Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

“ And the angel answered and said unto her, “The Holy Spirit shall come unto thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee, and He, Who shall be born of thee is holy, and shall be called the Son of God.” And then he gave her the sign of the truth of his Annunciation to her. And he said unto her, “Behold, Elisabeth, thy kinswoman, who was called barren, hath conceived in her maturity, and in old age; for nothing is impossible with God.” And Mary forthwith answered and said, “Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let Him deal with me even as thou hast said unto me.” ”

“ On the third day those holy martyrs appeared unto the bishop of the city of Sebastia, and they said unto him, “Go to the river and there thou wilt find our bodies; carry them away. Go there with the priests, and deacons, and the people, and bring back our bodies, and bury them in a beautiful tomb.” ”

“ I do not destroy a monk for the sake of one sin. If his wickednesses are many, and his sins are many, after he hath entered the fire he becometh subject for judgment. When he beseecheth Me with great labour I make the soul of that man to go forth from him, and I scatter it among the winds, and not a trace of it is ever found; at the resurrection of the dead [it is] not in the abode of the righteous, or in the abode of sinners. In thy case it is not thus; according to My mercy I will have mercy upon thee, for I have given thee a promise that I will do whatsoever thou askest Me. ”

“ Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.
Megabit 28 (April 6) On this day died Constantine, the righteous emperor. The name of the father of this holy man was “Kuensta,” that is to say, “Green,” and his mother’s name was ‘Eleni (Helena) . Kuensta reigned over the city of Byzantium, and Maximianus reigned over the city of Rome, and Diocletian reigned over the city of Antioch and over Egypt. This Keunsta was by race a Greek, and he was a pagan, but he was good in disposition, and there was no evil in him, and he loved to do good, and he was compassionate and merciful. ”

“ I will give thee as an act of grace sixth thousand souls. If Satan hath carried off souls thou must take them from the Judgment: I have left none to Satan, I have given [all] to thee.” When Satan heard this he wept with a great weeping, saying, “Ever since this wretched man was created and born I have been bound with fetters. Where can I go from this wretched man who by fasting and prayer hath taken my captives and carried them of, the captives whom I took and led astray by my arts, and carried off into the Great Judgment, before he was born.” ”

“ But we Christians believe and confess that it was our Lord Jesus Christ Who raised up Lazarus out of the tomb, after he had been dead for four days, for He is able to do everything, He is our Lord, and God, and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, Who is to be adored, with His Good Father, and the Holy and Life-giving Spirit for ever and ever. ”

“ And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Great is the God of Daniel, Who hath made the lions to be submissive to him, and so like unto cats that they lick his feet.” And straightway the king commanded his servants to take Daniel up out of the den, and to seize his enemies, who had made accusations against him, and cast them into the den. And at that moment the lions devoured them before the king and before Daniel. And Daniel dwelt in the city of Babylon until the children of Israel returned to Jerusalem, that is to say, seventy years, and he died in peace. Salutation to Daniel. ”

“ And the other angels were uttering cries of joy, until they came before the throne of God in the heavens, and saying, “Glory to God in the heavens, and peace upon earth, His good will to men.” And God said unto our father Gabra Manfas Kedus, “The men who are in the world shall not see thee, that is to say, the priests, and the monks and the believers; only those who are good like thyself who visitest them. ”

“ And Abba Macarius rose up and went to the bishop of the city of Wesim, and he saw that anchorite in whom was the unclean spirit. And having talked with him about the resurrection of the dead, that anchorite answered and said unto him, “I will not believe that the dead will rise unless thou wilt raise up a man from the grave before me.” And Saint Abba Macarius prayed and made supplication to God, and straightway a man rose from the dead; now the man who was raised up was in former times one of those who denied Christ. ”

“ Is God wroth with the monks that He should let them die through lust?” And they said unto him, “Bring forward a woman, and change apparel with her, for that is more suitable for thee.” And he said unto them, “Yea, I will willingly dress as a woman, and lay aside evil days. Get ye from me. What do ye want? Hath God set you over me to be judges? Take care now for yourselves, for ye will not be punished for me. For the Judge is one and the day is one.” And this holy man was accepted by God, and rejected by men. The harlots derived benefit from him and they forsook harlotry ”

