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

✞✞✞“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”✞✞✞
Luke 15:4-7

✞✞✞ Salutations to God ✞✞✞

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

✞These two governors dividing Egypt into two and appointing officers below them started to chastise Christians violently. And when the turn of the 2 Saints (Abba Absadi and Abba Hellanicus) reached, they were accused.

✞And because Arianus ordered that they be brought to be penalized, soldiers went forth [to where they were]. St. Absadi, who knew matters before they transpired and who was haste to die for the sake of Christ, did not want to merely let his flock disperse. 

✞Hence, he asked the soldiers, “Please, let me say farewell to the people. Thus be patient with me for a day.” And the soldiers who were wonder struck from the majesty that was in his countenance, allowed him to. And the Saint, to utilize the 24 hours that he had left to live, called all his faithful, his spiritual children.

✞Then, he celebrated the Divine Liturgy, performed the fraction and gave to all from the Eucharist. (In those days, there was no Christian that did not partake from the Eucharist [after celebrating the Mass].)

✞And after the Liturgy, he told them about what had become apparent and stated to them that he was longing to go to Christ. And when they knew that they could not keep him from going, they were wholly grieved. Then, after teaching them to steadfast in the upright faith until death, he fell into the hands of the soldiers [again] with his friend St. Hellanicus. 

✞And the soldiers took the Saints and brought them before the governor Arianus for judgment. And Arianus, because of the majesty of Abba Absadi’s countenance, had compassion and decided not to kill the Saint and tried to persuade him instead. He thus said, “You are an honored man, obey the Emperor and cense the idol.”

✞However, Abba Absadi told him the fact he adhered to in a final answer saying, “As my honor is Christ, I will not exchange Him for anything.” And when Arianus realized that he could not persuade him, he ordered that he be tortured with Abba Hellanicus.
 
✞And in the arena of witnesses, they crushed them with the wheel (hinbazin) but God delivered them. Again, after lighting fire, they threw them in but the fire was not able to consume them.

✞In the end, the governor ordered that they be beheaded. And the Saints prayed before they were slain. Then, Abba Absadi approached the sword wearing his liturgical vestment. And the soldiers beheaded the two Saints as they were ordered and the Saints laid in honor.

✞✞✞Abba Begeu the Righteous✞✞✞
=>This father takes a wide part in the history of the middle ages of our country. He finished his strife in Debre Hayq. The Saint is most of the time regarded as Moses the Black of the later days as much of their life path is similar.

✞As St. Moses the Black came from a life of sin and robbery it is also said that Abba Begeu was also a trying person. However, when God called him from that wicked sinful life, he did not harden his heart rather he said, “Okay” and repented.

✞Thereafter, he lived a life of complete strife in Debre Hayq (Wollo). And all those that saw him used to be amazed. He punished his flesh that ate and drunk for ages by preventing it from drinking water for years. And for this reason he was also called, “The father who did not drink water”. And when the Saint departed [on this day] his Creator honored him.

✞✞✞May the God of the Holy Fathers reveal to us their ways. And may He grant us from their blessings.

✞✞✞ Annual feasts celebrated on the 27th of Tahisas
1. St. Absadi (Bisadi/Psote) the Martyr
2. Abba Hellanicus the Martyr
3. Abba Begeu the Ethiopian Righteous
4. Abba Philip (Filipos)

✞✞✞ Monthly Feasts
1. The Commemoration of the Crucifixion of our Lord and God, the Holy Savior, Jesus Christ
2. Abune Meba Tsion the Ethiopian
3. St. Macarius the Great (Principal of all the Monks)
4. St. James the Mangled (Sawn)
5. St. Gelawdewos (Claudius) Martyr (Emperor of Ethiopia)
6. Abba Bifamon/Abe-Fam/Bifam/Phoebammon, Martyr and Righteous
7. Mar St. Victor/Boctor Ebn Romanus, Martyr

Memhir Esuendale:
#Feasts of #Tahisas_27

✞✞✞On this day we commemorate the Departure of the Martyr Abba Absadi (Bisadi/Psote) and the Righteous Abba Begeu✞✞✞

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

✞✞✞Saint Abba Absadi (Bisadi/Psote)✞✞✞
=>Fathers like this Saint are called “Mestegadelan (Fighters)” in Geez. And that is because the title shows that they have battled until the last drop of their blood and until their last breath for their faith. The spiritual struggle has many types of paths. 

