የፈረንሳይ ጄኔራሎች “አገሪቱን ከእስልምና ለማዳን አንድ ወታደራዊ መፈንቅለ መንግስት አስፈላጊ ሊሆን ይችላል” ይላሉ

🔥 ተቀጣጣዩ ደብዳቤ እንዲህ ይላል፤ “ፈረንሳይ አደጋ ላይ ናት ፡፡ በርካታ የሟቾች ቁጥር ሊያመጡ የሚችሉ አደጋዎች ከፊቷ ተደቅነው እያሸበሯት ነው፡፡ በጡረታ ጊዜም ቢሆን እኛ የፈረንሳይ ወታደር ሆነን እንቆያለን እናም አሁን ባለው ሁኔታ በጎ ለሆነ የሀገራችን ዕጣ ፈንታ ግድየለሾች መሆን አንችልም፡፡”

እባቡ ግራኝ ከአክሱም እና ላሊበላ ጂሃዳዊ ጉብኝቱ በኋላ በኢትዮጵያ የዋቄዮ-አላህ መፈንቀለ ሥርዓት እያደረገ ሲሆን፤ በፈርንሳይ ደግሞ የመፈንቅለ መንግስት ጥሪ በግራኝ ግብረ-ሰዶማዊ ሞግዚት በኢማኑኤል ማክሮን ላይ እንዲካሄድ ጥሪ ቀርቧል። ዋው! መቅደም የነበረበት ግን አንድ ኢትዮጵያዊ ነኝ የሚል ጀግና ጄነራል በጨፍጫፊው የግራኝ አብዮት አህመድ አሊ ኦሮሞ አገዛዝ ላይ መፈንቅለ መንግስት ማካሄዱ ነው! እንደ ፈረንሳይ ጄነራሎቹ የመሰለ አገር-ወዳድ ጥሪ ለማድረግ የሚችልና ኢትዮጵያን ያድን ዘንድ ላለፉት ሦስት ዓመታት በባትሪ ሲፈለግ የነበረው ኢትዮጵያዊ ጄነራል የት አለ?

ፕሬዝዳንት ማክሮን በእስልምና እምነት ተከታዮች የተፈጠረውን የህብረተሰብን “መበታተን” ማስቆም ካልቻለ ሃያ ጡረታ የወጡ የፈረንሣይ ጄኔራሎች በአገሪቱ ውስጥ ወታደራዊ መፈንቅለ መንግስት ይደረግ ዘንድ ጥሪ አቅርበዋል። ይህም ጥሪ ቀጣዩ ምርጫ ከመጀመሩ ከዓመት በፊት የፖለቲካ ሁከት አስነስቷል።

በቀጣዩ ዓመት ለሚካሄደው ፕሬዚዳንታዊ ምርጫ ታትሞ በወጣው ግልጽ ደብዳቤ ኢማኑኤል ማክሮን በእስልምና እምነት ተከታዮች እጅ ‘የአገሪቱን መበታተን’ ማስቆም ካልቻለ በወታደራዊ ቁጥጥር ሥር እንዲደረግ ሃያ ጡረታ የወጡ የፈረንሣይ ጄኔራሎች ጥሪ አቅርበዋል፡፡

በቀኝ ክንፍ የዜና መጽሔት በቫለርስ አክቱዌለስ የታተመው ክፍት ደብዳቤ በፈረንሣይ ‘የእርስ በእርስ ጦርነትን’ ለማስቆም ወታደራዊ መፈንቅለ መንግሥት አስፈላጊ ሊሆን ይችላል ይላል፡፡

ደብዳቤው በማክሮን መንግስት የተወገዘ ሲሆን ከ ፷/60 ዓመታት በፊት በፕሬዚዳንት ዴ ጎል ላይ ጄኔራሎች ከከሸፈው መፈንቅለ መንግስት ጋር በማነፃፀር አውግዘውታል፡፡

የመሪው ፈራሚ የ ፹/ 80 ዓመቱ ክርስቲያን ፒኩማል ሲሆን እ.ኤ.አ. በ 2016 በፀረ-ኢስላም ሰልፍ ላይ ሲሳተፍ ከታሰረ በኋላ የጡረታ መኮንን መብቱን ከማጣቱ በፊት የታዋቂው የፈረንሳይ የውጭ ሌጌዎን አዛዥ ነበር፡፡

የተፃፈው በቀድሞው መኮንን ዣን-ፒየር ፋብሬናናዳክ ሲሆን በዝቅተኛ ደረጃ ላይ ባሉ ፩ሺህ/1000 ሌሎች ሰዎች ተፈርሟል።

🔥 French Military Generals Say a MILITARY COUP MAY BE NECESSARY to Save The Country From Islam

Twenty retired French generals have called for military rule if Emmanuel Macron fails to halt the ‘disintegration’ of the country ‘at the hands of Islamists’, in an open letter published ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The open letter, published in Valeurs Actuelles, a right-wing news magazine, claims a military coup might be necessary to stop a ‘civil war’ in France.

The letter has been condemned by Macron’s government, who compared it to the failed coup by generals against President de Gaulle 60 years ago.

The lead signatory was Christian Piquemal, 80, who commanded the Foreign Legion before losing his privileges as a retired officer after being arrested while taking part in an anti-Islam demonstration in 2016.

It was written by Jean-Pierre Fabre-Bernadac, a former officer, and signed by 1000 others who were in lower ranks.

The incendiary letter reads: ‘France is in danger. Several mortal perils threaten her. Even in retirement, we remain soldiers of France and cannot in the present circumstances remain indifferent to the fate of our beautiful country.’

👉 የተመረጡ አስተያየቶች/ Selected Comments:

☆ ሌሎች ፹/80 ጡረታ የወጡ መኮንኖች እንዲሁም በ ፳/20 ጄኔራሎች ተፈርሟል ፡፡ ይህ ትንሽ ነገር አይደለም፡፡ አንድ መንግስት ችላ ሊለው የሚፈልገው ነገር አይደለም።

☆ ይህ በእውነቱ በጣም ከባድ ነው። እነዚህን ስጋቶች በትክክል ለመናገር እና በዚህ መልክ እርምጃ ለመውሰድ ማስፈራራት በጣም ያልተለመደ ነው፡፡ ሰዎች በጣም ሊያሳስባቸው ይገባል፡፡

☆ በአውሮፓ ውስጥ ወታደራዊ መፈንቅለ መንግስት፡፡ ለረጅም ጊዜ ያለተደረገ ተግባር፡፡

☆ አደገኛ ጊዜያት

☆ ወደዚህ እንደሚመጣ ሁልጊዜ የሚጠበቅ ነው፡፡ ደካማ ፖለቲከኞች የማይነገር ሰቆቃ አስከትለዋል፡፡

☆ በአብዮት ሂደት በጣም ረዥም የጥቃት ታሪክ ያላትን ፈረንሳይ ከግምት ውስጥ በማስገባት ይህንን ስጋት በጭራሽ አላጣጥለውም፡፡ መቼም!

☆ ፈረንሳይ ኩሩ ሀገር ናት ዜጎቿ ማክሮን እና ፓርቲያቸው በማይረባ ፖሊሲዎቻቸው አገሪቱን ሲያጠፉ ለመመልከት መጥፋት አለባቸው ፣ በእውነቱ ይህ ሊከሰት እንደሚችል ማየት ችያለሁ አንድ አብዮት ነበራቸው ታዲያ ለምን ሌላ አብዮት አይኖራቸውም፡፡

☆ “አስቂኙን ማክሮን”ን ብቻ አስወግዶ ማሪ ሌፔንን ፕሬዚደንት ማድረግ ነው

☆ ዓለማችን እጅግ በጣም ግዙፍ የጊዜ ፈንጂ እየሆነች ነው ፣ ምናልባት ወደ አርማጌዶን መንገዳችንን ጀምረን ይሆናል።

☆ “Signed by 80 other retired officers, as well as the 20 generals.” That is no small thing. It is not something a government would want to ignore..

☆ This is actually quite serious. To actually voice these concerns and threaten action is highly unusual. People must be very concerned.

☆ A military coup in Europe. Not had one of those for a while.

☆ Dangerous times

☆ It was always destined to come to this. Weak politicians have caused untold misery.

