7 Salutations

7 Salutations to the Covenant of Mercy

+ In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit one God Amen +

1: Salutation to thee, O Covenant of Mercy, my hope, the justifier of the sinner, the seeker after the one sheep of the ninety and nine which hath become cast away.

2: Salutation to thee, O Covenant of Mercy, thou pillar set up by God; be thou a sign of salvation unto all sinners, O thou whose love strengthened.

3: Salutation to thee, O Covenant of Mercy, thou gold that embraceth all riches, the storehouse of the poor and needy, and the wealth of him that is in Heaven.

4: Salutation to thee, O Covenant of Mercy, who weighest the Heavens in balance; my trust is in thee, grant thou unto me both the strife and the conquest thereof.

5: Salutation to thee, O Covenant of Mercy, earnest of the kingdom of heaven; whosoever loveth thee shall live in hope until the resurrection of all mankind shall take place.

6: Salutation to thee, O Covenant of Mercy. If I cannot justify myself by strivings and good works let me rely upon thee, O Virgin Covenant, to save my soul from perdition.

7: Salutation to thee, O Covenant of Mercy upon him that shall build a temple in the name of thy Covenant, and upon those of us who pray in thy name, O Mariam, bestow a portion of thy blessing, and make supplication unto thy Good Son on our behalf.

+ Amen +

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AsterEyo - አስተርዮ - Epiphany

The Holy Trinity ‘አጋዕዝተ ዓለም ቅድስት ሥላሴ’ [Tirr 7 - Jan 16]

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebration of the Holy Trinity is known by the name ‘Aga‘izite Alem Kidisiti Selassie -አጋዕዝተ ዓለም ቅድስት ሥላሴ. It is celebrated on January 16 (Tirr 07) of the Ethiopian Calendar. On this day at the Tower of Babel, the Babylonians wanted a tower that would reach to the heavens so that they could fight God. God saw the pride in their hearts and confounded their language.

Genesis 11:17

“let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.”

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity was not plainly revealed in the Old Testament. However the basis of the doctrine can be detected. The phrase "let us" in the above verse gives the idea of plurality.

Genesis 1:26

"Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness...."

In the above verse the word "us" cannot refer to the angels because angels do not create.

Timket ‘ጥምቀት' Baptism - AsterEyo (Epiphany)

‘ጥምቀት' or 'Timket’ is a Ge’ez word meaning, “immersion in water”. The feast of Timket covers the period from Tirr 10 – 12 (January 19 – 21). During this time, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrates the baptism of Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos, as well as the clear manifestation of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity.

Day One: 'Ketera', means “making a reservoir” for the celebration of 'Timket'. The three days of Timket celebration starts on Tirr 10 (January19) early afternoon. The Holy Tabots of each church are carried out in slow procession to a river or pool of water accompanied by priests and church choirs chanting hymns. The hymns commemorate the humbleness of Our Lord Eyesus Kristos who walked to the River Jordan to be baptized by his servant, John the Baptist.

Matthew 3:13

“Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him” A special tent is set up where the Holy Tabots reside. The prayer and the chant of priests and church choirs continue long into the night accompanied by drums, the ringing of bells, and the blowing of trumpets."

Day Two: 'Timket', the commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord Eyesus Kristos in River Jordan, is observed on Tirr 11 (January 20).

Matthew 3:14-15

“But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.”

Our Lord Eyesus Kristos was baptized at the River Jordan. This was meant to destroy the letter of condemnation written by Satan against Adam and Eve. The letter was hidden at the foot of Jordan River.

Colossians 2:14

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;”

The Timket Divine Liturgy starts around 2:00AM. It is followed by prayers and blessings directed towards the river or the collected water from three water taps. The water from each tap is gathered in one cistern in the name of the Holy Trinity and is sprinkled on the believers. By noon on Timket Day all the Holy Tabots are paraded back to their respective churches except for the Saint Michael Tabots, which stay one more day by the river to celebrate ‘Qanna Ze Galilla’ (Cana of Galilee).