✞There is the one who fights with himself/herself. And another who fights with the world. However, the fight of the saints is mainly with 2 entities. The first one is with the demons which bring lusts of the flesh (sins/temptations) and the second is with heretics/apostates which say, “Renounce your faith, bow to idols.”

✞The 2nd fight, in particular, requires a decision to die. Nevertheless, to understand the life of this Saint, I want you to notice one thing.
    
✞I have sometimes seen confusion regarding the lives of the early fathers’ struggles as the Christianity of our time is cold. The saints live always thinking one thing. And this thing seems to be what most of us today have forgotten or have chosen to ignore.

✞And it, which we have forgotten or have chosen to ignore, is the fact that the Heavenly God had come down from His throne (became man) and through His incarnated flesh accepted passions that were inexpressible with words for our transgressions. And Christianity is engraving Calvary (Κρανίου Kranío) in the heart. Anyone who has the love of the Cross and thinks of the Lord’s sacrifice, will not fear if any kind of trial comes his/her way.

✞That is the mystery of the love and patience of the saints. And as the Lord had said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24), we see the saints fulfilling His instruction word for word.

✞✞✞Saint Abba Absadi (Bisadi/Psote)✞✞✞
=>The Holy Martyr was born and raised in Egypt in the 3rd century. And he had one friend who was also adorned with holiness whose name was Hellanicus (Ghellanicus).
 
✞These two Christians, in that era of tribulation, studied the teachings of the Church well turning not aside to the right hand nor to the left. And because they were found steadfast in the upright path, the Holy Spirit called both of them at once to be shepherds.

✞The episcopate as we have seen in previous commemorations is a burden (responsibility) and not a means to accumulate worldly honor nor is it a cathedra to create comfort for the flesh.  That being said, when the choice [of the bishop] is done [directly] by the Holy Spirit it delights one.

✞Of course, the honor that leading the fold of Christ properly and taking them to the pasture of the Gospel brings is great. Even so, that comes after much suffering and not effortlessly, as the grace and the Kingdom of God cannot be obtained without tribulation.

✞Thence, the Saints Abba Absadi and Hellanicus since they understood this duty, girdled themselves and started their tasks.  And in the manner of the Apostles, their daily tasks became converting the unbeliever, preserving the believer in his/her faith and enabling the steadfast to partake from the Holy Mysteries (the Eucharist).

✞And while the Saints lived in such manner; their accounts were heard in different places. However, this fame of theirs only bore misfortune. During that era, the beast Diocletian was persecuting Christians by not having them rest where they dwelt nor letting them live where they spent the night.

✞And to aid him in his brutality, he appointed cruel officers in the different provinces. And in the land of Egypt he put in place 2 governors. The first was Arianus (who later became a martyr himself) and the second was called Hermenius.

✝✞✝ እንኩዋን ለሰማዕቱ "አባ አብሳዲ" እና ለጻድቁ "አባ በግዑ" ዓመታዊ የዕረፍት በዓል በሰላም አደረሳችሁ ✝✞✝

+"+ ቅዱስ አባ አብሳዲ +"+

=>ቅዱሱን የመሰሉ አባቶች "መስተጋድላን" ይባላሉ በግእዙ:: ለሃይማኖታቸው እስከ ደም ጠብታና እስከ መጨረሻዋ ህቅታ ድረስ መጋደላቸውን የሚያሳይ ነው:: መጋደል ጐዳናው ብዙ ዓይነት ነው::

+ከራሱ ጋር የሚጋደል አለ:: ከዓለም ጋር የሚጋደልም አለ:: የቅዱሳኑ ተጋድሎ ግን በዋነኝነት ከ2 አካላት ጋር ነው:: በመጀመሪያ ፍትወታት እኩያትን (ኃጣውዕን) ከሚያመጡ አጋንንት ጋር ሲሆን ሁለተኛው ደግሞ "ሃይማኖቸታችሁን ካዱ: ለጣዖትም ስገዱ" ከሚሉ ከሃድያን ጋር የሚደረግ ትግል ነው::

+በተለይ 2ኛው እስከ ሞት የሚያደርስ ውሳኔን ይጠይቃል:: የዚህን ቅዱስ ሕይወት ለመረዳት ግን አንድ ነገርን ልብ እንድትሉልኝ እፈልጋለሁ::

