POOVATHUMKALACHEN

Mar Ephraim

2010-06-30T11:21:00.001-07:00

Fr Jose Thomas Poovathumkal
Mar Ephraim of Nisibis (St. Ephraim the Syrian), called “the harp of the Holy Spirit,” is the great leader of the Syrian ascetic tradition. He was a spiritual poet, theologian and teacher.

Mar Ephraim was born in or around Nisibis (Mesopotomia), a city in the ancient Roman Empire, in about AD 306. His father was the priest of god Apollo. The boy Ephraim was driven away from home when his father knew that the boy was in touch with Christians. He went to Jacob, the bishop of Nisibis, who baptized him and brought him up. He showed great interest in the study of theological books and in doing kind deeds. He was ordained to the deaconate before the year 338 AD, and remained all his life a deacon.

He was appointed the principal teacher of Nisibis School. He accepted the hard and strict life style of a monk while working as a teacher there. Then he lived a solitary life. He shone as an ideal model of a monk. He ate simple food and wore simple clothes. Though living alone, he was concerned about the problems of the society around him and tried to solve them. He was gifted with elegant language, brilliant imagination, and fine tune in music, spiritual vigour and singular analytical power of a theologian. As a result, he produced many beautiful literary works.

The attack by Persians and immigration to Eddesa (Urhay) were two important incidents in Mar Ephraim’s life. The people of Nisbis prayed, under the leadership of Mar Ephraim, when the Persians prepared to attack Nisibis for the first time. Miraculously the Persians retreated. However, Nisibis was ceded to the Persians and became a part of the Sassanide Empire in AD 367. Then the people of Nisibis immigrated to Eddesa, about 100 miles west of Nisibis in the Eastern Roman Empire, and settled there. St. Ephraim gave them leadership in their long journey and in their settling down there. He also shifted his school from Nisibis to Edesa, the famous School of Persians. There he confronted the heresies of Marcion, Bardaisan, Arius, Eunomius and the Anomeans, the Manichaeans and many others.

Mar Ephraim was living alone in his old age in a cage outside the city of Edessa. Suddenly famine and epidemic broke out in the city. St. Ephraim came out of the cave and gave active leadership to the relief measures. He was nearing his death when he gave the following message to his disciples, “Don’t make any speeches praising me, don’t sing any songs extolling me, don’t arrange any pompous burial, don’t make memorials for me, don’t keep my remains. I am a sinner.” Mar Ephraim died at Edessa in 373.

Literary contributions of Mar Ephraim
His voluminous exegetical, dogmatic, controversial, and ascetical writings are mainly in verse. They include cycles of hymns on great feasts of the Church, on the Last Things and refutations of heretics. He wrote exclusively in Syriac, but his works were translated into Armenian and Greek at an early date.

Exegetical works are in prose and are excellent in their exposition. There are extant commentaries on Genesis and Exodus and there is a beautiful Armenian version of treatise on the Diatheserone of Tatian, Acts of Apostles and the Epistles of St. Paul.

Dogmatic works (Hymns against heresies or Madrose d-luqbal yulpane) are polemical against Mani, Bardaison, Marcion, etc.

Hymns and homilies are many. The main hymns are On Faith, against heresies, Hymns of the Epiphany (Madrose d-denha), On Virginity (Madrose d-‘al btuluta), On the Church, On Paradise, On Crucifixion, On Resurrection, etc. His Nisibene Hymns (Madrose da- Nsibaye), seventy-seven in number, is very famous and it praises St.Mary. He loves to sing her virginity, her divine maternity and her holiness. His homilies (Memre) On faith and On our Lord are very famous. His poems and homilies are doctrinal, moral, polemical and liturgical.

The main teachings of Mar Ephraim
Mar Ephraim wrote in Syriac many valuable works of prose and verse about the Bible, theology and about the life of monks. He explains the theological matters with the sweetness of music in his hymns. For example,

“In the womb of Mary the Infant was formed,
Who from eternity is equal to the Father.
He imparted to us His greatness,
And took on our infirmity.
He became mortal like us and joined his life to ours,
So that we might die no more.”
(Song of Praise 1, 12)

He says that, the humanity and the Divinity were intimately united in Jesus Christ. The Divine nature of the Word was ineffably united to all the parts of the soul and body. Even though, the Incarnation was an entry into the limitation of humanity, the Divine nature remains unchanged. Christ is a unity of God-man. Mar Ephraim’s soteriology is very profound and it confirms that God tasted death for all in His own flesh. The salvation is perfect due to the richness of the suffering and sacrifice of Christ our Lord.

Hymn of Mar Ephraim

2010-06-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

Fr Jose Thomas Poovathumkal

1. Lord have mercy upon us
Kindly accept our prayers
Grant us mercy, redemption
From Thy treasury above.

Notes: We can see repentance as a major theme in the writings of Mar Ephraim. Through his hymns Mar Ephraim seeks mercy and forgiveness from God. The last word of St. Ephraim was “I am a sinner.” We are sinners and weak. We cannot exist without the help of God. This idea is firmly supported by the Holy Bible. For example, the parable of tax collector gives the importance of repentance. We read in Luke 8:13, “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Here, like King David, Mar Ephraim cries “Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer” (Ps.4:1; 17:1; 64:1; 65:2; 86:6). We are in a struggle with the power of evils in this world. Only the grace of God can help us from evils. So Mar Ephraim invokes the attention of God for the help. It is also the faith of the children of God that God hears the prayers of His children and open His abundant treasure and showers all blessings. We can see this conviction in three youngsters, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. They proclaimed, “the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king” (Dan.3:17).

