Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

“ By the prayer of our holy Lady the Virgin Mary and by thine own prayer thou shalt help the Christian people. But I beseech thee, O my father, not to reveal my work unto any man, for I have not strength enough to bear this world’s honor; but what I say unto thee do. Get thee out to the mountain about which the khalifah spoke unto thee, with thy priests, and let thy people be with thee, and take with thee the Gospels, and the crosses, and the censers, and candles. And let the khalifah and his soldiers and all the people stand on one side, and do thou and thy people stand on the other side. ”

“ And God said unto Jonah, “Art thou exceedingly sorry that the cucumber plant hath withered?” And Jonah said, “Yea, O Lord, I am exceedingly sorry, even unto death.” And God said unto him, “If thou art sorry for a cucumber plant which thou didst neither sow nor plant, and for which thou hast in no way labored, but which flourished in a day, and withered in a day, why should I not spare Nineveh, the great city wherein dwell more than ten hundred thousand men who know not their right hands from their left hands, besides very many beasts? ”

“ Three crowns have been prepared for thee: one for thy virginity, one for thy torture, and one because thou hast rejected the world for My Name’s sake. Come unto Me, O My beloved Abba ‘Aklog (Eclogius) , so that I may give thee the reward of thy labor, and that I may take thee up into My kingdom, and that I may do for thee everything which thou hast asked of Me this day, in return for what they have made thee to suffer for My Name’s sake. I will give thee an abode in the kingdom of the heavens. ”

“ Then our father Adam blessed all his children, and he said unto Seth, “O my son, this world is full of weariness; preserve righteousness and purity; let us trust in God. And incline not to the voice of Satan, and his wiles, which he will make apparent to thee. When I die take my body, and prepare it for burial with myrrh and cassia and stacte, and bury me in the cave of a store-chamber. And there shall come a water-flood, and it shall drown every created thing, and only eight souls shall be left. Be thou a protector of thy people. ”

“ And they said also, “Peace be unto thee, O thou chosen one of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, thou blessed father, Abba Pawli (Paul) , thou man of God; the angels rejoice with thee, for thou shalt rejoice in the kingdom of the heavens. Darkness hath left thee and they shall take thee to the country of light; sorrow hath left thee, and they shall take thee to the joy, which is forever. Blessed art thou in thy generation, O thou Pawli (Paul) , the desert monk, thou man of God, thou Pawli (Paul) , the desert monk.” ”

“ I am Michael, the Archangel, God hath sent me to thee, and He commandeth thee to cease from these alms, and to marry a believing man. Know thou that a woman without a man is like a ship without a rudder”; and he began to bring to her proofs out of the Old Testament, and to show her how Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and David, and others like unto them married wives and pleased God. And the saint answered and said unto him, “If thou art an angel of God, where is the symbol of the Cross on thee? The soldier of a king never goeth to another place without the symbol of the king on him.” ”

“ And Saint Matthew said unto him, “Draw nigh unto me, O my son, for I am a man like thyself and the property of God.” And Marhamnam said unto him, “My father, is there any other god besides the gods?” And Abba Matthew taught him the whole of the Faith of God, down to the Birth of Christ, and His Death, and His Resurrection, and the reward of the righteous and recompense of sinners. And Marhamnam said unto him, “O my father, my sister is a leper from the crown of her head to the sole of her foot, and if thou canst heal her in the Name of thy God I will believe in Him.” ”

“ This is the Orthodox Faith, which they formulated, saying, “We believe in One God, the Lord, the Father, the Sustainer of Creation, Maker of heaven and of earth, and of all things visible and invisible. ”

“ Holy is the Lord, Holy is the Power, Holy is the Life Which dieth not, and which the holy Virgin Mary bore! Have compassion upon us, O Lord. Holy is the Lord, Holy is the Power, Holy is the Life Which dieth not, which was baptized in the Jordan, and was hung upon the wood of the Cross. Have compassion upon us, O Lord. Holy is the Lord, Holy is the Power, Holy is the Life Which dieth not, Which was raised up from the dead on the third day, Who went up into heaven with praise and sat down on the right hand of His Father, Who shall come again to judge the living and the dead. ”

“ Thy chariot shall be the winds, and thy goings shall be like theirs without noise. Fly from the east to the west, and from the north to the south, and from behind the earth to the north, and thou shalt be able to come to any place by means of the winds. And from henceforth, O blessed Gabra Manfas Kedus, My beloved, whenever thou wishest look upon Me, My Father, and the Holy Spirit, the Three of us thus always. And moreover, go to the country of Ethiopia, and in that land there are souls which thou hast to bring forth from judgment. ”

“ O ye foolish soldiers of Pragmos, why do ye seek Peter and Paul, the soldiers of Christ, and make them out to be magicians? They have only come to destroy the soldiers, and all the work of the devil. Do ye not see them with their King Jesus Christ, riding upon white horses, and making supplication on your behalf, that ye may become soldiers of Christ, and that they may write your names in the Book of Life? ”

“ And David saith in the Psalms, “The Great God said unto me: Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Ask Me, I will give Thee the nations for an inheritance, and Thy rule shall be to the ends of the earth. Thou shalt rule them with a rod of iron, and like the vessel of the potter Thou shalt smash them. And now, O kings, get ye understanding, and be admonished all ye who judge the earth. Serve ye God with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling; strengthen wisdom so that God may not be wroth, and that ye may not perish from the way of righteousness. ”

