Debre Zeit - ደብረ ዘይት - Mount of Olives

In The Name of The Father, The Son And The Holy Spirit, one God Amen

The fifth Sunday of the Great Fast (Abiy Tsom) is called “Debre Zeite”, which is a Ge’ez name meaning Mount of Olives taken from the hymnbook of Saint Yared known as “Tsome Digua” (Hymn of Fast). On this date we remember the second coming of Our Lord Eyesus Kristos and the final judgment.

Matthew 24:3-9

“Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake”.

All the signs of the end times spoken by Our Lord Eyesus Kristos will be fulfilled before the final judgment and the resurrection of the dead, believers and unbelievers, righteous and sinners will follow. In the knowledge of this truth of the second coming of Our Lord that all people must repent, believe and be baptized in preparation for the arrival of God’s Kingdom.

The bible advises us to be spiritually prepared for salvation and judgment today, not tomorrow, and to put our trust in God's grace and forgiveness.

2 Corinthians 6

“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have Isuccoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”

The fifth week of the Great lent also reminds us that all of us will face judgment. Eyesus Kristos will examine each of us and as a result some will gain eternal life with Him in Heaven and some will gain eternal punishment in Hell.

John 5:25-30

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church also teaches that Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos will come back on a Sunday, on the day of Debre Zeit, in the year of St. John, at midnight but we don't know which year.

Thy Word we have read, let God allow us to treasure it in our hearts and grant us to see the light of his resurrection in peace, Amen! የአነበብነውን ቃል በልቦናችን ያሳድርልን አሜን!

Mikurab - ምኩራብ

Mikurab/ ምኩራብ-3rd Sunday of The Holy Great Fast

'Mikurab/ ምኩራብ' The third Sunday of the Great Fast (Abiy Tsom) is called “Mikurab”, which is a Ge’ez word meaning synagogue. The name Mikurab is named after the song of Saint Yared for the Sunday. On this date, Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos shows his authority and demonstrated the importance of keeping the temple/church holy and honoring God’s house as a place of prayer but nothing else.

John 2:13-17

“13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:

15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;

16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.

17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.

This teaching was crucial for those people who had gotten so used to seeing (and doing) merchandising in the temple that they perhaps didn’t even know it was a big sin. This teaching is also very crucial for our generation that we should always remember Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos gave us salvation and eternal life for free. There's a place for everything and we shouldn't be selling and buying in the church as Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos ordered us. We Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christine shouldn't come to church to profit world matters but to receive eternal life and salvation for free.

We Christians are the temple of God. We always needs to keep our body (God's temple) clean by believing and following the Apostolic doctrine and orders.

“16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”

We must stand in-front of Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos and plead him always to keep his temple (our body) on the right path which he established and passed it to the Apostles.

May Medhanealem Grant us to See the Light of His Resurrection in Peace!

Great Lent - Abiy Tsom - ዐብይ ጾም Second Sunday - Qidist (Holy) – ቅድስት

The Great Lent Fast (Abiy Tsom) has eight weeks. St. Yared, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church hymn writer, wrote the hymnbook known as “Tsome Digua” (Hymn of Fasting). In this Holy book St. Yared composed songs for each Sunday which is named after the song for that Sunday.

The second Sunday is called 'Kidist', which is a Ge’ez word meaning Holy or Sanctified. In the Tsome Digua, St. Yared mentions that in addition to controlling what goes into our mouths, we must also control what comes out of our mouths. St. Yared said, “The other members of the body also need to fast: our eyes from seeing evil, our ears from hearing evil, our hand from doing evil, our feet from running to evil and our minds from thinking evil.”

During this time, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church teaches her believers about the Holiness of Our Lord Eyesus Kristos as well as encouraging purity and separation from sin, the devil and the world.

1 Peter 1:15-17

“But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judge according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:”

The time of the fast of Our Lord actually begins in the 2nd week of Great Lent. Which is also called the Forty Day Fast (Tsome Arba).