2. Let me Lord, before Thee stand,
Wakeful my watch I'd keep,
Should I fall to slumber's hand,
Guard me from my sinful sleep.

Note: “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Ps.5:3). Here, Mar Ephraim, like David, requests the help of God to stand in front of God in the morning. Without the inspiration of Holy Spirit we cannot pray.

3. If I do wrong while awake
Mercifully absolve me;
If I err in my sleep
In mercy, grant redemption.

Note: Mar Ephraim asks for an assessment and requests for a sinless and a peaceful night. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24;17:3; 18:23). David’s claim of innocence in support of the rightness of his case. He is not guilty of the ungodly ways of his attackers – let God examine him (cf. 139:23-24). “Examine me, see the integrity of my devotion and keep me true.”

4. By Thy cross + of submission
Grant me, Lord, a restful sleep,
Forbid vain and evil dreams
O my Lord, from Thy servant.

Note: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” (Ps. 4:8). Here Mar Ephraim reflects David’s confidence and Solomon’s assurance “when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet” (Prov.3: 24). Jesus Christ, the Lord defeated evil and his companions through cross and delivered us from anxiety and terror. Cross is the symbol of victory over evilness. It will protect us from fear and terror.

5. Through the night conduct me, Lord,
Peaceful sleep give Thou to me,
Wroth and foul thoughts O Lord
May not govern me at all.

Note: Here we can see David’s sense of security. “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me” (Ps.3:5). “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings” (Ps.17:8). “Apple of eye” is a conventional Hebrew metaphor for protection against oppression--as shade protects from the oppressive heat of the hot desert sun. Kings were spoken of as the “shade” of those dependent on them for protection (as in Num 14:9, “protection”--lit. “shade”; Lam. 4:20; Ezek. 31:6,12,17). Similarly, the Lord is the protective “shade” of his people (see 91:1; 121:5; Isa 25:4; 49:2; 51:16).

6. O Lord, Thy servant I am
Guard my body while I sleep
Keep Thy bright angel's guard
O my Lord, by my side.

Note: Like the three young men in Babylon (Dan.3:28), Mar Ephraim requests the help of heavenly hosts for the protection. “See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared” (Ex.23: 20). “… when we cried out to the Lord, He heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt” (Num.20: 16). The line speaks of the security with which the Lord surrounds his people, individually and collectively; “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them” (Ps.34:7).

7. Christ Thy life-abiding
Holy body that I ate
Keep away from my heart
Evil desires that destroy.

Note: Jesus Christ, the bread of life (Jn.6: 35) indwells in us through the Holy Communion. Therefore, we indwell in Christ and Christ indwells in us (Jn. 15:1-7). The presence of Christ keeps us from all wickedness. The purifying fire, the Holy Blood and Body of Christ, cleanse us from all impurities and lead us to the process of divinization. We will be clothed with the robe of Glory.

8. While I sleep in this night
May Thy holy blood guard me
Be Thou always redeemer
For I am Th-ine image.

Note: Jesus Christ, God the Son and the Lord, is not only the creator but also the sustainer and protector. The idea of God’s providence or the sense of the divine concern and care is affirmed in the Holy Bible (Ps 23, Matt 6:25-34, 10:29, Rom 8:28-29). As well as God is the Creator; He is the protector of the creation. Providence of God becomes manifest in the protection and preservation that He extends to the created. As the crown of creation humanity has responsibility of participating in the divine economy of protecting the creation. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gn. 1:27).
9. Thy hand shaped me, O Lord
Shadow me with Thy right hand,
Let Thy mercy be a fortress
Shielding me-all around.

Note: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Gn. 2:7). “…the Lord God made a woman…” (Gn.2:22). “Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge” (Ps.16:1). Prov. 3:22-24. “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance” (Ps.32:7). “Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy (Ps.64:1). “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name (Jn.17:11). “Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their foes (Ps.17:7). “My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me (Ps.63:8).

10. While my body silent lies,
May Thy power keep vigil;
Let my sleep in Thy presence
Be like the rising incense.

Note: Mar Ephraim requests the protection of God in the night. God the Almighty (El-Shaddai) protected Daniel in the night when he was thrown into the den of Lions (Dan.6:16, 22). Yahweh, the Lord, protected the people of Israel in the day and night (Ex.40:38). We are the new Israel, a holy nation and God’s own people (1 Pet.2: 9) and an extended family household. The Lord of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep (Ps.121: 4). He is the Lord of all creation and the guardian over new Israel – the One in whom the faithful may put unfaltering trust. We read in Rom. 12: 1, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship.” Our life should be a living sacrifice to God. God Who pleased in the offerings of Patriarchs should accept our spiritual as a burnt offering and bless us. If we stay in front of God day and night blameless, it will be accepted as a pleasing odour (Gen. 8:21). Our spiritual life should be lifted up to heaven like the smoke of incense.

11. Thy mother who did bear Thee
By her prayers for me Lord
Let not evil touch my bed,
While I slumber in this night.

Note: Mar Ephraim always gives importance to Holy Virgin Mary in his hymns. In Mar Ephraim’s thought the Virgin Mary is seen very much as a model for the ideal pattern of relationship between human individual and God. She fulfills the potential that Eve failed to achieve. He wrote, “Mary has given us the Bread of rest in place of that bread of toil which Eve provided” (Unleavened Bread 6:7). She submitted herself to God and obeyed the commandment of Lord (Lk.1:38). She was willing to bear God the Son for the goodness of humanity. She conceived God the Son and gave birth (2:7). Mar Ephraim requests the intercession of this Virgin Mary, because, Christ, the Lord and God will accept the appeal of His mother as in the wedding ceremony at Cana. His eyes always upon the righteous and ears open to the cries of virtuous (Ps.34:15, 17).