☆ Given France’s very long history of violence in revolution, I would never discount this threat. Not ever.

☆ France is a proud nation its citizens must be devastated to stand by and watch Macron and his party ruin the country with their useless policies,I can actually see this happening they have had one revolution why not another vive la France

☆ Just get rid of the CLOWN MACRON and put Le Penn in charge

☆ Our world is becoming a huge ticking time bomb, we may already have started our road to Armageddon.

Source/ ምንጭ

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ክርስቲና ጋርሲያ: “ላሊበላ ለሰማይ ቅርብ ናት” | ግሩም የፎቶ ትርኢት በ ማድሪድ ከተማ

ክርስቲና ጋርሲያ ሮዴሮ የተባለቸው ታዋቂ እስፓኛዊት ፎቶ አንሺ “ላሊበላ ለሰማይ ቅርብ ናት” ያሰኛትን ጉዞ ወደ ላሊበላ አድርጋ ነበር። እ.አ.አ ከ 2000 እስከ 2009 ዓ.ም ባሉት ዓመታት ክሪስቲና ጋርሲያ ብዙ ጊዜ ወደ ኢትዮጳያ በመመላለስ፡ በተለይ ስለ ላሊበላ ያላትን አድናቆት ግሩም በሆኑት ፎቶዎቿ ለመግለጽ በቅታለች። እነዚህን ፎቶዎች የያዘ የፎቶ ኤግዚቢሽን በታዋቂው የማድሪድ ከተማ የኤግዚቢሽን ማዕከል ከሰኔ 1 እስከ ሐምሌ 31 ድረስ ለተመልካቾች ክፍት ነው።

በአናሎግ እና ዲጂታል መንገድ ጥቁርና ነጭ ቀለም ይዘው የተቀረጹት በእነዚህ 90 ውብ እና ድንቅ የፎቶ ናሙናዎች፡ ዓለቶች መካከል ሆነው ቅዱሳን መጻሕፍት በማንበብ ከዓምላካቸው ጋር ሲነጋገሩ፣ ፅኑ እምነት፣ ገርነት እና ደግነት ያላቸው ምዕመናን ነጭ ልብስ ለብሰው በየአብያተክሪስቲያናቱ ለሰዓታት ጸሎት ሲያደርሱ ይታያሉ።

እንደ ክሪስቲና አባባል፡

“ምንም እንኳን መነኮሳቱ, ልጆች እና ታማኝ የሆኑት ምዕመናን ከበድ የሚል ዓለማዊ አኗኗር ያላቸው መስሎ ቢታየንም ፡ ለአምላካቸው የሚያሳዩት ፍቅር ከአንድ እጅግ ውብ የሆነ ዘር መውጣታቸውን ይጠቁመናል“

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Rock-Hewn Churches Mark Old ‘new Jerusalem’ In Ethiopia | Toronto Star

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I’m in Lalibela, a small town cradled in the mountains of northern Ethiopia and home to 11 rock-hewn churches. Commissioned by King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela back in the 13th century, these places of worship had been created as a new Jerusalem for Ethiopian Orthodox pilgrims. Now recognized and protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, they continue to pull in people by the thousands from around the world, drawn to the biggest attraction in a country where tourism is on the rise.

I start the day at the largest of them all, Biete Medhane Alem, or House of the Saviour of the World, descending from ground level and circumnavigating the structure before we enter. Melkamu explains the basics as we go. We pass portraits of devotion — an impossibly elderly woman with a red-crossed hat reciting prayers, a man folded in behind the pillars of the church, doing the same — and Melkamu notes that Ethiopia had been one of the first countries to adopt Christianity. Actually mentioned in the biblical Book of Acts, Ethiopia adopted Christianity as its official state religion in the fourth century.

The churches here had been constructed at the direction of King Lalibela after the sultan Saladin captured Jerusalem in 1187. Carved from grey basalt and volcanic red scoria, “these were built by Ethiopians — with the help of the angels, of course,” Melkamu says.

It seems wherever we go, we see the faces of angels — Ethiopian ones —with beautiful round faces flanked by wings, staring at us from the ceiling, or from frescoes on the walls.

At Biete Maryam (House of Miriam), Melkamu pauses to kiss the doors before entering, then shows us the icons inside, which include ancient frescoes depicting the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt.

We also see priests everywhere, their heads wrapped in turbans and a wooden staff always at the ready. They gather together and walk past, reading and talking and, like everyone else, praying.

We see deacons, too, clustered and crouched against the round wall of a traditional tukul, with mud walls and a thatched roof, a mantra falling from their mouths like a sort of song, a stream of foreign words being lifted from the little scripture books held before them to the heavens above. “They’re speaking in Ge’ez, the ancient language of Ethiopian liturgy,” Melkamu explains. “These boys are considered deacons. If they pass the exams and get married, they will one day be priests in the church.”

In single day, we tour all 11 churches, clamouring up and down stone steps and crouching through tunnels and even once climbing up on a roof for a panoramic view of Biete Golgotha Mikael, which is said to contain the tomb of King Lalibela himself. We cross the Jordan River, now at the end of the dry season, just a sliver of green, filmy water. We make our way through dark tunnels and even visit Biete Lehem — literally, Bethlehem — the House of Bread, where loaves were baked for Holy Communion.

Exhausted, we make one final descent into the carved rock, the sun casting long, warm rays on top of Biete Giyorgis, the Church of St. George, the jewel in Lalibela’s crown, named for the patron saint of Ethiopia. We make our way down a small path into the crevices that surround the cross-shaped and intricately hewn church, slipping our shoes off, one last time, as we ascend the steps. We enter a church devoid of tourists, the priest’s chants cutting eerily through the silent space.

As I sit down next to him, Melkamu calls out to the man, asking him to give me a blessing. And just like that — before I expect it — his cross is on my face. I react poorly, giving a quick start, before getting hold of myself and settling down. I thank the priest and, at his encouragement, slip him a small bill for his efforts. No, it wasn’t a good blessing, but is there such thing as a bad one? Slipping my shoes back on, I decide that, either way, I’m relieved — after all, now, there’s no way I will have to go (back) to hell.

When you go

Do this trip: A boutique firm based in Addis Ababa, FKLM Tours (fklm-tours.com), provides tailor-made itineraries all over Ethiopia. Using local guides who know the lay of the land, as well as top-notch equipment that includes luxury Land Cruisers, many of its itineraries include at least two days in Lalibela.

Get there:Ethiopian Airlines (ethiopianairlines.ca) provides the only direct air service between Canada and Africa. About 13 hours (flying east, from Toronto to Addis Ababa), the trip is undertaken in Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, whose Cloud Nine business-class cabin includes spacious seats that fold into fully flat beds.

Stay: With both traditional rooms and large, rather luxurious tukul with patios that overlook a valley, Sora Lodge (soralodgelalibela.com) in Lalibela provides comfortable nights and good meals at its on-property German-themed restaurant.

Eat: In Lalibela, try excellent local or international cuisine at Ben Abeda (benabeba.com). Crowning a small mountain with a structure that looks straight out of The Jetsons, lunch or dinner here comes with 360-degree views of the surrounding landscape.

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Ethiopia: Holy Days And Highland Rock Churches

“You see a society in which profound spiritual belief (Christianity came here in the fourth century) is interwoven into every aspect of life. Most people here have very little, but those you meet and talk to – and having a guide makes it easier to do that – seem rich in ways that many of us in the developed world have lost.”

Christian belief is woven into every aspect of life in Ethiopia, as Anna Murphy discovers when she joins one of the country’s most important religious festivals

You know you are somewhere very special when even a drive to the airport is enrapturing. It was our last day in Ethiopia, and we were on our way to catch an internal flight from Lalibela to Addis Ababa, en route to London.

We had been to Lalibela – one of the most celebrated stops on the so-called northern circuit of the Ethiopian Highlands – to see its stone churches. And remarkable they were, carved into and out of the pink-hued rock between the 12th and 15th centuries, both delicate and monumental, and still very much alive – full of priests and monks and nuns and hermits and worshippers, all of them wrapped in white, as every good Ethiopian Christian is when he or she visits church.