+ያለንበት ዘመን ክርስትና በራድ (ቀዝቃዛ) በመሆኑ የቀደሙ አባቶች የጸና ተጋድሎ አንዳንዴ ግራ ሲያጋባን ተመልክቻለሁ:: ቅዱሳኑ ሁሌም አንድ ነገርን እያሰቡ ይኖራሉ:: ይኼውም በዘመኑ በርካቶቻችን የረሳነው: ወይም ማስታወስ የማንፈልገው ነገር ይመስላል::

+ሰማያዊው አምላክ ከዙፋኑ ወርዶ በተዋሐደው ሥጋ በቃል ሊገለጽ የማይችል መከራን ስለ እኛ ተቀብሏል:: ክርስትና ማለት ቀራንዮን በልብ ውስጥ መሳል ነው:: ፍቅረ መስቀሉን: የጌታንም ውለታ የሚያስብ ማንኛውም ሰው: የትኛውም ዓይነት መከራ ቢመጣበት አይታወክም::

+ቅዱሳኑም የፍቅራቸውና የትእግስታቸው ምሥጢር ይኼው ነው:: ጌታችን "የሚወደኝ ቢኖር የሞቱን መስቀል ተሸክሞ ይከተለኝ" (ማቴ. 16:18) እንዳለው ቅዱሳኑ ይህንን ቃል በቃል ሲፈጽሙት እነሆ እንመለከታለን::

+"+ ቅዱስ አባ አብሳዲ +"+

=>ቅዱሱ ሰማዕት ተወልዶ ያደገው በምድረ ግብጽ : በ3ኛው መቶ ክ/ዘ ነው:: እንደርሱ በቅድስና ያጌጠ ባልንጀራም ነበረው:: ስሙም ቅዱስ አላኒቆስ ነበር::

+እኒህ ክርስቲያኖች በዚያ የመከራ ዘመን ግራ ቀኝ ሳይሉ ትምሕርተ ቤተ ክርስቲያንን ጠንቅቀው ተምረዋል:: በጐውን ጐዳና አጽንተው በመገኘታቸውም መንፈስ ቅዱስ 2ቱንም በአንዴ ለእረኝነት ጠራቸው::

+ዽዽስና ከዚህ በፊት እንደ ተመለከትነው እዳ (ኃላፊነት) እንጂ ምድራዊ ክብርን ማጋበሻ መንገድ: ወይም የሥጋ ድሎትን መፍጠሪያ ዙፋን አይደለም:: ያም ሆኖ ምርጫው የመንፈስ ቅዱስ ሲሆን ደስ ያሰኛል::

+በእርግጥም የክርስቶስን መንጋ እንደሚገባ መምራትና በለመለመው የወንጌል መስክ ማሰማራት የሚያስገኘው ክብር በሰማያት ታላቅ ነው:: ያም ቢሆን ግን ከብዙ መከራ በሁዋላ እንጂ እንዲሁ በዋዛ አይደለም:: የእግዚአብሔር ጸጋውና መንግስቱ ያለ መከራ አትገኝምና::

+ቅዱሳኑ አባ አብሳዲና አባ አላኒቆስም ይህንን ኃላፊነት የተረዱ ነበርና ታጥቀው ሥራቸውን ጀመሩ:: እንደ ሐዋርያት ሥርዓትም ያላመነውን ማሳመን: ያመነውን በሃይማኖቱ ማጽናት: የጸናውን ደግሞ ለምሥጢራተ ቅድሳት (ሥጋ ወደሙ) ማብቃት የዘወትር ተግባራቸው ነበር::

+ቅዱሳኑ በዚህ ተጋድሏቸው ሳሉ ዜናቸው በየቦታው ተሰማ:: ነገር ግን ይህ ዝናቸው የወለደው መከራን ነበር:: በጊዜው አውሬው ዲዮቅልጢያኖስ ክርስቲያኖችን ከዋሉበት አላሳድር: ካደሩበትም አላውል ብሎ ነበር::

+ለክፋቱ እንዲመቸው በየሃገሩ ጨካኝ መኮንኖችን ሾመ:: በምድረ ግብጽም 2 ገዢዎችን ሲያኖር አንዱ አርያኖስ (በሁዋላ አምኖ ሰማዕት ሆኗል): 2ኛው ደግሞ ሔርሜኔዎስ ይባላሉ::