12. By Thy pleasing sacrifice
That absolved me from my distress
Forbid from me the wicked one
That keeps troubling me.
Note: Mar Ephraim sees the redemptive work of Christ as a merciful deliverance from the terrible consequences of Adam’s disobedience. By His death and resurrection Christ delivers us from the consequences of first man’s disobedience. He has suffered on behalf of us. St. John depicts Christ as the atoning sacrifice (1 Jn.2:2). So we see in the cross, the perfect sacrifice or voluntary self-offering of self-loving compassion, which delivers us from all misery. Hence, Mar Ephraim demands the compassion of Christ for the protection from wicked forever.

13. By Thy kindness O my Lord
Thy promise in me fulfilled
By Thy Holy Cross + O Lord
Protect my life perfect.

Note: The greatest promise of God is salvation, which is enacted through His Son. This promise was first given in the proto-evangelium (Gen 3:15) and was repeated in the history (Gn.12:2, 7; 2 Sam 7:12-13, 28; Isa 2:2-5; 4:2; 55:5). In the New Testament all these promises are regarded as having their fulfillment in Christ (2 Cor 1:20; Eph 3:6). Church is the extension of this fulfillment. It can be seen in the New Testament books – event of Pentecost, succession of Kingdom of God (James 2:5), Eternal life (1 Tim 4:8), and Christ's coming (2 Peter 3:9). Being the member of the Church, the Body of Christ, we inherit these promises. That is, these promises have fulfilled in us (1 Pet.2:9-10). We bear the marks of Jesus Christ (Gal.6: 17) as the symbol of this inheritance and fulfillment. The term “aakal karusa” stands for satan. It is derived from the syriac “okal karuso” means “flesh eater.” That is, satan eats or destroys the life of man. Hence, Mar Ephraim requests on behalf of this mark (cross) for protection from Evil.

14.Thou who pleased in me
Feeble and sinful servant I am
May I praise Thy mercy,
When I wake up from my sleep.

Note: In his epistle to Romans, St. Paul describes the depth of God’s love. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom.5:8). Mar Ephraim commemorate this mercy and everlasting love, and express his desire to praise God like the Psalmist. “In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation” (Ps. 5:3).

15. May Thy servant know Thy will
In Thy true loving kindness
Grant me O Lord Thy mercy
So that I may walk with Thee.

Note: Here Mar Ephraim asks the grace of God to walk in His way according to the will of God, because man is expected to live with God. But his deeds create a gap between God and man. But the everlasting atoning sacrifice of the Son reestablishes this communion. Man has the responsibility to keep this reestablished communion with God. Therefore, we do have the task of drawing all men into this fellowship where the Spirit is building up the community of eternity. This community is the worshipping community, standing before God, in Christ, by the Holy Spirit, living in the triumph of the Risen Lord, in the expectant hope of the full manifestation of God’s righteousness beyond history.

16. Jesus Christ, O my Lord
Grant to us Thy servants
An evening filled with peace
And a night of graceful sleep.
Note: Here, Mar Ephraim requests a blissful evening filled with peace and a night of graceful sleep, because, Jesus Christ can provide an everlasting peace to us. His resurrection provides eternal peace to us. It is the liberation from all terror and fear. “He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night” (Ps.78:14). “

17. True light Thou art O Lord
Praise we Thy bright glory
We children of Thy light
Praise Thee for ever more.

Note: Jesus Christ is the true light (Jn.9:1) and the light of the world (Jn.8:12). He who follows Jesus Christ, God the Son, shall not walk in darkness, because God is light and in Him is no darkness at all (1Jn.1:5). Being the children of this light (1Thess.5:5), we praise the true light forever.

18. O savior of mankind
Thy servants praise Thy mercy
As we do in this world
May it be in heaven above.

Note: We praise you, the redeemer of humanity (Ps.138:2; Heb.13:15). Make your servants worthy to offer glory and praise in this world and in the coming world.

19. Praise to Thee, O my Lord
Praise to Thee, O my savior
Praise a thousand thousand fold
Praise we Thou O Jesus Christ.

Note: “Praise” is a general term for words or deeds that exalt or God. Some of the Hebrew and Greek words mean “thanksgiving,” “blessing,” or “glory,” and are often so translated (2 Chr. 7:3, 6; Luke 1:64; John 9:24). “Arete” (virtue) is translated “praises,” or “excellencies,” in 1 Peter 2:9. We are to be the praise of God’s glory (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). Praise fills the Book of Psalms, increasing in intensity toward the end (Pss 145-150). Psalms 113-118 are called the Hallel, the praises. Praise for redemption dominates the New Testament (Luke 2:13-14; Rev 19:5-7). Here, like David, Mar Ephraim expresses his gratitude towards God through praising. God is alone worthy of worship. So he offer unlimited praise to Jesus Christ, the Lord and God. It is our responsibility to praise God.

20. Thou who does receive our prayers
Thou who grants supplications
Heed Thy servants' prayers
Kindly grant our petitions.