Virtually every day of the year there will be a church somewhere in Ethiopia celebrating its saint’s day, but it’s best to time your visit to coincide with one of the great Orthodox Christian festivals, such as Easter. Known as Fasika, it usually occurs a week to two weeks after the Western Church’s Easter. It follows eight weeks of fasting from meat and dairy, and culminates in a church service on Easter eve lasting several hours and ending at 3am. Afterwards, worshippers break their fast and celebrate the risen Christ.

My own visit coincided with Timkat, in January, one of the most important festivals of the year. It’s a kind of mass baptism in which locals gather early in the morning by their church’s pool (each church has one) to be splashed and sprayed with holy water. It was such a joyous thing to witness, as everyone – from very young to very old – excitedly waited en masse for jugs of water to be thrown out over the crowd.

But it is that drive that sticks in my mind. It was market day in Lalibela and, as our charming and indefatigable guide Sammy Tilahun told us, people walked from more than 12 miles away to attend. At 8am the road was packed, not with vehicles – driving around this vast, beautiful, often mountainous country, you usually have the road to yourself – but with people and animals on the move. Many of the women and children were dressed in the traditional embroidered cotton dresses, the men wrapped in large swaths of cotton, or – on a couple of occasions – bath towels (evidently something of a step up). Some were herding goats, others cattle with enormous horns, others heavily loaded pack mules. Some – usually women – were carrying vast Byzantine bundles of twisted firewood on their backs, or unidentifiable bunches on their heads. For them it was a long walk, hard work, but it was also a social occasion – people were talking, smiling, hanging out, step by step, hour by hour.

Those 30 minutes from the window summed up much that is wonderful about Ethiopia. You see a life largely untouched by this century, and a couple of earlier ones. You see a society in which profound spiritual belief (Christianity came here in the fourth century) is interwoven into every aspect of life. Most people here have very little, but those you meet and talk to – and having a guide makes it easier to do that – seem rich in ways that many of us in the developed world have lost. Of course it is easy, and distasteful, to be dewy-eyed. Poverty is everywhere. But so too is a kind of peace, contentment. This is a country that makes even an atheist like me ponder organised religion as a force for good.

But there were other, much quieter experiences that also helped make my time in Ethiopia so remarkable. Here is a country with incredible cultural riches, including religious art that to me in its sublime colour and creativity matches the Byzantine churches of Ravenna and the Chora Church of Istanbul. And it allows you an intimacy with art that is an impossibility in the developed world. In the Nakuta La’ab monastery, for example, built into a cave in the cliffs near Lalibela, we were alone with the priest, who showed to us and only us the pages of a beautifully illuminated 700-year-old manuscript with wide-eyed Madonnas and horse-riding martyrs, all rendered in dazzling reds and blues.

Again, at the incredible Ura Kidane Mihret monastery, on the shores of Lake Tana, we were alone in what was, quite simply, one of the most remarkable places I’d ever been. A circular building, one of the two favoured structures in the Ethiopian Orthodox church, its interior walls are covered with… well, where to begin? With the Madonna again, or saint Mary as the Ethiopians call her; with assorted other saints; with the two archangels-cum-dudes complete with Afros (looking straight out of Earth, Wind and Fire); with martyrs (40 of them, their heads in a row in the sea); with leopards and lions; with the disembodied heads and wings of a choir of angels; with the three Kings. The paintings are between 100 and 250 years old, and were designed to be “read” by the illiterate worshippers. They tell stories we know from our own Bible, but also those from the additional 14 books in the Ethiopian bible. One of my favourites, and one of the most important to Ethiopians, is of the saint Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus. He is pictured with fur on his body, flanked by the lions and leopards that are his friends; beside one eye is a little bird who drinks from the tears he sheds whenever he prays.

I could go on. And indeed one day I hope to: Ethiopia is such a fascinating country that I am already planning to return. To be continued…

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Lalibela en el Día del Entusiasmo

La escena es bíblica. Los rostros, el ropaje, los rezos, los cánticos, el fervor, el entorno grandioso de montañas peladas: uno se siente proyectado en medio del Antiguo Testamento. Los fieles, por millares, están esparcidos por todas partes, algunos sentados, otros de rodillas, otros tumbados. Casi todos, ellos como ellas, llevan un gran manto blanco que cubre por completo sus cuerpos escuálidos. Los hay que rezan, los hay que cantan y dan palmas, los hay que conversan en voz baja. Algunos vinieron en familia, con los niños correteando, otros en pareja, otros en grupos de amigos. Forman unos círculos concéntricos en torno a la carpa blanca que alberga lo más preciado, lo que vinieron a venerar: los tabot. Es decir, los cofres que encierran una copia de la sagrada Arca de la Alianza. Hechos de mármol, de alabastro o de madera de acacia, equivalen al tabernáculo de las iglesias católicas. Por la mañana, unas procesiones los han traído con gran pompa hasta aquí desde los diferentes templos de la ciudad. Y ahora, durante una larga noche de vigilia, toca venerarlos. Un vistazo furtivo al interior (una curiosidad excesiva provoca murmullos de desaprobación) permite divisar, debajo de la lona, los diferentes cofres, todos cubiertos herméticamente de telas adornadas de ricos bordados: y es que un tabot jamás puede ser visto por los ojos de los mortales.

En otra carpa, unos sacerdotes de pie en círculo cantan, acompañados de tambores y címbalos, una melopeya que parece no tener fin. A cada escalón de la jerarquía eclesiástica corresponde un vestido distinto: los hay con un manto blanco subrayado por bordados de un rojo intenso, con vistosas capas negras, con casullas de múltiples colores ricamente ornamentadas, con vistosos turbantes blancos, con tiaras espectaculares que casi parecen cascos de gladiadores. Varios llevan un cetro en el que se apoyan para aliviar esta larga vigilia. El ambiente es místico, intenso en medio de la suavidad penetrante de las voces. El canto acaba envolviendo al visitante, embriagándole.

Tras una noche de fervor empieza, de madrugada, la parte central de la ceremonia. Los sacerdotes, blandiendo unas grandes cruces griegas, se acercan con mucha ceremonia a una piscina cercana en forma de cruz. Le dan lentamente la vuelta, antes de bendecir el agua con un hisopo, en medio de los cánticos y entre olores de incienso. Y he aquí que el ambiente cambia de repente. Tras el letargo tranquilo, apacible de una noche de oraciones, tras estas horas de recogimiento, todos parecen agitarse al mismo tiempo. Se trata de ungirse como sea con esta agua ahora bendita. Todos se atropellan para llegar a la piscina sagrada, un bidón o una cantimplora en la mano para echarse el preciado líquido encima de la cabeza. Hasta que unos ayudantes vestidos con un chubasquero de un verde intenso cojan unas mangueras y empiecen a rociar generosamente a los fieles. Chicos o chicas, jóvenes o ancianos, se empujan para colocarse en el trayecto del agua. Los regadores parecen pasarlo en grande, tanto como estos grupos de jóvenes ya empapadas que corren detrás del flujo de agua para mojarse todavía más.

Estamos en Lalibela, en el corazón de las montañas etíopes, a 2.600 metros de altura: lugar famoso por sus iglesias rupestres y considerado como sagrado por todos los etíopes (la mayor parte de sus habitantes tienen algún pariente vinculado al clero). Y sitio ideal, por tanto, para contemplar, o más bien vivir intensamente, el timkat, la ceremonia religiosa más importante del año para la Iglesia ortodoxa del país, que celebra, a finales de enero, local.

Entre cánticos

Tras el caos alegre de las mangueras vuelve la religiosidad. Con gestos de un respeto extremo, los sacerdotes, que han ayunado durante 24 horas, empiezan a retirar de la carpa, uno tras otro, los tabot siempre ocultados a la vista por unas telas, y se los ponen sobre la cabeza. Es el momento cumbre de la ceremonia: de la muchedumbre emana una sensación de fervor intenso, mientras vuelven los cánticos. La voz de un sacerdote que amplifica la megafonía se hace lastimera, implorante: casi un lloro que parece contagiar de una irresistible tristeza a los presentes. Muchos leen la Biblia de manera frenética y ferviente (por más que algún que otro teclee el móvil al mismo tiempo), sin dejarse distraer por los niños que juegan a perseguirse en medio de la muchedumbre. Los sacerdotes de capa negra, alineados en filas, se balancean lateralmente, hasta que su línea ondulante empiece a alternar avances y retrocesos, en una progresión de una lentitud infinita. Más alegres, unos niños vestidos de un azul marino chillón o de amarillo abren el cortejo: cantan y baten palmas con entusiasmo mientras los reciben los ululatos de los fieles, los aplausos de la gente y los sonidos de unas pequeñas cornetas previamente distribuidas entre el público. Fervor y entusiasmo se mezclan cuando el cortejo se pone en marcha, bajo el sol abrasador del que los sacerdotes se protegen con enormes paraguas de todos los colores.