+እነዚህ መኩዋንንት ግብጽን ለ2 ተካፍለው: በሥራቸው ገዥዎችን ሹመው በግፍ ተግባራቸው ክርስቲያኖችን ይቀጡ ገቡ:: የስቃይ ተራው ደግሞ የ2ቱ ቅዱሳን (አባ አብሳዲና አባ አላኒቆስ) ነበርና ተከሰሱ::

+ለፍርድ ይቀርቡ ዘንድም አርያኖስ በማዘዙ ወታደሮች መጡ:: ነገሮችን አስቀድሞ የሚያውቀው ቅዱስ አብሳዲም ምንም ስለ ክርስቶስ ለመሞት ቢቸኩልም መንጋውን እንዲሁ ሊበትን ግን አልወደደም::

+ስለዚህም ወታደሮችን "እባካችሁ ሕዝቡን ልሰናበት : አንድ ቀን ታገሱኝ" አላቸው:: ወታደሮቹ ከፊቱ የሚታየው ግርማው ደንቁዋቸው ነበርና ፈቀዱለት:: ቅዱሱም ከሕይወቱ የቀረችውን 24 ሰዓት ይጠቀምባት ዘንድ ምዕመናን ልጆቹን ሁሉ ጠራ::

+ቅዳሴ ቀድሶ : ቅዱስ ሥጋውንና ክቡር ደሙን ፈትቶ ለሁሉም አቀበላቸው:: (በጊዜው የማይቆርብ ክርስቲያን አልነበረምና)

+ከቅዳሴ መልስም የተፈጠረውን ሁሉ ነግሮ ወደ ክርስቶስ ሊሔድ እንደ ናፈቀ ነገራቸው:: ሊያስቀሩት እንደማይችሉ ሲረዱ ፈጽመው አዘኑ:: እርሱም በቀናችው እምነት እስከ ሞት ድረስ እንዲጸኑ አስተምሯቸው ከባልንጀራው ቅዱስ አላኒቆስ ጋር በወታደሮች እጅ ወደቀ::

+እነርሱም ቅዱሳኑን ወስደው በመኮንኑ አርያኖስ ፊት ለፍርድ አቀረቧቸው:: አርያኖስም የአባ አብሳዲ የፊቱ ግርማ ቢስበው ላለመግደል ወስኖ ሊያባብለው ወሰነ:: "አንተ ክቡር ሰው ነሕና ለንጉሡ ታዘዝ : ለጣዖትንም እጠን" አለው::

+ቅዱስ አላኒቆስ ግን "ክብሬ ክርስቶስ ነውና ፈጣሪየን በምንም ነገር አልለውጠውም" ሲል እቅጩን ነገረው:: እንደማያሳምነው ሲረዳም ከአባ አላኒቆስ ጋር ያሰቃዩአቸው ዘንድ አዘዘ::

+በምስክርነት አደባባይም በመንኮራኩር (አካልን የሚበጣጥስ ተሽከርካሪ ብረት ነው) አበራዩአቸው:: እግዚአብሔር ግን አዳናቸው:: እንደ ገና እሳት አስነድደው እዚያ ውስጥ ጨመሯቸው:: እሳቱም ግን ሊበላቸው አልቻለም::

+በመጨረሻም መኮንኑ አንገታቸው ይሰየፍ ዘንድ አዘዘ:: ከመሰየፋቸው በፊትም ቅዱሳኑ ጸሎትን አደረሱ:: አባ አብሳዲ ነጭ የቅዳሴ ልብሱን ለብሶ: ወደ ሰይፍ ቀረበ:: ወታደሮች ደግሞ ሁለቱን ቅዱሳን እንደታዘዙት ሰየፏቸው:: በክብርም ዐረፉ::

+"+ አባ በግዑ ጻድቅ +"+

=>እኒህ አባት በመካከለኛው ዘመን የሃገራችን ታሪክ ሰፊ ቦታን ይዘው ይገኛሉ:: ተጋድሏቸውን የፈጸሙት በደብረ ሐይቅ ነው:: ጻድቁ ብዙ ጊዜ የሁዋለኛው ዘመን ሙሴ ጸሊም ይባላሉ:: ብዙ የሕወታቸው ጐዳና ተመሳሳይ ነው::