Note: Mar Ephraim concludes his hymn by asking grace upon grace and mercy, because, Jesus Christ will hear the prayers and supplication of humankind. He will shower limitless blessings from His abundant love and mercy. Bertimaeus, the blind, the woman from Syro-Phoenicea, the Centurian, possessed man, the woman with hemorrhage, etc., are examples for His mercy. Jesus Christ never close His eyes to the cry of the weak and needy.

2008-12-03T21:57:00.000-08:00

ORTHODOX PERSPECTIVE ON ECOLOGY
Fr Jose Thomas

Orthodoxy literally means right glorification. To enjoy right glory we need right words, concepts, reflections and good experiences. For that experience, we need a good contact with all creation. Unfortunately, we have lost the art of such attachment and experience. Companionship changed into consumerism; subject-subject relationship is changed into subject-object relationship.

St Basil, in his homilies on the six days of creation explains the orderly arrangement of the created beings. This created order has its existence because of the participation of the creation in the order, will and wisdom of Creator. According to St Basil, the harmony, order and fellowship of the creation is a product of God’s gracious will. There exists a firm fellowship between the diverse parts of the created universe. All are united in one harmoniously and in accordance with the universal sympathy. Isaac of Nineveh says that before the fall, humans’ odour was pleasing to animals and other creatures, thus they were not afraid each other. They were in good harmony, but after the fall there began gap between the humans and animals. Enmity started between them and mutual harmony is lost.

In fact, all living beings have bodies composed of the same elements as found in the earth. Man shares this aspect of his being with animals, plants and inorganic matter. Man as the crown of creation is co-creator with God. St. Gregory of Nyssa held that man in a sense recapitulates and represents the whole universe: that in man the cosmos consciously responds to the Creator. So, man can not exist apart from the universe.

The Oriental Orthodox Churches teach that Christ’s is a single personality formed by the union of perfect Godhead and perfect manhood. This integral unity of divinity and humanity in Jesus Christ also reveals nature’s integral unity with the created being; and also the purpose and the responsibility of creation. Human encounter with nature should have the effect of the same status as that of the incarnate Word – where in Christ’s nature we could experience the divinity and humanity in all perfection. Thus human association with nature should be for the implication that for the growth of humanity and the nature together; rather than humans development meant for the endangering of nature as what we experience today’s commercially exploited consumer society, where there has least concern or reverence for the nature. The Biblical message of incarnation is not only for humanity’s salvation but of the entire cosmic order, with the ascent of human through and with human. Christ combines both divinity and humanity, spirit and matter, heavenly and earthly etc. In Christ there is no subject-object dualism. In Christ everything is fulfilled con-summated, integrated and united in wholeness.

The Orthodox worship is one of the profound ways of understanding creation, and is dominated by the Holy Scripture and Patristic tradition. For example, Psalm 103: “Bless the Lord, all His works. In all places of His dominion, bless the Lord, O my soul.” This Psalm tells us of the sanctification of all creation. There are other Psalms as well used for Orthodox liturgy. In the Indian Orthodox Church worship, daily prayers use Ps. 141, 142, 119, 105, 106, 111 and 117. These Psalms pictures an obedient worshipper who keeps the commandment of the Lord and preserves the harmony with the nature and fellow beings, and to his own Creator.
The Orthodox Church’s Sacraments and Festivals are not aimed at the benefit of the humans alone but for the entire created order. For example, elements used for the holy Eucharist are bread, wine, water, incense, coal and fire, that is, the fruits of human toil – products of what the earth so graciously gives us as a result of our labour. God created the whole living and non-living things out of the same earth. Therefore, the whole creation including human beings is of the earth. It is to symbolise the whole creation that the priest “offers the products of the earth”, namely, bread and wine as objects of sacrifice. The bread and wine represent not only the whole creation of the earth but also the sun, the moon, millions of stars and the whole universe. Therefore, by offering these products of earth for the holy Eucharistic worship the Church is engaged itself in creating ecological harmony. These are offered with gratitude, reverence and thankfulness. After offering the elements, they are returned to the creation; thus the creation becomes one with the Creator. This sort of offering and receiving completes one Eucharistic cycle. This cycle continues in every Eucharist. The Church teaches us that in this process the creation should get transformed and returned to the experience of paradise, that is, the experience of absolute unity, love and reconciliation.

On Epiphany, we bless the waters, which are drawn from the springs of the earth. In the blessing of the water, we bless all waters in the earth. After the blessings we take them to our homes, to fields of nature, and to everything that lives. We bless the whole creation in this way with holy water. In the liturgy we pray: “By Thy Baptism, Holy Lord Who has sanctified all the water reservoir (oceans and seas) and rivers… O Lord, the water placed before us may rescue all creation from the dangers of the spheres of air, from all evil situations; make seeds grow, protect the seedlings, and let ripe the fruits.”

In the worship of the Palm Sunday the Church blesses palms, trees and branches, thus blessing the entire vegetation on the earth. One of the prayers is as follows: “O Lord, by thy gracious mercy, blesses these branches and trees from which these have been cut and all the plants thou have created.” Thus Sacramental approach to creation is filled with the Orthodox liturgy. The prayers, readings from Psalms and other all suggest that worship that humans celebrate is not by them alone but the whole of God’s creation participate in for sanctifying and blessing.