 

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Ethiopia: Unexpected Wonders in the Rock Churches of Lalibela and Addis Ababa

“The last of my assumptions about Ethiopia were pleasantly swept away”

A gold-robed deacon stood in front of a makeshift altar at the shadowy heart of the nave, clutching a staff as he led the mournful chanting.

Surrounding him was a cluster of white-shawled priests, some holding bibles and candles, others ornate crosses and icons. Around them were throngs of pilgrims, also robed in white, lost in a reverie of chanting and praying.

All I could do was sit transfixed in a darkened corner, my back against the stone wall of the ancient church carved out of the mountainside.

Not only was I in one of the most astonishing cultural sites in the world, but also in one of the most sacred places in Christendom during Easter.

It was as if I was watching proceedings from centuries past.

The Orthodox Christian pilgrims had flocked here to Lalibela from all corners of Ethiopia to take part in ceremonies like these.

The second-oldest Christian country in the world is still deeply pious and Easter is a serious business.

Followers eat a vegan diet for the 55 days leading up to the Orthodox Easter Sunday (May 5 this year), then everyone spends Easter eve at the church praying until 3am when it is announced that Christ has risen.

Continue reading…

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ቅዱሳንን ለምን ፈረንጆች አደረግናቸው?

 

በአሜሪካኑ ቴሌቪዥን፡ በ “ታሪክ ጣቢያ” (History Channel) “The Bible” “መጽሐፍ ቅዱስ” የተሰኘ አንድ ባለ አሥር ሰዓት ፊልም እስከ መጪው የፈረንጆች ፋሲካ ድረስ እሁድ እሁድ በመታየት ላይ ነው። ይህ ፊልም፡ እንደ ‘አሜሪካን አይድል” የመሳሰሉትን ተወዳጅ የቴሌቪዥን ፕሮግራሞች በተመልካች ብዛት የቀጣ ከመሆኑም ሌላ፡ የመጸሐፍ ቅዱስን ባለ ታሪኮች ማን እንደተጫወተ/መጫወት እንደነበረበት በመርመር የሜዲያውን ዓለም ስሜታዊ በሆነ መልክ በማወያየት ላይ ይገኛል።

የብሉይ እና አዲስ ኪዳናትን ታሪኮችና መልዕክቶች ለማስተፋፈል ታስቦ የተሰረውን ይህን ፊልም መቅረጽ የጀመሩት ገና ፕሬዚደንት ኦባማ ለፕሬዚደንት ከመብቃታቸው በፊት ቢሆንም፡ ፊልሙ ላይ የ ሰይጣን ባለ ታሪክነቱን የሚጫወተው ከመካከለኛው ምስራቅ የመጣ ተዋናይ ከኦባማ ጋር ይመሳሰላል በማለት ብዙዎቹን እያነጋገረ ነው።

ነጭ ክርስቶስ፡ ጥቁር ሰይጣን

“አፍሪካዊ–አሜሪካኖች ፊልሙ ላይ ያሉትን መጥፎ መጥፎዎቹ ሰዎች ሲመለከቱ፡ ሁሉም እነርሱን የሚመሳሰሉ ገጽታ አሏቸው። ታዲያ አንዲት ህጻን ልጅ፡ “ለምንድን ነው ሁልጊዜ ጥሩዎቹና ክርስቶስ ፈረንጆች የሚሆኑት? ሰይጣን ደግሞ ኦባማን የሚመስለው?” በማለት ታላቋን ጠየቀች። እሷም፡ “ፈረንጆች ሁልጊዜ ፈረንጅ የሆነ ነገር ነው የሚሠሩት!” ብላ መለሰችላት።” ይላል ክርስቲያን ሳይንስ ሞኒተር።

እየሱስ ክርስቶስ ማን እንደነበር ከኢትዮጵያውያን የበለጠ የሚያውቅ ይኖራልን?

በሚከተለው የ ንቡረ እድ ኤርሚያስ ከበደ ጠቃሚ ትምሕርት ሙሉ በሙሉ እስማማለሁ፦

“ለአብርሃም፥ ለይስሓቅና ያዕቆብ በገባላቸው ቃል ኪዳን ምክንያት፥ እንዲሁም ስለስሙ ሲል እግዚአብሔር ለእሥራኤል ሕዝብ በነፍስና በሥጋ፥ በመንፈስም የሰጣቸው የቃል ኪዳን ጸጋና በረከት ዘርና መንግሥት፡ ኹሉም ወደ ኢትዮጵያና ወደ ኢትዮጵያውያን ተመልሰው ለእነርሱ የኾነበት የመለኮት ዕፁብ ድንቅ ሥራ የተገለጠበት፥ ኢትዮጵያንና ኢትዮጵያዊነትን በሚመለከት ቀደም ብሎ በአብርሃም (በኢትዮጵያውያኖቹ በ መልከ ጼዴቅ፥ በ አቤሚለክ እና በሁለተኛ ሚስቱ በኬቱራ በኩል) ቀጥሎም በሙሴ (የሙሴ ባለቤት ሲጶራ ኢትዮጲያዊት ነበረች፣ ሙሴም ለ40 ዓመታት ያህል ኢትዮጵያን በንጉሥነት አገልግሏል፡ የአብርሃምና ኬቱራ ዘር ኢትዮጵያዊው ዮቶር መምህሩ ነበር) ሰውነትና ሕይወት ላይ ደርሰው የታዩትንና እነርሱን የመሰሉትን፥ ያለፉትን ኹሉ በበለጠ አጠናክሮ የሚያጸና ሌላ አራተኛ ትንግርት ደግሞ አለ።

ያም የመለኮት ዕፁብ ድንቅ ሥራ የተገለጠው በታላላቁ ሊቃውንት፥ በታወቁት ከበርቴዎችና በገናናዎቹ ኃያላን ዘንድና ላይ አይደለም፥ በቤተ ብዕል በቤተ ክህነት እና/ወይም በቤተ መንግሥት አዳራሾችም ውስጥ አይደለም። ከብቶቹን በሜዳ አሰማርቶ ለሚጠብቅ ለአንድ ተራ ብላቴና እረኛ ነበር እንጂ። የዚያ እረኛም ስም፡ “ዳዊት” ነበር።

ይህ ጻድቅና ነቢይ፡ ከኢትዮጵያዊውና “አቤሚሌክ” የሚል ስም ካለው የትውልድ ሓረግ የተወለደ በመኾኑ ኢትዮጵያዊነቱ በዘሩ ብቻ ሳይኾን እውነተኛ ሃይማኖቱና ምግባሩ በታላላቅ የገድል ፈተናዎቹ ስለተረጋገጠለት እግዚአብሔር ለሉዓላዊው አገልግሎትና ክብር መርጦ ሾመው። አዎን! ከበግ እረኝነት ጠርቶ በእሥራኤልና በይሁዳ ሕዝብ ላይ፡ ንጉሥ አድርጎ ቀብቶ አነገሠው። ከእርሱም አብራክ ከወጣው ዘር በመጨረሻው ዘመን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ተወልዶ ዓለሙን እንደሚያድን መንግሥቱንም ዘለዓለማዊ አድርጎ እንደሚያጸናለት ቃል ኪዳን ገባለት።

የእግዚአብሔር አገልጋይ የኾነው ይኽው ዳዊት ኢትዮጵያዊውን ታማኝ ወታደሩን፡ ኦርዮንን በግፍ በማስገደል የሠራውን እጅግ ከባድ ኃጢአት በእውነተኛ ንስሓ ካነጻ በኋላ የሟቹን ኢትዮጵያዊት ሚስቱን ቤትሳባን አግብቶ ሰሎሞንን ወለደ፤ ልጁ ሰሎሞንም ከኢትዮጵያዊቷ ንግሥት ከማክዳ/ ከሣባ ቀዳማዊ ምኒልክን ወለደ።

