7 tahsas 2016
The Ethiopian Synaxarium
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, ONE GOD. AMEN.
On this day died Abba Daniel of Dabra Sihat (monastery of Scete?), the monastery of Abba Macarius. This holy man buried the Empress Patricia, who called herself ‘Anteyos, and it was not known that she was woman until after her death. One day he was going with his disciple to Alexandria, and when the turn of the evening had come, he found a fool (or madman) whose name was Marka, and many idiots (?) were following him; now the men of the city thought they were madmen. And Abba Daniel took his hand and brought him to the archbishop, and described to him his virtues, and when they had made him take an oath he told them that he had fled from the war of fornication, and that he had feigned to be a madman; and when they heard this they glorified God. One day he came into a certain city and he found an old man whose name was Eulogius, and who was a worker in stone; and he bought bread and welcomed the poor. And he brought Abba Daniel into his house, and welcomed him with joy, and when Daniel saw his goodness, he asked God to give money to Eulogius, so that he might be able to welcome the poor. And our Lord appeared unto Daniel in the form of a child, and said unto him, “Wilt thou undertake his duties, and let him change his mode of life, or shall I undertake them?” And then Eulogius found a pot of gold, and he went to the emperor and was appointed a governor, and he abandoned his old habit of life. And Abba Daniel heard in the city of the emperor that he (i.e. the emperor) had rebuked him, and that his soldiers had beaten Eulogius and brought him nigh unto death; [and the emperor ordered them to crucify him]. And whilst he was sorrowing over this matter that child appeared unto him in a dream, and said unto him, “Why hast thou entered into the affair of another?” Then our Lady Mary came and kissed the feet of the child and delivered Eulogius. As for Eulogius, when another emperor reigned he wished to kill him, and Eulogius took to flight, and having arrived in the city, he returned to his former work. And one day when they were journeying along the road by the light of the moon, he found a woman on a hill, and her hair covered her whole body, and she had dwelt there for eight and thirty years, carrying on the spiritual fight, and she told him all her secret history and died. And one day they brought the Book of the Letters of Leo and read it before all the people, and Abba Daniel leaped up and rent the book and cursed the Faith of Chalcedon; and when the soldiers heard of this they beat him severely, and drove him away from his monastery. One day he was going to visit some virgins, and he knocked at the door, and they knew that he was Abba Daniel, and they opened the door to him and welcomed him with joy; and among them was one who made herself out to be mad, and she lay by the door [and moved not]. And Abba Daniel asked about her, and the abbess said, “She is mad”; and Abba Daniel told her that she was a holy woman and a spiritual fighter. And during the night she wrote a letter, saying, “Forgive me because I made you angry”; and having said this she disappeared; and when the [other] virgins heard of this they were exceeding sorry and repented. And there was a nunnery wherein very many virgins dwelt, and its gates were strong, and Satan raised up against them certain thieves to plunder their goods. And the captain of the thieves said, “I will disguise myself as Abba Daniel, and they will open the door to me forthwith”; and he did even as he had thought. And he said unto the virgins, “I am Abba Daniel,” and when the nuns heard him they welcomed him with joy, and uncovered their faces. And as soon as one of the nuns, who was blind, washed her face in
water her eyes were opened; and when the nuns saw this they said, “Blessed art thou, O Abba Daniel!” When the captain of the thieves saw this he repented, and became a monk with Abba Daniel. And Abba Daniel continued to fight strenuously, and when the time for his departure drew nigh the angel of the Lord told him, and he fell sick a little; and he prayed to Christ and died in peace. Salutation to Daniel, the head of the blessed priesthood of Dabra Sihat (monastery of Scete ?).
And on this day also is commemorated the blessed woman Diyonteres (Diontyras). Salutation to Diyonteres (Diontyras).