Art, paintings and architecture of church buildings also reveal Church’s eco-friendliness with nature and God’s creations. It shows that the earth in its wholeness filled with the glory of God and used in the liturgy as symbols with immense meaning. The nature also participates in the worship. These images as in the worship can also be used for meditation. Since these are part of the divine sacrament the worshipper always revere with respect and devotion.
Anointing the sick with the oil reveals the potential of healing – oil seeds are the product of the earth. Holy Oil is also used in Baptism and for Chrismation. As anointing a person with Holy Oil, a church (building) also blesses with the Holy Oil in its inauguration. It thus becomes part of the nature, and the presence of the divine is cantered upon.

In short, we can say that the theology, liturgy, sacraments and the spirituality of the Orthodox Church are related with the nature. The character of the Holy Orthodox Church is eco-friendliness. But the question is that how many of the Orthodox Christians experience it in good spirit and save the nature.

Ethiopian Orthodox Church

2008-12-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX TEWAHIDO CHURCH

Fr Jose Thomas Poovathumkal

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is one of the six Oriental Orthodox Churches, characterized by the rejection of the Council of Chalcedon (451). The history of Ethiopian Orthodox Church is, also, the history of Ethiopia. Hence one who studies the history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church should feel as he is studying Ethiopian history and vice versa. In every event, process or activity of the country, Ethiopian Orthodox Church has been participated actively.

1. ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a rugged country of tall mountains and arid deserts. Ethiopia has a diverse population, with more than 70 distinct ethnic and linguistic groups. The word Ethiopia is derived from the Greek αιθ (to burn) and οψ (face), which means the country of men with burnt face. The ancient Greek used to refer to Ethiopia as the country of burnt faced men to mean brown coloured people. It is to show that Ethiopians are neither pure black nor pure white, but they are intermediate in colour.

The ancient name of Ethiopia was Cush. The name is mentioned 27 times in the Old Testament. According to Kebra Negast, a 13th century document, written in Ge'ez by Nebure Id Yishaq, the early inhabitants of Ethiopia (Cush) were Biblical personages. Cush was begotten by Ham, son of Noah (Gen.10:6). It was from Ethiopia that Makeda, the Queen of Sheba, journeyed to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem and there, according to the First book of Kings, "talked with him about all that she had on her mind." In return, "King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty" (1 Kings 10:1-13). The Gospel of St. Matthew in the New Testament similarly records how the Ethiopian Queen "came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom..." (Matt. 12: 42). Kebra Negast further has it that a son was born to the Queen from her union with Solomon. This son was Menelik, the founder of Solomonic Dynasty, grew up in Ethiopia ("Menelik" means "the son of the wise man"). Emperor Haile Selassie, the last monarch of Ethiopia, was the 237th successor of Solomonic Dynasty.

According to Kebra Negast, the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Ethiopia in the time of King Solomon. Presently it is kept in the sanctuary of the chapel annexed to the church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, the sacred city of Ethiopians.

2. JUDAISM
In the Kebra Negast, it is stated that the Queen of Sheba brought Judaism to Ethiopia and from that time on it became the official religion of the country until Christianity took its place. In addition, more than twelve thousand people accompanied Menelik to Ethiopia. They mixed and coexisted with the Ethiopians. The Sabbath began to be observed, the flesh of animals that are not permitted by the Old Testament was no longer eaten, male circumcision on the eight day was introduced and the Ark became the centre of worship.

Even after the introduction of Christianity these practices have been still maintained in Ethiopia. The Ark was duplicated (tabot) and found in every church throughout Ethiopia. In order to observe the Saturday as Sabbath, many of the Christians in the rural areas especially of the northern Ethiopia do not go out to collect firewood or fetch water and do not even travel on Saturday. Unofficially Saturday is holiday for Ethiopians. Christians practice male circumcision after the birth and food rules are still observed according to the rules of the Old Testament.

3. FALASHAS
The native Jews are known as Falashas or Black Jews. They refer themselves as "Beta Israel" (House of Israel) and consider the name Falashas a derogatory term. The center of Beta Israel religious life is the masjid, or synagogue. The chief functionary in each village is the high priest, who is assisted by lower priests. Monks live alone or in monasteries, isolated from other people. There are no rabbis in the sect. Until the mid-1980s Ethiopian Jews lived either in separate villages or in separate quarters in Christian or Islamic towns, in the region of Ethiopia north of Lake T’ana. They were skilled in agriculture, masonry, pottery, iron working, and weaving. Under Haile Selassie I, a few of them rose to positions of prominence in education and government, but reports of persecution followed the emperor's ouster in 1974. More than 12,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel from late 1984 to early 1985, when the Ethiopian government halted the program. The airlift resumed in 1989, and about 3,500 Ethiopian Jews immigrated to Israel in 1990. Nearly all of the Jews remaining in Ethiopia were evacuated by the Israeli government in May 1991.

4. CHURCH OF ETHIOPIA
Christianity had been known in Ethiopia since a much earlier time. However, it became the official religion of the Axumite Kingdom in the 4th century. There are various points of view about the introduction of Christianity to Ethiopia.

a. The presence of Ethiopians on the day of Pentecost
Acts 2:8-11 never mentioned that the Ethiopians were present on the day of Pentecost. However, in his Homily on Pentecost, St. John Chrysostom mentioned that the Ethiopians were present in the Holy City on the day of Pentecost. It seems that St. Luke did not mention them only because they were few in number. Those few people might have introduced Christianity is the very crucial point. Moreover, from the early period, Ethiopian pilgrims went annually to Jerusalem where there is an Ethiopian monastery built a long time ago on the land which, it is said, was presented by King Solomon to the Queen of Sheba on the occasion of her visit to Jerusalem. This monastery was known as "Deir Sultan" meaning "the fief of a ruler." Presently, the Ethiopian Church maintains its ancient link with Jerusalem by keeping a bishop there. In Jerusalem, the Ethiopian chapel stands on the roof of the church of the Holy Sepulchre.

