባልታወቀ የተፈጥሮ አጋጣሚ እንደዚህ እንደ ሆኑ ይታመናል:: ግን እጅግ ግዙፍ: ከአንገታቸው በላይ እንደ ውሻ: ወገባቸው እንደ ሰው: ጉልበታቸው እንደ አንበሳ ሲሆን ታችኛው እግራቸው የጋለ የናስ ብረት ነው የሚመስል::

እነዚህን ፍጡራን ሰማያዊ ካልሆነ ምድራዊ ፍጡር አይችላቸውም:: አንበሳና ነብርን እንኩዋ እንደ ጨርቅ በጣጥሰው ይጥሏቸው እንደ ነበር ይነገራል:: ዐይናቸው እንደ እሳት ይነድ ስለ ነበር ማንም ትክ ብሎ ሊያያቸው አይችልም:: ምሥጢራቸውን ግን የሚያውቀው የፈጠራቸው አምላክ ነው::

ወደ ቀደመ ነገራችን እንመለስና:- አሮስና አባቱ ባዩአቸው ጊዜ ደንግጠው ወደቁ:: ገጻተ ከለባቱ የብረት ወጥመዱን እንደ ክር በጣጥሰው የአሮስን አባት በቅጽበት በሉት:: አሮስን ሊበሉት ሲሉ ግን ድንገት ቅዱስ መልአክ ወርዶ በእሳት ሰይፍ አጠራቸው::

"ከእርሱ የሚወጣ ቅዱስ ፍሬ አለና እንዳትነኩት" አላቸው:: ወዲያውም መልአኩ ያንን ኃይለኝነታቸውን አጠፋው:: በዚህ ጊዜ 2ቱም ወደ አሮስ ሒደው ሰገዱለት:: አሮስም ወደ ቤቱ ወስዶም ደበቃቸውና የሆነውን ሁሉ ለሚስቱ ነገራት::

ጥቂት ቆይታም ጸንሳ ወለደች:: ልጃቸውን ፒሉፓዴር (ፒሉፓተር) ሲሉ ስም አወጡለት:: ትርጉሙም "መፍቀሬ አብ - የአብ ወዳጅ" ማለት ነው:: ከዚያም አሮስ ሚስቱን : ልጁንና 2ቱን ገጻተ ከለባት ይዞ ወደ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ሒዶ ተጠመቀ::

አበው ካህናት እሱን "ኖኅ" : ሚስቱን "ታቦት" : ልጁን ደግሞ "መርቆሬዎስ" ሲሉ ሰየሟቸው:: መርቆሬዎስ ማለትም "ገብረ ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ - የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ አገልጋይ" እንደ ማለት ነው::

ከዚያም ደስ እያላቸው: ክርስቶስን እያመለኩ: ነዳያንን እያሰቡ: ልጃቸውን መርቆሬዎስን አሳደጉ:: ነገር ግን የገጻተ ከለባት ወሬ በመሰማቱ ንጉሡ "ካላመጣሃቸው" አለው:: ኖኅ ጸልዮ ወደ ኃይለኝነታቸው መልሷቸው ስለነበር ፊታቸው ገና ሲገለጥ ብዙ አሕዛብ በድንጋጤ ሞቱ::

ንጉሡም ስለ ፈራ ኖኅን የጦር መኮንን አደረገው:: በጦርነት ጊዜም ገጻተ ከለባቱ ኃይላቸው ስለሚመለስ ተሸንፎ አያውቅም ነበር:: አንድ ጊዜ ግን 2ቱን ገጻተ ከለባት ንጉሡ አታሎ ወሰዳቸው:: ሃይማኖታቸውን ሊያስክዳቸው ሲል "እንቢ" በማለታቸው አንዱ ሲገደል ሌላኛው አምልጦ ጠፋ::

በዚያ ወራትም ኖኅ ለጦርነት ወጥቶ ተማረከ:: ንጉሡ ደግሞ ታቦትን "ላግባሽ" ስላላት የ5 ዓመት ልጇን ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስን ይዛ ተሰደደች:: በስደት ጥቂት እንደ ቆየች ግን ባሏን ኖኅን አየችው::