And on this day also died the holy and glorious father and fighter Abba Matewos (Matthew) of ‘Asfoni, Archimandrite of Dabra ‘Aswan. And this holy man was reared from his youth up in the fear of God, and he became a monk in a certain monastery, and he fought with fasting and with prayer. And he built himself an abode in the desert, and he worked with his hands and made good nets, and the price he received for the same he gave in alms to the poor, according to what his disciples have said about his work, and his fighting, and his miracles. Now these disciples Abba Serapion, and Abba Khadra relate as follows: One day when we were sitting outside his abode in the desert, we heard a voice like that of a man who is speaking to his friend inside the abode; and when we went inside we found no one there except our father, who was alone. And we said, “O our father, we outside heard someone talking with thee, but having come inside we find no one but thee.” And he said unto us with very great humility and exceedingly great sweetness, “O my children, I remember my sins, and I talk to myself, and remind my soul of the punishments which are not transient, and the pain of the death which shall find me. Woe be unto poor Matewos (Matthew) when they strip off the apparel which is on him, and set him before the throne of the Living God, in the midst of the ladder of the heavenly angels, and all the company of the righteous, who keep purity, which they put on as if it were a garment.” With words such as these did he exhort his children and he reminded them of the punishment of sinners and the reward of the righteous. And Saint Abuna Abba Matewos (Matthew) made his prayers, and carried on his fight, and his service in the monastery which he had built and dedicated to our father Abba Pachomius, and the monastery of Dabra Bakalt. And Satans and unclean spirits used to [try to] terrify him by day and by night, and he saw them face to face, and they would run in front of him and follow behind him everywhere, and each one of them would change his appearance, but our father was not afraid of them. And when he stretched out his hands, and made the sign of the Cross with them, at that very moment the devils would melt away and be dispersed like smoke before the wind. One day he commanded Serapion his disciple to take from the monastery to his cell a skin of water and a little bread and to wait there until the following day whilst he went on a certain business into the desert. When his disciple came to the cell and opened the door to go in he saw two wild beasts that were larger than hyenas, and very terrifying, lying in the middle of the dwelling, and being afraid he shut the door of brass. And behold our father came walking through the desert, and when he saw his disciple he laughed and he said unto him, “O Serapion, why didst thou not go into the dwelling [and wait there] until I came to thee?” And Serapion said unto him, “O my father, I found inside the dwelling two [wild beasts] lying, and I was afraid of them, and I did not go in.” And the old man who was gentle and pure in deed and soul, answered and said unto him, “Believe me, O my son, for twelve years I have lived with them, and I myself have served them, and this bread and water which I commanded thee to bring here is for them.” And when he opened the door the two wild beasts came to him, and they licked the soles of the
feet of the holy man, and they treated him with the greatest friendliness and were in submission to him; and the saint poured out some water for them from the skin, and they lapped it up and went out through the door and departed into the desert. And this Abba Matewos (Matthew) continued to work miracles until the report of him was in every place. And the people used to bring unto him sick folk who were suffering from divers kinds of sicknesses, and he healed them by means of the great power of God, which was with him. Here is the First Miracle. One day they brought unto him a dumb man who was possessed of a devil, and as soon as he saw the saint, the devil cried out with a loud voice and cast the man upon the ground. And the saint prayed over some oil, and made the sign of the Holy Cross over him, in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, One God; and straightway the man was delivered from this Satan, and his heart returned to him, and he heard the words of the saint, and he departed rejoicing. And when certain of the laity came to Abba Matewos (Matthew) and offered him a table (i.e. a meal), he sent them away in peace. And having taken a little of that “blessing” into their houses, when they laid it upon those who were sick, they were healed immediately, and they glorified God. The Second Miracle. One day they brought unto him a very beautiful maiden who was possessed of the devil, and very often she rent her garments, and no man could approach her, and her parents were in sore trouble about her. And Abba Matewos (Matthew) cried out and prayed over the oil of the lamp, and he anointed the maiden therewith in the Name of Christ, and she was healed. Third Miracle. One day they brought unto him a sinful woman who had fallen into great sin, and who was very wicked, and being with child, and the day of her delivery having arrived, her labor was hard, and she suffered tribulation by day and by night. And the saint said unto her, “My daughter, confess thy sin unto me, and lie not before God.” And she said unto him, “I was in the habit of lying with two brothers without knowing which of them was with me; and having conceived, by means of my drugs I made myself to abort the child, and I gave him to the dogs.” When the saint heard this he prayed to God, and the earth opened her mouth and swallowed her up, and she became an example to other women. This saint worked very many miracles, but if one tried to recount them he would never come to an end. One day as he was walking in the desert, a hyena tugged at his garment with her teeth, and she showed him her cub, which had fallen into a hole; and when the saint had drawn it out for her she crouched and licked the soles of his feet and departed. And when the time of his death drew nigh he saw a vision on the second day of the month of Takhshash, and it seemed that they invited him to the assembly at the feast of the Holy Fathers, Abba Anthony, and Abba Macarius, and Abba Pachomius, and Abba Theodore, and Abba Moses the Black, and Saint Abba Sinoda, and they said unto him, “Good is thy coming unto us to dwell with us in the Jerusalem of the heavens.” And they brought him to the door of the Great Hall wherein are gardens and seats, and he heard a voice, saying, “Open the door so that Matewos (Matthew) may come in.” And then he died and received three crowns. Salutation to Matewos (Matthew).
Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.
Holy Trinity
አጋዕዝተ አለም ስላሴ
Kidest Selassie
Sebket
ስብከት
the Season to commemorate the Proclamation of prophet.
'Sebket’ is a Ge’ez word meaning preaching and proclamation of prophet. The week of 'Sebket' covers the period from Tahisas 7 – 13. During the period, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido church recounts the words of prophets about the incarnation of God. The prophets were fasting, praying and crying in their times longing for the Coming of Eyesus Kerestos the promised Messiah and Savior.