b. The Conversion of the Eunuch
The introduction of Christianity into Ethiopia began by the conversion of the Eunuch (Acts 8:26-40). He was the treasurer of Queen Candace of Ethiopia who ruled Ethiopia from 42 to 52 AD. The Eunuch once went Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel. While the Eunuch was returning he met Philip and was baptized by him. Ethiopian tradition asserts that the Eunuch returned home and evangelised the people. To support this view point Eusebius, the 4th century Church historian singles out Candace's treasurer as the first gentile convert to Christianity. But Eusebius consideration of the Eunuch as gentile contradicts with the Ethiopian background of Judaism before Christianity. Eusebius view has not cleared yet.

c. St. Matthew the Apostle and Ethiopia
There is another story about the introduction of Christianity into Ethiopia. It is said that St. Matthew preached Gospel in Ethiopia and became a martyr. According to Rufinius when the Apostles drew lots to preach the Gospel to the pagans, Matthias drew Persia and Matthew Ethiopia.

d. Frumentius and Aedesius
Even though many stories survive in Ethiopia about the conversion, Orthodox Christianity became the established Church of the Ethiopian Axumite Kingdom under king Ezana in the 4th century through the efforts of Frumentius. Some details of this Christianization are found in the works of Rufinus, Theodoretus of Cyrus, Socrates and Sozomenus.

The historian Rufinus of Aquila (+410), in his "Ecclesiastical History" (I,IX), tells us about King Ezana's conversion. Apparently a certain Meropius, a Christian merchant described by Rufinius as a "philosopher of Tyre", once made a voyage to India, taking with him two Syrian boys whom he was educating in "human studies". The elder was called Frumentius and the younger Aedesius. On their return journey through the Red Sea the ship was seized off the Ethiopian cost in an act of reprisal against the Eastern Roman Empire, which had broken a treaty with the people of the area.

Meropius was killed in the fighting. The boys, however survived and were taken to the Axumite King, Ella Amida, who promptly made Aedesius his cup-bearer and Frumentius -- the more sagacious and prudent of the two -- his treasurer and secretary. The boys were held in great honour and affection by the king who, however, died shortly afterwards leaving his widow and an infant son -- Ezana -- as his heir. Before his death, Ella Amida had given the two Syrians their freedom but now the widowed queen begged them, with tears in her eyes, to stay with her until her son came of age. She asked in particular for the help of Frumentius -- for Aedesius, though loyal and honest at heart, was simple.

During the years that followed, the influence of Frumentius in the Axumite kingdom grew. He sought out such foreign traders who were Christians and urged them "to establish conventiclers in various places to which they might resort for prayer." He also provided them with "whatever was needed, supplying sites for buildings and in every way promoting the growth of the seed of Christianity in the country."

At around the time that Ezana finally ascended the throne, Aedesius returned to Tyre. Frumentius for his part journeyed to Alexandria, in Egypt, where he informed Patriarch Athanasius of the work so far accomplished for the faith in Ethiopia. The young man begged the ecclesiastical leader "to look for some worthy man to send as bishop over the many Christians already congregated." Athanasius, having carefully weighed and considered the words of Frumentius, declared in a council of priests: "What other man shall we find in whom the spirit of God is as in thee who can accomplish these things?" He therefore "consecrated him bade him return in the Grace of God whence he came."

Frumentius accordingly went back to Axum as Ethiopia's first bishop (328 AD) and there he continued his missionary endeavours -- which were rewarded, in the year AD 331, by the conversion of the king himself. The first archeological documents, which witnesses to Ezana's conversion are coins and royal inscriptions. The most ancient coins show disk and crescent; later ones, crosses. The most ancient known royal inscription, in Greek, was copied in Adulis (ancient sea port of Ethiopia) in the 6th century by Cosmos Indicopleustes in his "Christian Topography." Inscriptions of the 4th and 6th centuries are found in three languages: Greek, Pseudo-Sabean and Geez. One, which includes the name of Ezana king of Axum, refers to the "Lord of Heaven and Earth." Another inscription, with the words " Son of the unvanquished Ares", shows that the king was still a pagan at the time of its production. In a Greek inscription, found in Axum in 1969 and translated by the French Scholars Caquot and Nautin, Ezana clearly calls himself "the servant of Christ." In Axum one can also see some Axumite ruins between the modern Church of St. Mary of Zion and the little chapel in which what Ethiopians believe to be the original Ark of the Covenant is kept. Downstairs, in the treasury, ancient royal crowns, crosses and other church objects are to be found.

After expelling Athanasius and installing the Arian Bishop, George of Cappadocia in his place, Constantius (337-361) sent a letter by the hand of a priest called Theophilus to Ezana requesting to send Frumentius to Alexandria to be examined in his faith. The aim of the letter was to deprive the Orthodoxy any support and ensure international recognition of Arianism. The request was rejected by the king and Frumentius remained in Axum and continued the teaching which he had learnt from Athanasius. The first Ecumenical Council, where Arius was condemned as a heretic took place in 325 AD shortly before the establishment of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but the decision of the council was nevertheless regarded as binding and Ethiopia stood by Athanasius, and the Nicene Faith.