እርሷ ብታውቀውም እርሱ ዘንግቷት ነበር:: በሁዋላ ግን በሕጻኑ መርቆሬዎስ አማካኝነት ማስታወስ በመቻሉ ደስ አላቸው:: በዚያው በሮም ዙሪያ ሳሉም አንዱ ገጸ ከልብ መጥቶ አገኛቸው:: በዚህም ምክንያት በስደት ሃገርም መኮንን ሆኖ ተሾመ::

በዚያም ቤተ ክርስቲያንን አንጾ: ቤቱን ቤተ ነዳያን አድርጐ ኖኅ ለዓመታት ኖረ:: ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ ወጣት ሲሆንም ወላጆቹ ታቦትና ኖኅ ዐረፉ:: እርሱ ከባልንጀራው ገጸ ከልብ ጋር ሆኖ በጾምና ጸሎት ሲኖር ስለ አባቱ ፈንታ የጦር መሪ አደረጉት::

በጦርነትም እጅግ ኃያል: በሰው ዘንድም ፍጹም ተወዳጅ: የጾምና የጸሎት ሰው ሆነ:: ያን ጊዜ ግን ዳክዮስ ንጉሡ ክርስቶስን በመካዱ ምዕመናን ላይ ሞት ታወጀ:: በጊዜው ደግሞ የበርበር ሰዎች በሮም መንግስት ላይ ጦርነትን በማንሳታቸው ዳኬዎስና ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ ለጦርነት ወጡ::

ነገር ግን በርበሮች እንደ አሸዋ ፈሰው ብዛታቸውን ሲያይ ንጉሡ ደነገጠ:: ለማግስቱ ቀጠሮ ተይዞ ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ ሲጸልይ ቅዱስ ገብርኤል ወርዶ ሰይፍ ሰጠው::

በማግስቱም "ምን ይሻላል?" ሲባል ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ "እኔ የክርስቶስ ባሪያ ነኝና ብቻየን እቋቋማቸዋለሁ" ቢል ሳቁበት::

እርሱ ግን በጥቁር ፈረሱ (አብሮት ያደገ ነው) ተጭኖ በርበሮችን "ጠብ ይቅርባችሁ: በሰላም ሒዱ" ቢላቸው ተሳለቁበት:: ያን ጊዜም ጸሎት አድርሶ የመልአኩን ሰይፍ ሲመዘው ብዙዎቹ ወደቁ:: ከበርበሮችም ለወሬ ነጋሪነት እንኩዋ የተረፈ አልነበረም::

ነገሩ በሮም ሲሰማ ታላቅ ሐሴት ሆነ:: ዳሩ ግን ከሃዲው ዳኬዎስ "ድሉ የጣዖቶቼ የነ አዽሎን ነው" በማለቱ ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ ሲያዝን አደረ::

በ3ኛው ቀንም "ለጣዖት ሠዋ" የሚል ትዕዛዝ ከንጉሡ ዘንድ መጣ:: ቅዱሱ ግን ወደ አደባባይ ሔደ:: የክብር ልብሱንና መታጠቂያውን አውልቆ በንጉሡ ፊት ወረወረው::

"ሃብትከ ወክብርከ ይኩንከ ለኃጉል:: ሊተሰ ክብርየ ክርስቶስ ውዕቱ:: (ለእኔስ ክብሬ ክርስቶስ ነውና ንብረትህ ለጥፋት ይሁንህ)" ሲልም ንጉሡን በአደባባይ ዘለፈው:: ዳኬዎስም በቁጣ እሳት አስነድዶ: የብረት አልጋውንም አግሎ ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስን በዚያ ላይ አስተኛው::

ያም አልበቃ:: ወታደሮች እየተፈራረቁ ሲደበድቡት ደሙ ፈሶ እሳቱን አጠፋው:: ለዚያ ነው ሊቃውንት:-
"አመ አንደዱ ላእሌከ ውሉደ መርገም::
እምቅሡፍ አባልከ እንተ ውኅዘ ደም::
አርአያ ዝናም ብዙኅ አጥፍኦ ለፍህም::" ያሉት::