ከዚህ የተነሣ የእሥራኤል የኾነው ሃይማኖታዊውና ምግባራዊው ሥርዓታዊውና ባህላዊው ውርስና ቅርስ ብቻ ሳይኾን እግዚአብሔር ለዳዊት የሰጠው ቃል ኪዳኑንና የቃል ኪዳኑ ዘር ጭምር ለኢትዮጵያና ለኢትዮጵያውያን ኾኑ።

ዳዊትና የእግዚአብሔር መንግሥት ከእርሱ ከዳዊት ዘር ከተገኘችው ከድንግል ማርያም በተወለደው በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ንጉሥነትና በርሷ በቅድስት እናቱ ንግሥትነት ለዘለዓለም ጸንታ የምትኖርለት በመኾኑ ፈጣሪው ቃል ኪዳን ገባለት።” (‘ኢትዮጵያ እና ኢትዮጵያዊነት‘ 3ኛ መጽሐፍ)

ይህን የንቡረ እድ ኤርምያስ ጽሑፍ ከማንበቤ በፊት የክርስቶስ አመጣጥ ኢትዮጵያው ሊሆን እንደሚችል፡ ልክ እንደ ብዙዎች ኢትዮጵያውያን ፡ በውስጤ ይታወቀኝ ነበር። ታዲያ በጣም የሚገርመኝ፣ ግራ አጋብቶ የሚረብሸኝና የሚያበሳጨኝ አንድ ነገር ቢኖር፣ እኛ ኢትዮጵያውያን ይህን የመሰለ ኃብታም ታሪክ፣ ይህን ዓይነት ተወዳዳሪ–የለሽ ታላቅ ጸጋ ተሰጥቶን እንዴት ዋጋ በሌለውና ዓለማዊ በሆነው ቆሻሻ ሁሉ በቀላሉ ልንበላሽ ቻልን? የሚለው ጥያቄ ነው።

ኔልሰን ማንዴላ የሕይወት ታሪካቸውን በሚያበሥረው መጽሐፋቸው፤ የነጮቹን የአፓርታይድ ሥርዓት ለመዋጋት አንድ ጊዜ ለስብሰባ ወደ አዲስ አበባ በኢትዮጵያ አየር መንገድ ሲበሩ ኢትዮጵያውያን ፓይለቶችን ዓይተው፡ “እንዴ! ጥቁር አውሮፕላን አብራሪዎችም አሉ እንዴ? እንዴት ሊሆን ቻለ?” የሚለውን ጥያቄ ከአድናቆት ጋር መጠየቃቸውን እናስታውሳለን።

እካሁን ድረስ ከነጮች የዘር አድሎ ሥርዓት መላቀቅ የተሳናቸው አፍሪቃዊ–አሜሪካውያን፡ እዚህ እናንብብ፡ ኢትዮጵያን የመጎብኘት አጋጣሚ ሲያገኙ፡ በቅድሚያ የሚደነቁበት/ የሚገረሙበት አንድ ትልቅ ነገር ቢኖር፡ የጌታችን የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስን፣ የእመቤታችንን የቅድስት ማርያምን እንዲሁም የቅዱሳንን እና የመላእክትን በኢትዮጵያዊና በጥቁር መልክ ተመስለው በየዓብያተክርስቲያናቱ ለማየት መብቃታቸውን ነው። “ጥቁር እየሱስ ለመጀመሪያ ጊዜ ያየሁት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ነው!” በማለት አንድ ታዋቂ አፍሪቃዊ–አሜሪካዊ ምሁር በኩራት ሲናገሩ አንድጊዜ ሰምቼ ነበር።

ታዲያ አሁን ሁላችንም፡ በተለይ በዚህ የጾም ጊዜ አጥብቀን ልናስብበትና ልንጠየቀው የሚገባን ጥያቄ፦

ለምንድን ነው በአገራችን፡ ብሎንድ/ወርቃማ ጸጉርና ሰማያዊ ዓይኖች ያሏቸው ወይም ፈረንጆችን የመሳስሉ የ ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ፣ የቅድስት ማርያምና የቅዱሳን ምስሎች በየቦታው ተሠራጭተው የሚታዩት? የቅዱስ ላሊበላ ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናት እንኳን አልተረፉም!

ፈረንጆቹ እራሳቸውን የመሰለውን የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ስዕል ቢስሉ ምንም አይደለም፤ እኛ ግን እንዴት? ለምን? ከፈረንጆቹ አስቀድመን ክርስትናን የተቀበለን ሕዝቦች አይደለንምን? ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ እና ቅድስት ማርያም ኢትዮጵያዊ አመጣጥ እንዳላቸው እናውቃለን፡ አባቶቻችንም በስዕሎቻቸው ሁሉ የኢትዮጵያውያኑን ገጽታ እንዲይዙ አድርገው ነበር ሲስሏቸው የነበሩት፡ ታዲያ አሁን እኛ ቅዱሳኑን ምን ነክቶን ነው ፈረንጆች ልናደርጋቸው የበቃነው?

ዲያብሎስ አታልሎ ወደ ወገኖቹ ካልወሰደን በቀር፡ ምንም ሳይቸግረን፣ ምንም ሳይጎድለን እንዴት ከፈረንጆቹ የማይጠቅመውን ነገር ብቻ መርጠን በመቀበል መጪውን ትውልድ፡ ለአእምሮ ከንቱነት እና ለመንፈሣዊ ባርነት ልናጋልጥ ፈቀድን? ይህ በጣም የሚከነክንና የሚያስቆጣ ድርጊት ነው። ከአባቶቻችን የተረከብነውን ውድ ፀጋ፡ የነርሱን አደራ መንከባከብ ከባድ ሆኖ ስለምናገኘው፡ ታሪክ ዋጋ እንደሌለው፣ የአባቶችንን ሥራ ማውሳቱ ፍሬቢስነት እንደሆነ አድርገን እራሳችንን በማሳማን ቀላል የሆነውን የክህደት መንገድ መርጠን ለባዕዳውያኑ አላፊ “ሥልጣኔ‘ በስንፍናችን እንጋለጣለን። በብልጭልጩ ዓይናችን ታውሯልና። ለአባቶቻችን ከአምላክ የተሰጠውን ሥርዓት መናቅ፥ ከእግዚአብሔር የተገኘውን የአባቶቹን ሃይማኖት መተው፥ ትውልዱ፡ አባቶቼ ያቆዩልኝ ትክክል አይደለም፡ የፈረንጁ ትክክል ነው በማለት ነገሮችን ሳይመረመር የማያውቀው ወጥመድ ውስጥ ይገባል። ክርስቶስን በ ጣዖት ፥ ተዋሕዶን በተሃድሶ ፥ ቤተ መቅደስን በቢራ ቤት ፥ መስቀልን በ ፎቅ ፥ ጠበልን በመርዝ ፥ ጥቁርን በ ነጭ ፥ መከዳን በ ሞኒካ ፥ ግዕዝን በላቲን ፥ ነጠላን በ ከረባት ፥ እንጀራን በ ሃምበርገር ፥ እርጎውን በ ኮካኮላ፥ ንጹሑን አየር በመኪና ጭስ በመተካት ምን የሚጠቅመንና የተሻለ ነገር ያገኘን እየመሰለን ይሆን? ለመደንቆር ፥ ልፍስፍስ ለመሆን፥ ለመታመም እና እራቁት ለመቅረት ካልሆነ በቀር!