“ If thou wilt believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be praise, and believe that He came into the world, and took away the sins of men by His crucifixion for their sakes, and if thou wilt repent with sincere repentance from this moment, and wilt be baptized with Christian baptism, God will accept thee, and will not remember any of the sins which thou hast committed. ”

“ The sun became dark when it saw its Creator crucified by His own will, and that which should have been visible covered itself over. And the period of darkness lasted from the sixth to the ninth hour, and in that time our Lord bowed His head by His own free will, and delivered up His understanding and rational soul which He had received from our Lady, the Virgin Mary, and that soul was separated from its body. And it went into Sheol without separation from the Godhead, even as Saint Peter the apostle saith, “He was dead in the body and alive in the spirit.” ”

“ When I think of describing thy strife my mind becometh light (i.e. unsettled) , like that of a man who hath drunk old wine, with joy, and it soareth and it cometh back, and saith, “How long and how many days should I require to come to an end of his history; for the matters which concern him are very many and are countless.” When our father Gabra Manfas Kedus looked upon the land of Gabota he saw that there was in him the faculty of knowing what was hidden, and what was manifest. ”

“ And she answered and said unto him, “I am a feeble woman, and I am not able to conquer him. It is not I who have conquered him and driven him away, but my Lord Jesus Christ.” This holy woman used to teach the virgins who were with her much profitable doctrine, and many things, and she said unto them, “I never set my foot upon the steps of the ladder, and I never go up on the other part of it without thinking I may die before I reach the top of it, so that the Enemy may not lead me astray through [my] length of days.” ”

“ He had no food except, at times, the fruit of trees, or roots, or plants, and sometimes the grass and berries whereon the dwellers in the desert feed. He took no care whatsoever to provide for his body in anything. The angels used to visit him, because he was like unto them in his speech and acts. Among the saints of olden times and those of later times, who is there that can be compared with him upon earth? There is not one who did not eat the bread of earth, or drink water, or wear raiment, but he never prepared anything for his body. ”

“ We sleep in one bed, and the same covering covereth both of us, and I have never known her as men know women for one day. And during all this space of days the angel of the Lord hath come down from heaven each night and hath covered us over with his wings. ”

“ And our Lord Jesus Christ appeared unto them, and encouraged them, and gave them strength to endure patiently. And when God willed that their virtues should become manifest, Satan seized the daughter of the king, and tortured her with so many tortures that her father and her mother sorrowed greatly. Now there were in the city many Satans, who manifested themselves boldly, and who cried out and said, “What have we to do with thee, O Marcarius, and thy companion whom they have exiled from their country?” ”

“ And our Lord brought Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the Fifteen Prophets, and the Twelve Apostles, and all the martyrs, and He brought all the saints and said unto them as He placed himself by him, “Rise up, and embrace him that was born after you, and who fighteth even as ye did, and whose glory shall be exalted. ”

“ And he stood up praying in the night, and God revealed the matter to him, and he heard the Satans taking counsel among themselves, and they said, “If we let this man live in this desert he will guide many people here, and they will settle in this desert, and they will inherit heavenly cities, for they put their hope in everlasting life, and they will drive us out of this desert, and they will inherit heavenly cities, for they put their hope in everlasting life, and they will drive us out of this desert, by the pain of the torture of their prayers. ”

“ Those saints were unable to do anything for us, but thou hast raised us up and brought us out from the bellies of [thy] lions”; and our father sent them away to their former owners, and the saints marveled at the work of God. And Abba Samuel said unto our father, “Art thou God? We thought that thou wast a man like unto ourselves. That which was dead thou wast raised from the belly of the lions, and what they had eaten thou hast made to come forth. We have seen a marvelous thing this day!” On the third day of Magabit our father fell sick, and on the Eve of the Sabbath his death drew nigh. ”

“ And Arianus began to tell him about the signs and wonders which God was working by the hands of the holy martyrs, and how, in spite of the tortures which he had inflicted upon them, and the cutting of their limbs, they rose up again with all their natural strength and health unimpaired. And Diocletian was furious with him, because of what he said, and he commanded his soldiers to torture him, and they tortured him severely. ”