ከዚያም ወስደው ወኅኒ ቤት ውስጥ ጣሉት:: ክርስቶስን ያስክደው ዘንድ በረሃብ: በግርፋት: በእሳት: በስለትም አሰቃየው:: በመጨረሻ ግን አሰቃይተው እንዲገድሉት ወደ እስያ ሰደደው:: በስፍራውም ብዙ አሰቃይተው ኅዳር 25 ቀን አንገቱን ሰይፈውታል::

እርሱ ካረፈ በሁዋላም የተባረከ ፈረሱ ለዓመታት ወንጌልን ሰብኩዋል:: አረማውያንንም ከአፉ በወጣ እሳት አጥፍቷል:: ተአምረኛውና ኃያሉ ሰማዕት ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ በ200 ዓ/ም እንደ ተወለደ: በ220 ዓ/ም መከራ መቀበል እንደ ጀመረና በ225 ዓ/ም ሰማዕት እንደሆነ ይታመናል::
ሰማዕቱ በዚህች ዕለት : በ4ኛው መቶ ክ/ዘመን ክርስቲያኖችን ያሰቃይና ይገድል የነበረውን ዑልያኖስን ያጠፋበት መታሠቢያ ይከበራል::
የቅዱሱ ክብር ታላቅ ነው!

††† አምላከ ቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ በከበረ ቃል ኪዳኑ ይጠብቀን:: ከርስቱም አያናውጠን:: ከበረከቱም ይክፈለን::
ቸሩ እግዚአብሔር እድሜ ለንስሃ ዘመን ለፍሥሃ አይንሳን::

✞The reason was because Takla Haymanot did not only see the place but as God had made him able he saw vividly,
*in the Temple His annunciation
*in Bethlehem His birth
*in the house of Joseph His circumcision
*at the river Jordan His Baptism and
*at the house of Lazarus His miracle.
✞And when he reached the final stage of his visit at Calvary and saw Christ as crucified, his bitter tears that gushed changed in appearance and blinded his eyes. At that moment, our Lady, whose name’s invocation is honored, reached hurriedly and took St. Takla Haymanot to heaven.

✞ There, he
*received eyes of light
*grew six wings
*was clothed with a robe and phelonion of light
*had a golden censer
*was added to the Twenty Four Heavenly Priests
*saw the Holy Trinity and
*descended to earth after saying, “Glory and honor are meet to the Holy Trinity” and after censing the Throne of the Almighty. (Preparatory Service no. 177 of the Divine Liturgy)

✞✞✞Miracles✞✞✞
=>The miracles of St. Takla Haymanot are as many as the stars.
*He has raised the dead.
*He has healed the sick.
*He has driven out demons.
*He has held fire.
*He has flown with wings.
*And he has made the clouds his seat.

✞He also has made many disciples and established Debre Libanos. There, monks and nuns lived together like children. That was because the Devil was bound during his time.

✞✞✞Departure✞✞✞
=>Abune Takla Haymanot, saint, martyr and apostle; after being light for the world and enduring many tribulations, bearing thousands upon thousands of fruits, at 99 years, 8 months and 1 day of age on Nehasse 24 (August 30) in the year 1306 E.C departed. The Lord, the Virgin Mary, and saints descended and received him. And he has received a covenant [from the Lord] which brings mercy for up to 10 generations.

✞On this day, the Holy Church commemorates the braking of our father Takla Haymanot’s right leg after he stood for 22 years in prayer and remembers his prayer as well while he stood on one leg for 7 years thereafter.