ግድየለሽነታችን፡ ከኔ ጀመሮ፡ እጅግ በጣም የሚገርም ክስተት ነው። ሌላው ቢቀር፡ ሥጋዊነት ወይም አካላዊነት የሌላቸው መላእክት እንኳን በነጮች ምስል እኮ ነው እየቀረቡልን ያሉት። ውጭ አገር የሚኖሩትና ብዙ ነገሮችን በቅርብ ለመታዘብ ዕድሉ ያላቸው አባቶች ሳይቀሩ ነው ኢትዮጵያዊውን ክርስቶስ በመተው የፈረንጆቹን ክርስቶስ ደረታቸው ላይ አንጠልጥለው የሚታዩት። ይህ መቸም በመጥፎ ታስቦ ሳይሆን ሌላውን በማክበርና በመውደድ ከመጣ በጎነት የመነጨ ነው። ይህ ተግባር ግን በዚህች በአሁኗ ዓለማችን ከፍተኛ ስህተት ነው ሊሆን የሚችለው። “እንደ እባብ ልባሞች እንደ ርግብም የዋሆች ሁኑ” የሚለውን ቅዱስ ቃል ቸል በማለት።

ይህ ጉዳይ በቀላሉ መወሰድ የለበትም! “ምን አለበት? ልዩነት የለውም!” እየተባለለት መታለፍ ያለበትም ጉዳይ አይደለም። ምስሎችና ምልክቶች እጅግ ከፍተኛ ሚና በሚጫወቱባት ዓለማችን የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ምስል ፈረንጅ ወይም አይሁድ እና ኢትዮጵያዊ መምሰል ትልቅ ቦታ፡ ከፍተኛ ዋጋ ይኖረዋል። ምናልባትም ብዙ ኢትዮጵያውያን ኢትዮጵያዊውን ተዋሕዶ እምነታቸውን እየተው ወደ መጤው የፈረንጅ እምነት ከሚወድቁባቸው ምክኒያቶች አንዱ ይህ የአባቶቻችንን ትክክለኛ ኢትዮጵያዊ የሥዕል ጥበበ ባሕል እየተተወ እና እየተበላሸ በመምጣቱ ሊሆን ይችላል። ይህም እየተሠራ ያለው ጥፋት/ኃጢዓት፡ በአንድ በኩል፡ ወደ መንግስተ ሰማይ የሚወስደውን በር በወገኖቻችን ላይ እየዘጋባቸው መሆኑን፡ በሌላ በኩል ደግሞ ሃቁን በመካድ፡ የሌለውን የክርስቶስን፣ የማርያምን እና የቅዱሳንን ማንነት ያለአግባብ ቀስበቀስ እየቀየርን መሆኑን ሊያሳየን ይችላል።

እግዚኦ መኻረነ ክርስቶስ!

የፕሮቴስታንት ሃይማኖት ፓስተር የነበሩት የጀርመን ፌደራል ሪፓብሊክ ርዕሰ ብሔር፡ ዮአኪም ጋውክ፡ ባለፈው ማክሰኞ የላሊበላ ቆይታቸው፡ የእነ ቤተ ጊዮርጊስን ተዓምራት በቦታው ተገኝተው ከታዘቡ በኋል የሚከተለውን በመመሰጥ ተናግረው ነበር፦

“ኢትዮጵያውያኑ ጽኑ እምነታቸውን በቋጥኙ ቅርጽ ያንጸባርቁታል፡ እዚህ ተገኝቼ ይህን ድንቅ ሥራ በዓይኔ ለማየት ስበቃ የጉዞ ፊልሞች የሚያቀርቧቸው ምስሎች ስሜትን የመቀስቀስ ብቃት እንደሌላቸው አሁን ተገነዘብኩ፡ ላሊበላ በመምጣቴ፡ ይህች ቦታ በርግጥም የሰው ልጅ ዘር ምንጭ መሆኗን ለመገንዘብ በቅቻለሁ፡ ክርስቲያናዊ ስሜቴም ተቀስቅሷል፡ ተደንቄአለሁ።“

አስደናቂ የሕይወት ታሪክ ያላቸው እኚህ ሰው፡ በኮሙኒስቷ ጀርመን (ቻንስለሯም ከዛው ናቸው) በፕሮቴስታንት ፓስተርነት የሃይማኖት ጠላት ከነበረው የምስራቅ ጀርመን መንግሥት ጋር እየተፋለሙ ነበር ሲኖሩ የነበሩት። አዲስ አበባ እንደገቡም የፕሮቴስታንቶችን የመቃብር ቦታ በቅድሚያ ለመጎብኘት መሻታቸው ከዚህ ታሪካቸው ጋር የተያያዘ በመሆኑ ሊሆን ይችላል። ጀርመኖች፡ ግማሹ ካቶሊክ ግማሹ ፕሮቴስታንት ናቸው። በማርቲን ሉተር የተጀመረው የፕሮቴስታንቶች ተሃድሷዊ እንቅስቃሴ መሠረቱ ጀርመን እንደመሆኑ፤ ይህ እንቅስቃሴ ክርስቲያናዊ ሕይወትን አስመልክቶ የትኛውን መንገድ እንደተከተለና ምን ዓይነት ውጤት እንዳመጣ ፕሬዚደንቱም፡ እውነተኛ የሆኑ ጀርመናውያንም ያውቁታል። እንቅስቃሴው ባጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ (500 ዓመት አይሞላም) ክርስቲያናዊ ሕይወትን/ክርስትናን ከሕብረተሰቡ ለማጥፋት በቅቷል፡ ሕዝቡን ከፍተኛ መንፈሳዊ ውድቀት ላይ ጥሎታል። “ከፍሬያቸው ታውቋቸዋላችሁ። ከእሾህ ወይን ከኩርንችትስ በለስ ይለቀማልን?” ፕሬዚደንቱም በላሊበላዋ አጭር ቆይታቸው ይህን የተገነዘቡ መሰለኝ።

በብዙ አውሮፓውያን ሕዝቦች ዘንድ “ጥቁር ማዶና” ወይም “ጥቁር ማርያም” ተብላ የምትጠራዋ እመቤታችን ከፍተኛ አክብሮት እንዳላት ይታወቃል። ከፊሊፒንስ አገር እስከ ፖላንድና ሜክሲኮ ድረስ በመላው ምድራችን ብዛት ያላቸው የክርስትና እምነት ተከታዮች ጥቁሯ ማዶና የሚሏትን ኢትዮጵያዊቷን ጽዮን ማርያምን በጥልቁ ማክበር ልዩ መለያቸው ከሆነ ብዙ ዘመናት አሳልፏል።

ከ11ኛው እስከ 13ኛው ምዕተዓመት ባለው ጊዜ ወደ ኢትዮጵያ ተጉዘው እንደነበር የሚነገርላቸው፡ ናይትስ ኦፍ ቴምፕላርስ፡ የጥቁሯ ማዶናን ምስጢር ከኢትዮጵያ ተዋሕዶ ቤተክርስቲያን አግኝተው ወደ አውሮፓ፡ በተለይ ወደ ፈረንሳይ ይዘው በመሄድ ለአብዛኞቹ አውሮፓውያን እንዳስተዋወቋቸው የሚዘክር ታሪክ አለ። አንዴ ንግሥት ሣባ ሌላ ጊዜ ደግሞ ማርያ ማግዴላ ነች ይሏታል። የተዋሕዶ ክርስትና ተከታዮች፡ እመቤታችን ማርያምን የ “ብርሃን እናት” ብለው ስለሚጠሯት እንዲሁም ጌታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ በ ብርሃንናበ ፀሐይ ስለሚመሰል፡ ቴምፕላሮቹም ይህን የጽኑ እምነት መግለጫ ከኢትዮጵያ ወስደው በጨለማ ውስጥ ለነበሩት አውሮፓውያን አድርሰው ይሆናል የሚል ሃሳብ አለ። መቼም እውነትን–ደባቂዎቹ አውሮፓውያን ባለ ታሪኮች ለሁሉም ነገር የቴምፕላሮችን ስም እያነሱ ያልተፈጸመውን ሁሉ ተጽፍሞ ይሆናል በማለት ታሪክን ማበላሸት ይቀናቸዋልና፡ መንፈሳዊ ተሰጥኦ ያላቸው አውሮፓውያን በራዕይ ኢትዮጵያዊቷ ጽዮን ማርያምን ለማየት አልተቻላቸውም፡ ቴምፕላሮች ናቸው ምስሏን ከኢትዮጵያ ይዘውት የመጡት ብለው ይናገራሉ። የላሊበላን ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናት እነዚሁ ቴምፕላሮች ናቸው የሠሯቸው፡ ኢትዮጵያውያን ለዚህ ብቃት የላቸውም እስከ ማለት ደርሰው የለም። ከኛም መኻል ይህን ቅሌታማ የፈጠራ ወሬ የሚያስተጋቡ አሳፋሪዎች አልጠፉም።