Day Three: 'Qanna Ze Galilla' celebrates the Wedding of Cana on Tirr 12 (January 21). This is where the first miracle at the beginning of the Lord's ministry where He changed water to wine.

John 2:1-11

“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there:And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?

mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water-pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water-pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.”

The story of the wedding of Cana of Galilee also shows how the Holy Virgin Saint Mariam intercedes on our behalf. When Holy Virgin Saint Mariam saw that the wine at the wedding had run out, she informed her Son, “they have no wine”. Of course Our Lord was already aware of their condition, but he was waiting for his Holy Mother's intercession to present their needs to him. So Our Lord Eyesus Kristos responded to His Holy Mother’s intercession by changing the water into wine. This shows how the Holy Virgin Saint Mariam always presents our needs to her Son and then advises us to do whatever He tells us. The presence of Our Lord and his Holy Mother at Cana is also an assurance of the sanctity of Matrimony, and an indication that the Lord is present in his Holy Church with his Holy Mother and Saints.

'AsterEyo' (Epiphany) means appearance or manifestation. The season of AsterEyo goes from January 19 (Ketera) to the start of the three-day Nineveh fast.

Matthew 3:16-17

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Our Lord Eyesus Kristos, the incarnate God the Son standing in River Jordan, plus the Holy Spirit descending like a dove, as well as God the Father speaking from heaven, testifying about His Only Begotten Son is clear evidence of the three persons of God. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The great mystery of the Holy Trinity is revealed clearly for the first time right after John the Baptist baptized Our Lord Eyesus Kristos. At this point, the heavens open. This indicates that baptism is the opener to God's kingdom.

Galatians 3:25-29

“But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

The Holy Spirit descending like a dove reminds us of Noah at the end of the flood sending out the dove, which symbolizes peace with God.

Genesis 8:8-11

“Also he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground; But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth: then he put forth his hand, and took her, and pulled her in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; And the dove came in to him in the evening; and, lo, in her mouth was an olive leaf plucked off: so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth."

Christ was baptized by John, not because he was sinful, but because he is the one who took up on himself the sins of the world. This was also to sanctify baptism for us.

John 1:1-29

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

May the Light of his Baptism fill us with the Holy Spirit forever, Amen!

Feast of the Annunciation ብስራተ ገብርኤል

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebration of the Annunciation is known by the name ‘Bisrate Gebriel’ . It is celebrated on Dec 31 (Tahisas 22) of the Ethiopian Calendar.

Annunciation is the feast of happiness and hope for the whole world, because the coming of Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos is not just for a group of believers, but for the entire humanity.

The Feast commemorates the announcement by the Saint Archangel Gabriel to the Holy Virgin Mariyam that Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos, the Son of God, would become incarnate and enter into this world through her womb. Even though the actual date of the feast is 9 months and 5 days before Jan 7 (መጋቢት 29 - April 7 ), the father of the church Archbishop Diocese(ደቅስዮስ) have moved the feast to one week before Lidit because it would otherwise fall within the great fast before Easter (Lent).

Luke (1:26-39)

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

It is on the Feast of the Annunciation, that Ethiopian Orthodox Christians commemorate both the divine initiative of God, whereby He took on flesh from the Holy Virgin Mariyam for our salvation, and the human response, whereby Holy Virgin Mariyam freely accepted the vocation offered to her. He elected to become man, and He desired to do this with the willing agreement of her whom He chose as His mother. Holy Virgin Mariyam became the Mother of God, it is not just because God chose her but also because she herself chose to accepted His will and plan.

By choosing to follow the will of God she received great honor from God. We see in the Gospel of Luke that the Holy Spirit filled her cousin Elizabeth and John the baptist (while he was still in his mothers womb). By the Holy Spirit we see John leaping with joy in the womb of his mother when she heard the voice of the Holy Virgin Mariyam. Elizabeth herself being filled with the Holy Spirit praises the Holy Virgin Mariyam saying “Blessed art thou among women”.

The prayer of our Holy Mother, Her intercession and blessings be with us. Amen.