✞✞✞ Annual feasts celebrated on the 24th of Tir
1. St. Abune Takla Haymanot (The day his right leg broke.)
2. St. Mary the Egyptian
3. The Great Abba Bifa
4. Abba Absadi/Bisada/Psati the Priest
5. The Righteous Saints of Hawzen

✞✞✞ Monthly Feasts
1. Abune ZeYohannis, Saint of Kibran
2. St. Kirstos Semra our Mother
3. St. Thomas of Mar'ash
4. St. Abba Moses the Black (the Ethiopian)
5. St. Agapetus (Agapius) (Righteous Bishop)
6. The Twenty-Four Heavenly Priests (Seraphim)

✞✞✞ “I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft…In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.”✞✞✞
2 Chor. 11:23-28

✞✞✞ Salutations to God ✞✞✞

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

Memhir Esuendale:
#Feasts of #Tir_24

✞✞✞On this day we commemorate Saint Abune Takla Haymanot✞✞✞

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

✞✞✞Saint Abune Takla Haymanot the Apostolic✞✞✞

✞✞✞Birth✞✞✞
=>Since a good tree brings forth good fruit, the priest Saga Ze’ab and Egzi’E Haraya who were both kind bore Takla Haymanot. As they were persistent, he in priesthood and she in kindheartedness and almsgiving, God gave them a sweet fruit.

✞And when they were attacked by the Governor of Damot, Matalome, St. Michael rescued Saga Ze’ab from death and Egzi’E Haraya from being wedded to an unbeliever. Later on, he annunciated to them the birth of the Saint.

✞ Saint Takla Haymanot was conceived on Megabit 24 (April 2), 1206 E.C and was born on Tahisas 24 (January 2), 1207 E.C. And when he was born, many miracles were seen and their home was filled with blessings.

✞✞✞Growth✞✞✞
=>The first name of the Saint was Fesha Tsion. Having this name, he grew up in the footsteps of his father, Saga Ze’ab. He learned the Holy Scriptures (Old and New Testaments). And from the worldly side, it is said that he was a great hunter. And he was ordained a deacon by Bishop of the time, Abba Cyril.

✞✞✞Calling✞✞✞
=>One day, when Fesha Tsion went to hunt and aimed, suddenly a socking sound was heard from above (heaven). Our Lord, beholder of glory, sitting on the wings of St. Michael descended with a multitude of His angels.

✞Our Lord then spoke after calming the fear of the young hunter and said, “Starting from today your name shall be called Takla Haymanot/Takla Selassie. From now onwards you shall not hunt animals but souls. I am always with you.” and ascended. After this, St. Takla Haymanot did not spare an hour of time, he gave away all his possessions to the needy, and only taking his stick, left his house as it was opened for asceticism.

✞✞✞Ministry✞✞✞
=>St. Takla Haymanot received from the bishop priesthood and started his ministry of the Gospel. On his first mission, only around Shoa (Selalesh), he converted around 10,000 people and baptized them. At that time, Ethiopia had two appearances.

✞1st Because of the mess Yodit (Gudit) created and Islam’s influence, inhabitants of the south either had abandoned their faith or were absorbed in idol worship.
✞2nd Because of the efforts of the Zagwe Emperors monasticism and Christianity had revived.

✞The New Apostle Abba Takla Haymanot, who came forth when half of the country was in darkness, by the power of the Holy Spirit and his youthfulness added reached many places. He brought back the people and the nobles to faith and destroyed the Marians (Magicians/Sorcerers).

✞✞✞Monastic Life✞✞✞
=>In addition to lighting Ethiopia with the Gospel, St. Takla Haymanot had also expanded the monastic life. And while he was better than all, he served three (3) monasteries as a novice.

✞Twelve years (12) at the Monastery of Abune Betselote Michael, seven years (7) with Abune Iyesus Moa of Hayk Monastery and seven years (7) at Debre Damo with Abune Yohanni, which added to twenty six (26) years of service.

✞After being made a monk by Abune Iyesus Moa, he returned to Shoa/Shewa (Zorere) and prayed in one cell for twenty two (22) years while standing and after one of his legs broke off, he prayed standing with only one leg and by putting six spears on his left and right for another seven (7) years.

✞✞✞Six Wings✞✞✞
=>The Righteous Ethiopian and Apostle St. Takla Haymanot had went from Ethiopia to Jerusalem and received blessings from the holy sites. The Saint reached Jerusalem after planting spiritual seeds, teaching, and converting on his way.

✞He had also met with the Patriarch of the time, Abba Michael and had received and given blessings. The main thing is what happened after that. The Saint when seeing the places where our Lady and our Lord set foot from their conception to their assumption and ascension respectively, in complete awe, he used to weep.