Frumentius has contributed and played magnificent roles in upgrading Ethiopia in religious matters. He developed the order of Holy Ordination and Holy Communion. He ordained deacons and priests to spread evangelization throughout the Empire. He translated books from Syriac, Hebrew and Greek to Geez, the liturgical language of Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He rearranged the Sabean letters and created new way of writing from left to right.

Frumentius was attributed names like Abba Selama (Father of Peace) and Kessate Berhan (Revealer of Light) and which shows that the people who first received Christianity had been impressed by the work of Frumentius. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church canonizes him as a saint. The Church celebrates his feast on 26th Hamle (August 2). A monastery named after him (Abba Selama) exists in Tenbien, near Abyee Addi in Tigray region, where he was buried. At a place called Mai Guagua, near Axum, a Church is dedicated to Abba Selama. There is also a church named after him in a place called Abba Selama near the town of Quiha to the west of Makalle. In addition, a theological high school now developed into a theological college dedicated to him in Makelle, Tigray region.

e. The Nine Saints
According to the chronological list of the Ethiopian bishops, Frumentius was succeeded by the Bishop Minas, an Egyptian. Minas left certain literary works concerning his missionary activities, but the major contribution in the missionary field was that of the Nine Saints. Their activities are regarded as the "Second Evangelization" of the country. The company of Nine Saints consists of Abba Aregawi (Zemikael), Abba Tsahma, Abba Gerima (Isaac), Abba Alef, Abba Gubba, Abba Aftsie, Abba Likanos Yamaata and Abba Pateleon. They came from different parts of the Eastern Roman Empire such as Constantinople and Syria during the persecution of the Byzantine Emperor after the Council of Chalcedon (451). Around the year 480 AD they came to Axum and were warmly received by the King Ella Amida, grandfather of King Kaleb. Before their coming to Ethiopia, the Nine Saints went to Egypt and lived some years in the monastery founded by St. Pachomius. They introduced monastic life to Ethiopia. The Nine Saints studied Geez and they became familiar with the customs of the people. The first dwelling place of them is found West of Debre Ela called "Bete Ketin." Then they set out in different directions to evangelise and to introduce monastic life.

f. Sixth to Fifteenth centuries
In the 6th century, Cosmos Indicopleustes writes that Ethiopia was thoroughly Christianised. The most famous Axumite King of the 6th century is Kaleb. On a hill 2km outside of Axum, one can see remains of the so-called tomb of King Kaleb and his son Gebre Meskel. The place was excavated in 1973/4 by a British mission headed by Neville Chittick.

Kaleb also known as Ella Atsbeha, is famous because of his expedition in southern Arabia. There was a presence of Axumites at least from 3rd century AD. In the 6th century king Dhu Nuwas of Himayar (present Yemen), also known as Yusuf (521-525), was converted to Judaism and began to persecute the Christians in Najran (present southern Soudi Arabia), killing them and burning churches. Responding to the request of Emperor Justin I (518-527) of Byzantium, King Kaleb, supported by a Byzantine fleet, went to help Christians with two expeditions in 523 and 525.

Ethiopian garrisons were settled in Zafar (south of present Sana), the capital of the Kingdom of Himyar and in Marib (east of present Sana), in the Kingdom of Sheba, and churches were apparently built or rebuilt. The Axumite general, Abreha, appointed as vice regent, is said to have ordered the construction of a cathedral in Sana (present capital of Yemen). At the end of 6th century, the Persians captured Arabia and the Ethiopians had to withdraw from Southern Arabia.

It was during this time that Holy Books from Greek and other ancient and advanced languages were translated to the national language Geez, monastic life was established and churches were organized as the most important centres of worship. It was also during this time that the well-known Church musician and man of literature, Yared, composed and performed his major works, which still characterise the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

In the 7th century, Mohammedan Arabs overran North Africa and part of the Middle East. As a result, Islam expanded to the areas of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean weakening the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and obstructing ite relation with the rest of the Christian world. Again in 9th century the Falasha Queen Yodit (Gudit) who rose against Christianity ransacked the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, destroying life and property of great religious and historical heritage. From the 10th to the 12th century, Islam began to penetrate further inland: north into the Beja area, south into the Sidama country, in Eastern Shoa (Ifat Sultanate), at Harar, and later near Lake Zway.

In the first half of the 12th century, in Lasta (south of Axum), in the centre of the Ethiopian plateau, a new dynasty, the Zagwe (1137-1270), of Agaw origin, expanded. They founded a capital at Roha, better known as Lalibela, after the name of its greatest king reigned at the end of the 12th/beginning of 13th centuries. King Lalibela had a vision which pushed him to build a "new Jerusalem." During his reign remarkable churches were hewn from the rock, below ground level; twelve churches were carved and ringed by trenches, tunnels and courtyards. Near Lalibela two churches are particularly well known: the monolith of Genneta Maryam, "the Pradise of Mary" (13th century) and a cave church (12th century) named after the holy king Yemrehanna Krestos, meaning "may Christ show us the way" (1140-1180), where his tomb can be seen.

The Zagwe were overthrown in 1270 by Yekuno Amlak (1270-1285) who established a kingdom comprising of Amhara (present Wollo) and the Christian communities of Shoa. He is considered in Ethiopian tradition to have restored the so-called "Solomonic Dynasty" that of the descendants of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, through their son Menelik. Yekuno Amlak improved administration and inaugurated a cultural revival.