+ልክ ቅዱስ ሙሴ ጸሊም ከኃጢአት ከሽፍትነት ሕይወት እንደ መጣው ሁሉ አባ በግዑም አስቸጋሪ ሰው እንደ ነበሩ ይነገርላቸዋል:: ከዚያ የከፋ የኃጢአት ኑሮ እግዚአብሔር ሲጠራቸው ግን ክሳደ ልቡናቸውን አላደነደኑም:: "እሺ" ብለው ንስሃ ገቡ እንጂ::

+ከዚያም በደብረ ሐይቅ (ወሎ) በፍጹም ተጋድሎ ኑረዋል:: ያዩ ሁሉም ፍጹም ያደንቁ ነበር:: ስትበላ: ስትጠጣ የኖረችውን ሰውነት ራሳቸውን ውሃ ለዘመናት በመከልከል ቀጥተዋታል:: ስለዚህም "ውሃ የማይጠጣው አባት" ይባሉም ነበር:: ጻድቁ ሲያርፉ ፈጣሪያቸው አክብሯቸዋል::

=>አምላከ አበው ቅዱሳን አሠረ ፍኖታቸውን ይግለጽልን:: ከበረከታቸውም ያድለን::

=>ታሕሳስ 27 ቀን የሚከበሩ ዓመታዊ የቅዱሳን በዓላት=
1.ቅዱስ አብሳዲ ሰማዕት
2.አባ አላኒቆስ ሰማዕት
3.አባ በግዑ ጻድቅ
4.አባ ፊልዾስ

=>ወርኀዊ በዓላት
1.ጌታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ
2.አቡነ መብዓ ጽዮን ጻድቅ
3.ቅዱስ መቃርስ (የመነኮሳት ሁሉ አለቃ)
4.ቅዱስ ያዕቆብ ዘግሙድ
5.ቅዱስ ገላውዴዎስ ሰማዕት (ንጉሠ ኢትዮዽያ)
6.ቅዱስ ቢፋሞን ጻድቅና ሰማዕት
7.ማር ቅዱስ ፊቅጦር ሰማዕት

There were many women in history that crated conflict because of their appearance, became obstacles to many because they were seen adorned, and were the causes for the loss of many faithful.

✞Nevertheless, what is sad is that, today, they are below the ground. They have been consumed by the soil and the memories of their names are lost. And what is more dismaying is that, today, they are burning eternally in hell, in the deep.

✞Thence, my kinsfolk let us awaken knowing this. Because, this world is passing and will make us perish as well. Even if we live for a long time, even a 100 years after this, that too will end. Thus the Holy Church states that [we should] let our choice be eternal life.

✞✞✞Saint Anastasia✞✞✞
=>This Saint like many of our saintly mothers is a fruit of the Era of Persecution. She was born in what was known in earlier times as Asia Minor and was raised in a palace as she was from a royal lineage. Though her father was one of the nobles, he was an idol worshipper.

✞And as the time was one of tribulation; many women lived hiding their Christianity. And one of such women was the mother of St. Anastasia. And her Aramean husband did not know Who she worshipped.

✞And when Anastasia was born, she had her baptized in hiding. She then taught her from her childhood about the faith so that the love of Christ would indwell in her. However, when Anastasia became a youth, because of her beauty her onlookers became numerous. Nevertheless, she did not understand all these types of rubbish of the world. 

✞And because she was engulfed by the love of her Creator, she did not have the attention for such things. She used to fast, pray and visit the poor and the jailed. And by this, she was always jubilant. However, her father, when she least expected it, wedded her to a heathen. She was grieved but did not give up hope and she looked for a solution.

✞So her virginity would not be tainted during the day when the marriage was to be consummated, she slept saying that she was sick. Thereafter, she created excuses like being on a menstrual cycle and being ill, and prevented him from approaching her. And since he was a military commander, when he left for battle, she rose and served the Christians that were jailed for the Upright Faith. 

✞And she used to delight them by washing their wounds, and nourishing them with food. However, when her husband returned and heard this, he confined her so that she would not get out again and went back to battle. And because she was greatly disappointed by him, God gave him into the hands of his enemies and he died.

✞And as she lived the rest of her life in celibacy, tribulation reached her. And she was caught and suffered much in the hands of Arameans. And on this day, she was killed for the sake of Christ and received the honor of the martyrs.

✞✞✞Saint Aboli (Apoli) the Righteous✞✞✞
=>The Saint is one of the righteous in Church history that labored to partake in the passion of Christ. Particularly, when the Saint prayed, he tied his feet to a tree and immersed himself in water upside down. Today, the Church commemorates his departure.