ምስጢሩ ግን፡ ኢትዮጵያዊቷ እመቤታችን በመንፈስ ድኻ ለሆኑት የዓለማችን ነዋሪዎች በራዕይ እየተገለጠችላቸው ነው። ማንነቷንም ባለመደበቋ፡ ለአሕዛቡ ሁሉ ጠቆር ብላ ስለታየቻቸው ጥቁር ማዶና የሚል ስም ሰጥቷል። በፓላንድ እና በ ክሮኤሺያ የሚገኙት ጥቁር ማዶናዎች ንግሥት ማከዳን / ሣባን እንደሚያስታውሷቸው፡ በርሷም በኩል በየአገሩ ተዓምራተ ማርያምን በየጊዜው በማየታቸውና እመቤታችንንም በማክበር ህይወታቸውን በጥሩ መልክ ለመለወጥ እንደበቁ ብዙ መረጃዎች ይመሰክራሉ። አብዛኛው ዓለም ግን ይህን ምስጢር ላለማውጣት እስካሁን ድረስ አፍኖ ይዞታል። ኢትዮጵያዊ ዝርያ አለባት የምትባለዋ (እንዳለባት በጣም እጠረጥራለሁ) የታላቋ ብሪታንያ ንግሥት ኤልሣቤጥ እንኳ፡ ትክክለኛው ማንነቷ እንዳይታወቅባት ያው አፍና እንድትኖር ተገድዳለች። አንጋፋዎቹ ሩሲያዊው አሌክሳንደር ፑሽኪን፣ እንግሊዛዊው ሰር ፒተር ኡስቲኖቭ በኢትዮጵያዊው አመጣጣቸው ይኮሩ ነበር።

በፖላንዷ ቼስቶኾቫ(Częstochowa) የምትገኘው ጥቁሯ ማዶና በአገሬው ሕዝብ ዘንድ ከማንም በላይ ከፍተኛ አክብሮት ያላት፣ በብዙ መቶ ሺህ የሚቆጠሩ ጎብኝዎችን በየሣምንቱ የምትስብ፣ ለናዚዝምና ኮሙኒዝም ውድቀት ከፍተኛ አስተዋጽዖ ያበረከተች፣ የፖላንድ ጥብቅ የካቶሊክ እምነት መሠረት የሆነች፡ እንዲሁም የሮማውን ጳጳስ፡ ዮሐንስ–ጳዎሎስ ሁለተኛውን፡ ካርዲናል ቮይቲላን ያፈለቀች ድንቅ ቦታ ነች። በ ቼስቶኾቫ የሚገኘው የእመቤታችን ምስል በሐዋርያው ቅዱስ ሉቃስ የተሳለ እንደሆነ ይነገርለታል።

ይህ ሁሉ ምንን ያሳየናል? አዎ! የንግሥታችን ሣባ ዘር የሆነችው እመቤታችን ቅድስት ማርያም ብርሃኗን ከአገራችን ከኢትዮጵያ እያፈነጠቀች መንፈሣዊ ጨለማ ወደሰፈነባቸው ሩቅ አገራት፡ ቦታና ጊዜ ሳይወስናት ለዘመናት ተዓምር በመሥራት ላይ እንደምትገኝ ነው። መዳን የሚፈልጉትም የርሷን ብዙ ተዓምራት እያዩ በጌታችንና መድኃኒታችን ዓማካይነት ለመዳን መብቃታቸውን ነው። እመቤታችንን ከድተው የነበሩት በዙ ፕሮቴስታንቶች እንኳ ቀስ በቀስ ወደርሷ በመመለስ ላይ ይገኛሉ። የወደቁት ወገኖቻችንም ይህ እድል ይድረሳቸው።

ይህ አሜሪካን አገር በመታየት ላይ ያለው የመጽሐፍ ቅዱስ ፊልም ብዙ ተመልካቾችን ሊስብ መብቃቱ የሚያሳየን፡ የምዕራቡ ዓለም ሰው ወደ መንፈሳዊነት፡ ወደ ክርስትና ሕይወት ለመመለስ ከፍተኛ ፍላጎት እንዳለው ነው። አሁን የምንገኝበት ዘመን በክርስቶስ ላይ፡ በክርስትና ላይ ኃይለኛ ዘመቻ የሚካሄድበት ዘመን እንደመሆኑ፡ የደከመውንና የተበላሸውን ዓለም እንደገና ለማደስ ከማንኛውም ሃይማኖት ይልቅ የኢትዮጵያ ቤተክርስቲያን ተቀዳሚ ሚና የመጫወት እድል አላት። ክርስቶስ በድንጋይ ላይ ሠርቶ ያቆያት ቤት ናትና። የእመቤታችንን ተዓምራት፣ የርሷን አማላጅነት ለማየት፡ የኢትዮጵያ ተዋሕዶ ቤተክርስቲያን ተንከባክባ ያቆየቻቸውን ምስጢራት እና ሥርዓት ለመካፈል በጣም የጓጉ ሕዝቦች አሉ። ለተጨማሪ መረጃ እዚህ፣ እዚህ እና እዚህ እንመልከት።

“ኃይሉም ይበረታል፥ ነገር ግን በራሱ ኃይል አይደለም፤ በድንቅም ያጠፋል፥ ያደርግማል፥ ይከናወንማል፤ ኃያላንንና የቅዱሳንን ሕዝብ ያጠፋል። በመታለሉ ተንኰልን በእጁ ያከናውናል፤ በልቡም ይታበያል፥ ታምነውም የሚኖሩትን ብዙዎችን ያጠፋል፤ በአለቆቹም አለቃ ላይ ይቋቋማል፤ ያለ እጅም ይሰበራል። የተነገረውም የማታውና የጥዋቱ ራእይ እውነተኛ ነው፤ ነገር ግን ከብዙ ዘመን በኋላ ስለሚሆን ራእዩን ዝጋ።” [ትንቢተ ዳንኤል ምዕራፍ 8፥ 24-26]

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Lalibela Among The World’s 9 best places to spend Christmas

CNN has picked nine of the most Christmassy places around the world.

Lalibela, Ethiopia

Lalibela was conceived as a paradise on earth. And its 11 churches, cut from living volcanic rock, are literally anchored in the earth. In scale, number, and variety of form there’s no architecture or sculpture quite like them anywhere. They’re on the global tourist route now, though barely. To Ethiopian devotees they’ve been spiritual lodestars for eight centuries, and continue to be.

Declared a “new Jerusalem” after the real Jerusalem was captured by Muslim forces in 1187 and Ethiopian Christians could no longer go there, Lalibela remains a very religious place.

Ethiopian Christmas (January 7) mass at Bet Medhane Alem – the largest monolithic church in the world – is an occasion on which hundreds of priests in white turbans, adorned with red sashes and gold scarves chant, sway, and pray, surrounded by trenches flooded with some 50,000 worshipers, for whom this is a sacred place of pilgrimage.

See also: Five real life winter wonderlands

The other 8 destinations are:

• Lapland, Finland

• Strasbourg, France

• Quebec, Canada

• San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

• Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, New York

• Barcelona, Spain

• Manila, Philippines

• Queenstown, New Zealand

Source: CNN

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The Tenth Saint

 

by D. J. Niko

In her first novel, D. J. Niko establishes Sarah Weston as an appealing character who can easily be carried through the two additional novels already under contract. A fine addition to the growing genre of archeological thrillers, “The Tenth Saint” benefits from Niko’s persuasive handling of Sarah’s tenacious personality, the remote and exotic Ethiopian setting, conspiracy theories, and romance. Somewhat less persuasive is the time travel element, but that, too, remains at least intriguing.

Born to wealth and privilege, Cambridge University archeologist Sarah Weston has long shed any debutante sensibilities she may have had. As she leads her research team in a remote mountain area, the ancient kingdom of Aksum, Ethiopia, Sarah faces physical risk and hardship unflinchingly. Unexpectedly, she comes across a sealed tomb and unusual inscriptions.