“ And we believe in One Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Son of the Father, Whose being was with Him before the world was created, Light Who proceedeth from Light, God Who proceedeth from God in truth, Who was begotten and not made, Who is equal with the Father in Godhead, in Whom is everything that is, and without Whom there would be nothing whatsoever which is in heaven and upon earth, Who for the sake of us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was made man by the Holy Ghost of Mariyam, the holy Virgin. ”

“ At length the whole country of Antioch was filled with weeping and lamentation, a man mourning for his wife, and a wife for her husband, a father mourning for his son or a son for his father, or brother for brother and friend for friend. At length the whole earth was filled with the blood of the saints, and their bodies were cast out into the streets of the city, and there was none to bury them except the watchmen of the city, to whom bribes had to be given secretly to bury them. And this Saint Stephen continued in prayer to God by day and by night that He would give him a crown of martyrdom. ”

“ And the angel of God ascended into heaven. And when Abba ‘Ebelo had received the Offering from the hand of the angel, his body became white like snow, and he and the desert monk rejoiced, and glorified God until the evening. And the shepherd Abba Ebeloy did not cease to pray as of old, saying, “I have sinned seventy times seven; I have done evil, forgive me, for Thou art God, and the Good Father; there is no man without sin, and God is not without mercy.” ”

“ I have come to thee that thou mightest see Me; what thou wishest I will do for thee, My beloved one, whom I chose before thou hadst being, and I have made thee pure, My chosen one. Thou hast dwelt in the desert seventy or eighty years at a time, thou hast wandered through the deserts doubting nothing, thou hast not feared to dwell with lions, and thou hast endured, and been of good cheer even unto death. ”

“ We will neither offer sacrifice to thy gods, now worship them, but we will worship the Lord God, Who is thy Creator, and Who made thee, and made thee to reign over all His work so that thou mightest see His people in integrity and righteousness. When He shall say unto thee, ‘Leave this world,’ wilt not thou have to leave it? And will He not give thy glory to another, because thou hast made thyself blind to the duties of governing, which He hath committed to thee? ”

“ And when Saint Theodore arrived at the city (camp?) of the Barbarians, he said unto them, “Will ye fight, or will ye depart in peace?” And they said unto him, “Who are we to fight? We do not see any men to fight except thyself.” And Theodore said unto them, “I want no one, for I by myself in the might of my God will destroy you all.” And the Barbarians said unto him, “Peradventure thou hast come out to fight a dog? If thou wilt select the least among us, he shall come to thee, and fight thee.” ”

“ Glory be to God, and let us beseech Him to have mercy upon us through the prayers of all His holy apostles and righteous ones, forever and ever. Amen. Salutation to the chamber wherein Christ showed His pierced side, and the hand of Thomas was burnt. And the fathers have commanded us to celebrate the commemoration of the deaths of our father Adam and our mother Eve on this day. Before God created this our father Adam He created the heavens and the earth and all that therein is, and the angels and the archangels. ”

“ Why doth John the evangelist say in the Holy Gospel, that Joseph did not know our holy Lady the Virgin Mary, until she had brought forth her first-born Son; did he know her as men usually know women?” And Saint John answered him, saying, “It is not thus, O Emperor, but when our Lord Jesus Christ was in the womb of our holy Lady the Virgin Mary, she used to change her appearance day by day, and at one time her person used to shine with great light, and Joseph did not know her understanding until she brought forth our Lord and Redeemer Christ. ”

“ And now, O my son, it is meet for us to fight for the salvation of our souls, for we know not when we shall die. But, blessed is the man who hath dominion and money in this world! And let him abandon riches if he would received great honor in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of all the saints.” When Abba Pawli (Paul) heard these words he cried out in his heart, saying, “What have I to do with the possessions of this fleeting world, which after a few days I must leave, and depart naked?” ”

“ And Arianus said unto him, “I did not come for thee to speak words of insult to me, but I came to thee with an order from the emperor commanding thee to offer sacrifice to the gods.” And the saint said unto him, “God forbid! But it is right that I should worship the True God, and not the work of the hand of man, as the prophet saith: ‘The gods of the nations are of gold and silver, the work of the hands of the children of men. ”

“ And when he heard of the works of our Lord, and the miracles which He performed, and how He healed the sick, and cast out devils, and opened the eyes of the blind, and raised the dead, he sent a letter to Him, saying, “Peace be unto Thee, O God, Who hast appeared in Jerusalem, in the flesh of men. And peace be unto Thy Father Who hast sent Thee down without Thy being separated from Him. And peace be unto the Holy Spirit, Who hath whispered in my mind that Thou art His Messiah, and His equal. Peace be unto Thee, O Thou Who wast begotten in virginity, without the seed of man. ”

“ And Isaiah also saith, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given. His dominion shall be upon His swathing, and His name shall be called, Great, Counselor, Almighty God, Governor, King of Peace, Everlasting Father who shall come.” And Jeremiah the prophet saith, “Thus saith the Lord: In those days great light shall rise up for David, and he shall set judgment and integrity in the earth. And God shall deliver those who believe on Him, from Judah and Israel.” ”

“ Can any man compel the clouds to gather up water when their Lord hath commanded them to drop down rain? And they will shut up the souls of sinners in houses of darkness, the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. And the souls of the righteous they will take into the houses of light, wherein there is pleasure and never-ending joy. And at the resurrection of the dead [souls] will be gathered from the four winds, and they shall be brought by water, and by the dew, and by the sun, and by the heat, and by the dust of the earth, and by the breath of the winds ”