In the middle of the 14th century, the Coptic bishop Salama arrived in Ethiopia and reinforced the Church through evangelisation and translations. Bishop Yaqub had already recognized evangelisation in the first half of the 14th century. Moreover, King Yeshaq in the fifteenth century tried to evangelise the Black Jews, Falashas. When one of the greatest Ethiopian ruler, Zara Yaqob, came to power (1414-1429), he made religious reforms and centralized the government again. He was helped by two Egyptian bishops, Mikael and Gabriel.

g. Jesuit interim
Under king Lebna Dengal (1508-1540), Muslims occupied the Christian highlands, under the command of Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al Gazi of the Sultanate of Adal, nicknamed Gragn (the left-handed). Many churches and monasteries were burnt. Gragn's troop ravaged the country from 1527 until 1543, when he was killed and his troops were pushed back. The Portuguese had been asked for help and arrived when Galawdewos was king (1540-1559) in 1541, under the command of the son of Vasco da Gama. This was an age of destruction and social turmoil unknown in the history of Ethiopian Church and was also remembered as the period of martyrs.

During the period of war, some Jesuit missionaries also came to Ethiopia along with the Portuguese soldiers. They tried to proselytise the Ethiopian Christians. One of the Jesuit missionaries, Joao Bermudez, claimed to be the head of the Ethiopian Church. His claim was rejected. He was followed by Andrea de Oviedo (1557). To mark and explain his opposition, King Galawdewos composed a "Confession" defending his faith and the rules of his Church. The Jesuit Pedro Paez arrived in 1603 and was replaced by Almeida (1624) and by Mendez. King Suseneyos (1607-1632) was converted to the Roman Catholic faith, but he was forced by his people to abdicate in 1632. In 1663 his son Fasiladas (1632-1667) expelled the Jesuits, because of their proselitism. Due to the religious conflict created between Ethiopian Christians and Jesuit missionaries, the country was thrown into another period of bloodbath and suffering.

h. Church of Ethiopia after Jesuits
The second half of the 18th and the first half of the 19th centuries were times when any recognized central government was totally absent. This particular time called "Zemene Mesafint" (the time of the Chieftains) lasted for seventy years. During this time, however, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, having gone through many ups and downs was able to make a significant progress in the following fields.

· Schools as centres of Qene (Poetry) and writings were developed
· Commentaries on the Holy Scriptures were developed
· Schools of Church music were introduced and developed

The development of Ethiopia as well as the Church was continued until the assassination of the Emperor Haile Selassie by the military government in 1974.

i. Persecution of Derg
From 1974 until 1991, the military government, known as Derg (committee) took power, followed the stricter Marxist-Leninist principles. They, under the leadership of Mengistu Haile Mariam, nationalised the properties of the Church. In 1976, Patriarch Abuna Theolophilus was arrested, detained without trial, and eventually executed. Other archbishops and clergy were imprisoned including the present Patriarch Abune Paulos. The years 1977-78 were bloodstained ones. In 1991, the Communist period was at an end: Mengistu fled abroad, and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) came into power and the Church got her freedom.

5. ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH
From the time of St. Athanasius ordained Frumentius as the first bishop of Ethiopia in the 4th century, a connection was made with the Coptic Church. Until the 20th century, the Ethiopian Church remained directly connected with the Coptic Patriarchate who used to send an Coptic Bishop, known in Ethiopia as Abuna, to look after the Ethiopian faithful. The Coptic Abuna was largely responsible for ordinations and theological issues. The abbot or hegumen of the monastery of Debre Libanos in Shoa, called "Etcheuge", was responsible for administration and the properties of the Church. Today the Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Church has the title of Archbishop of Axum and Etcheuge of the see of Saint Tekelehaimanot.

a. Patriarchate
At the death of the 108th Coptic Metropolitan Atenatewos in 1876, Emperor Yohannes IV (1872-1889) asked the Coptic Patriarch Kirilos V (1875-1927), to have four bishops instead of one. The Coptic Synod agreed in 1881 and the Bishops were sent to Ethiopia, with Abuna Petros IV as Metropolitan, who was replaced in 1889 by Abuna Matewos (+1926). In 1929, under the Coptic Patriarch Yohannes XIX, five Ethiopians were consecrated as the first Ethiopian Bishops, with the Coptic Archbishop Kirilos III (+1950) at their head. Other agreements were made in 1948 and completed in 1951, when the Etcheuge (Gebre Giyorgis) became Archbishop under the name Baselius I. This stage was followed in 1959, under the Coptic Patriarch Kirilos VI, by the consecration of Baselius as the first Ethiopian Patriarch. It was the beginning of the Autocephaly of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

The second Ethiopian Patriarch, Abuna Theophilus, was consecrated in 1970, but the Marxist regime deposed him in February 1976, and he stayed in prison until 1979, when he was killed. In 1976, he was replaced by a monk of the Sodo monastery, appointed as Patriarch under the name of Tekelehaimanot (1976-88). After his death in 1988, he was replaced, by Abuna Marqorewos. Since 1992, Abuna Paulos, a monk of the Debre Garima Monastery (Tigray), has been the fifth Patriarch.

b. Present Statistics
According to the statistics of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, there are in Ethiopia more than 50 million members (including diaspora); over 40,000 local parish churches and other churches: higher churches (debre), rural churches (getar) and monasteries (gedam); about 4,00,000 clergy (deacons and priests), teachers, cantors (debteras) and lay church workers. In 2001, the Church was divided into thirty-eight dioceses, and divided again into districts. Currently, there are fifty-six bishops who were members of the Synod of the Orthodox Church in Ethiopia.