✞✞✞May the God of the Saints grant us His grace and honor. And may He not separate us from the blessings of His beloved.

✞✞✞ Annual feasts celebrated on the 26th of Tahisas
1. St. Anastasia the Martyr
2. St. Aboli (Apoli) the Righteous
3. St. Juliana the Martyr

✞✞✞ Monthly Feasts
1. St. Thomas the Apostle
2. Abune Habte Maryam
3. Abune Iyesus Moa
4. Saints, Martyrs of Najran
5. Saint Abune Selama Kesate Birhan

✞✞✞“Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.”✞✞✞
1 Pet. 3:3-4

✞✞✞ Salutations to God ✞✞✞

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

Memhir Esuendale:
#Feasts of #Tahisas_26

✞✞✞On this day we commemorate the Departure of Saint Anastasia and Saint Aboli (Apoli) the Righteous✞✞✞

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

✞✞✞Blessed Mothers✞✞✞
=>Today, let us memorialize a bit about our blessed mothers. Though the title “Saint” is given to all holy women, its meaning becomes different when applied to the Virgin Mary. And that is because she is “Holy of holies, wholesome of the pure, blessed of the sacred and elect of the chosen.”

✞She is greater to all the children of men. Let alone the children of men, she is greater to the pure angels in wholesomeness and holiness. She is the Mother of Light, the Theotokos and the pride of our human nature. 

✞And when we call our Lady “Holy - A Saint” we mean, “Preserved, immaculate, honored, and inimitable”.
1. Our Lady is called “Immaculate”. [And that’s because] when other people (saints) are said to be pure it is purity from evil deeds and speech, and not from sinful thoughts. However, our Lady is pure from the sins of speech, deed, and thought [which makes her immaculate].
“To whom was it given, from the children of men, to keep from thinking sin (sinful thoughts). This was not even possible to the angels.”
(Introductory part of “The Miracles of Mary”)

2. We call her “Preserved” as well. [And that’s because other] women are preserved in virginity temporarily but later on, they will lose that status. However, our Lady was a Virgin before conceiving [the Lord], during conception [of the Lord], after conception, before giving birth, while giving birth and after giving birth. [Hence she is preserved in perpetual virginity.]

And that is as the Saint had said, “Preserved in virginity and without corruption/sin.” (St. Yared/Jared)
In addition, it is as the Great St. Basil had said as well, “Mary, perpetually virgin.” (The Book of the Divine Liturgy – Anaphora of St. Basil, No. 73)

3. We also call the Virgin “Honored”. [And that’s because] other women are given honor [not negating their labors] because they have bore saints, martyrs, prophets and apostles. However, we honor our Lady saying, “The Mother of God - Theotokos”.

4. We furthermore call our Lady “Inimitable”. And that is because no other woman was a mother while a virgin, a Lady while a servant and has brought forth milk while a virgin (a virgin’s milk) except her.

✞Let us rest what we have started about our Lady here and see other holy mothers. When honoring our mothers, we start with St. Eve. Most of the time, what is spoken about our mother Eve is her transgression, and not her good virtue, kindness and repentance. Nonetheless, our mother St. Eve is a woman that deserves honor.

*And that is because Christ became man to sanctify her and her children. As it states, “To abolish the curse of Eve, He was crucified upon a wooden Cross.” (Deggwa of St. Yared/ Jared)

✞Then, in the Old Testament mothers like Haikel, Edna, Sarah, Rebecca, Asenath, Zipporah, Hannah, Bath–sheba have delighted God walking in the good path. And during the time of His ministry (when He was incarnated) the compassion of the Saints Anna, Elisabeth, Mary, Sophia, Salome, Joanna and the 36 Holy Women shone.

✞And we will not be able to list the myriads of holy mothers that rose from then to now, for 2000 years. The Church has bore many mothers that had beasts prostrate before them for their sanctity, who have vexed kings, trampled demons, and treaded upon serpents.

✞And today, we know and believe that we have many mothers who have followed the good path and live in the desert and the cities. However, the ways of our sisters, which are not according to the rites, that we see in the municipalities is a great threat to the country and the Church. It seems as if this is an era in which, honor and disgrace are undistinguishable.✞My sisters, those of you who are reading this! Let me tell you one thing.