Matthew 14:13-21

“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.”

The word Holy or Sanctified or Kidist also tells of the holiness of Sunday or Senbat (the Christian Sabbath).

Exodus 20:8

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”

The expression "keep the Sabbath day holy" means dedicating it to the Lord. So it is called "the Lord’s Day".

The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve before they sinned was to fast. This was to practice self-control and obedience to the divine will.

Genesis 2:16-17

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.”

The fruit with which man was tempted led to the fall in Paradise. In like manner, it was bread that Our Lord Eyesus Kristos was tempted with in the wilderness, but He triumphed in fasting.

Matthew 4:3-4

“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

Sanctification not only consists of putting off the old nature of Adam and sin, but putting on the new nature of Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos. Practicing the true meaning of Holiness through fasting, prayer, good works, receiving penance and taking Holy Communion.

Romans 5:12-19

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by one man's offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Therefore by the offense of one man judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one man the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

We have to overcome our earthly desires and stay away from those who advise:

1 Corinthians 15:32

“let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we die.”

The main purpose of fasting is to make the desire of the body obey the will of the soul. For Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christians it is mandatory to abstain from animal products and alcoholic drinks during this time. In most cases, only one full meal is taken a day after the 9th hour of the day (3:00PM), except on Saturdays and Sundays. Apart from the abstinence from certain foods, any form of music, including church drums and cymbals are unacceptable. The exception is listening to the Begena (harp of King David) or mourning songs. These are acceptable because the Great Lent Fast represents a season of mourning.

Daniel 10:2-3

“In those days Daniel was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”

The Importance of the Forty Days in the Bible

1. God Created Adam and brought him into the Garden of Eden after Forty Days

The Book of Jubilees (መጽሃፈ ኩፋሌ - Mets'hafe Kufale) 3:9

“And after Adam had completed forty days in the land where he had been created, we brought him into the garden of Eden to till and keep it, but his wife they brought in on the eightieth day, and after this she entered into the garden of Eden”

2. When God destroyed the earth with water, He caused it to rain Forty Days and Forty Nights.

Genesis 7:12

“And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”

3. After Moses killed the Egyptian, he fled and spent Forty years in the desert tending flocks as spiritual preparation to lead the people of God out of Egypt.

Acts 7:30

“And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush.”

4. Moses fasted for Forty Days as spiritual preparation to receive the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 34:27-28

“And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.”

5. The Israelites wandered for Forty years in the desert as spiritual preparation to take the Holy Land.

Deuteronomy 8:2

“And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.”

6. The Prophet Elijah fasted for Forty Days as spiritual preparation, and then finally God revealed himself to him.

1 Kings 19:8-12

“And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.”

7. God gave Nineveh Forty Days to repent to receive his forgiveness and mercy.

Jonah 3:4

“Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”

8. There were Forty Days between Our Lord's Resurrection and His Ascension

Acts 1:3

“He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.”

The Departure of Abune Gebre Menfes Qidus (አቡነ ገብረ መንፈስ ቅዱስ ) from this World [Megabit 5 /March 14]

Abune Gebre Menfes Qidus is called the “Star of the Desert”

• Born on January 7/Tahisas 29 – his date of birth and conception coincide with the day of Our Lord's birth

• He lived 300 years in desert of Egypt

• He went from Egypt to Ethiopia by the order of God

• He stayed at Lake Ziquala-ዝቋላ for 100 years praying for Ethiopia and there received a covenant from God

• He brought dead lions back to life

• He met King Lalibela and promised him that he would live in the Mountains of Ziquala and not leave Ethiopia

• He lived for 562 years on earth and departed from this world in the Mountains of Ziquala on Megabit 5/March 14, his body rests in Medre Kebed - ምድረ ከብድ.

May Medhanealem Grant us to See The Light of His Resurrection in Peace Amen!