Assisted by American anthropologist Daniel Madigan, she strives to translate the inscriptions and identify the tomb – which is somehow connected with the Coptic Christians and their saintly mystics. The clues take them to Addis Ababa, monasteries in Lalibela (a holy city), and to an underground library housing a codex that is the key to the mysteries of the past – and possibly to those of the future.

Ms. Niko’s narration alternates between the ongoing present that traces Sarah’s hazardous investigation and a remote past (4th century CE) in which an individual at first unidentified and suffering from amnesia is eventually revealed to be the tenth saint of Coptic tradition. He is a Caucasian westerner named Gabriel who has somehow turned up all but entombed under desert sands. Discovered and nursed to health by Bedouins, he becomes part of their community, mastering their medicinal lore. After five years, it becomes clear that he must move on to pursue his gradually revealed mission.

The messages left behind by Gabriel – and echoed by a 14th-century letter which is given to Sarah in Paris – involve poetic prophecies of an apocalypse brought on by human endeavors. There are references, in particular, not only to climate change but also to dangerous initiatives to control its consequences. While some would wish the apocalyptic vision revealed, others would wish that it remain hidden. Powerful vested interests, including those of Sarah’s father, are at work. What Sarah and Daniel discover brings them many more enemies than friends. . .

Continue reading…

Part One

Part Two

 

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The Miracles of St. George

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church venerates on this Twenty-third day of the month of Miyazia (Ethiopian calendar) the First day of May (Western calendar) the great among the Martyrs for Christ, Saint George.

Saint George was born to a Christian noble family in Lydia, Palestine during the late third century between about 275 AD and 285 A.D. His father, Gerontius, (or Anastasius) was a Roman Army Official from Cappadocia and his mother Theobaste was from Palestine. They were both Christians and from noble families of Anici; they raised their son with Christian beliefs. They decided to call him Georgius (Latin) or Geōrgios (Greek), meaning “worker of the land”. At the age of Fourteen St. George father died; a few years later, George’s mother also died.

After the death of both his parents St. George decided to go to Nicomedia, the Roman Imperial City of that time, and present himself to the Emperor Diocletian, to apply for a career as a soldier. The Emperor welcomed him with open arms, as he had known his father, Gerontius or Anastasius who was one of his finest soldiers. By his late 20s, the Saint was promoted to the rank of Tribunus and stationed as an Imperial guard of the Emperor at Nicomedia.

In the year AD 302 A.D. the Emperor Diocletian (influenced by Galerius) issued an edict that every Christian soldier in the army should be arrested and every other soldier should offer a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. But St. George objected and with the courage of his faith approached the Emperor. Diocletian was upset, not wanting to lose his best Tribune and the son of his best official. St. George loudly renounced the Emperor’s edict, and in front of his fellow soldiers and Tribunes he claimed himself to be a Christian and declared his worship of Jesus Christ. Diocletian attempted to convert the Saint, even offering gifts of land, money and slaves if he made a sacrifice to the Pagan gods. The Emperor made many offers, but St. George never accepted.

Recognizing the futility of his efforts, the Emperor Diocletian was left with no choice but to have him executed for his refusal. Before the execution St. George gave his wealth to the poor and prepared himself. After various torture sessions, including laceration on a wheel of swords in which he was resuscitated three times, St. George was executed by decapitation before Nicomedia’s city wall, on this date in the year 303 A.D. A witness of his suffering convinced the Empress Alexandra and Athanasius, a pagan priest, to become Christians as well, and so they joined George in Martyrdom. His body was returned to Lydia for burial, where Christians soon came to venerate his relics and ask for his prayers.

Source: Ninesaintsethiopianorthodoxmonastery

The Miracles of St. George—to Muslims!

St. George Greek Orthodox Church of Prescott, AZ

The saints love everyone, and help all. Even among Muslims, who don’t even have saints, the knowledge that the Christian saint, the Greatmartyr George of Lydda, helps those who ask him, brings thousands to ask his aid and intercession. And he responds swiftly to help them. How much more will he aid and protect those fellow disciples of Jesus Christ who call upon him in faith, asking for his powerful intercession before God, and granting the gifts of healing and more through his prayers!

The Monastery of St. George Koudounas

This historic Monastery of Saint George Koudounas, on Prince’s Island outside of Constantinople, was according to tradition built by the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phokas in 963 AD. A miraculous icon of St. George was brought here from the Monastery of Peace, which was founded by Emperor Justin II, in Athens at that time.

The Monastery was later sacked in the Fourth Crusade. Then in 1302 the pirate Giustiniani plundered all the buildings and monasteries of the island. Not wanting their holy icon stolen by the Franks, the monks hid the icon under the earth and place the holy altar above it. The miraculous icon however was lost for many years.

Later, St. George appeared to a shepherd in a dream and told him where to find his icon. When he approached the area, he heard the ringing of bells, and having unearthed the icon, found it decorated with bells. This is the source behind the epithet “Koudouna” which means “bells”.

The Monastery was later attached to Hagia Lavra in Kalavryta, and eventually to the Patriarch of Constantinople.

The current church was built in 1905.

The miracles of the Saint are many, not only towards Christians [Romans], who approached always with great reverence (in olden times there wasn’t a Christian family which had not visited Koudouna at least once a year), but towards everyone without exception, who approach his grace with faith. Thus there is a great mass of people who come from other faiths from throughout Turkey. The pilgrims number about 250,000 a year, the majority being muslim Turks.

The great iron gate of the Monastery, as we learn from its engraving in Greek and Turkish, was offered from the Muslim Rasoul Efenti, as a gift of gratitude towards the Saint for the healing of his wife.

On April 23rd, in other words the day when the Saint is honored and the Monastery celebrates, tens of thousands of pilgrims arrive, not only from Constantinople but from other cities, to venerate the Great Martyr and to seek help in their problems.

Roughly all of these pilgrims are from other faiths.

Many will return later to thank St. George, who heard their prayer and granted their desire, bringing the indispensable oil for his vigil lamp. You hear with passion how he healed this person’s son, how another became a mother after being barren for many years, how a third acquired a house, etc.

The Monastery also celebrates on the feast of Saint Thekla, and on this feast about 10,000 Muslims visit the Monastery seeking the prayer of Saint George.

Some come barefoot up the hill which takes about 30 minutes to climb to the Monastery, others come with offerings of oil, candles, and sugar so that their lives may be sweet. Some do not speak as they climb up to the Monastery until they kiss the icon of St. George. They follow the services with hands lifted in the air holding lit candles. They ask priests for antidron to bring home with them for a blessing. They have great faith and respect for Orthodoxy.

On September 24 I witnessed at 6:00 AM four modern looking Turkish girls approaching the Monastery. I asked them for what purpose they came. They responded: “Faith in the Saint brought us here. It doesn’t matter that we are Muslims. We prayed that he would help us. We have heard so much about the Monastery.”

Oral came from Smyrna in order to venerate the Saint with her vow. She brought three bottles of oil. When I asked why she, as a Muslim woman among the thousands, visit the Orthodox Monastery, she responded: “It is not forbidden by anyone for us to believe in Saint George. Religions have one common agreement, the one and only God. We could be hiding within us a christian.”

Of the many interviews I conducted that day with Muslims, the responses were basically the same.

A different answer was given by Antil however. He said: “Life in Turkey is difficult. The people need something to give them strength. They have turned to religion. They have been bored by everything so they seek help elsewhere. Why not Saint George?”

And one Turkish newspaper reported: “Saint George has distributed hope to the suffering.”

Testimonies of Monks From the Monastery

Hieromonk Ephraim of Xenophontos, who has lived for three years at “Koudouna”, is astonished with the faith of the thousands of Muslims who visit the monastery. “These people live with their heart”, he affirms, “Because faith is the sight and the strength of the heart, for this reason they can and they do experience our Saints.”

Monk Kallinikos of Xenophontos, who serves as a priest, relates: “We are astonished with that which occurs here. Many times we see people who find the Lord with the faith of the Roman centurion.” To our question if the Saint responds to the supplications of the thousands of pilgrims, he replied: “During my three years here, we ourselves are witnesses of miracles, such as the healing of paralytics, mutes, and the giving birth to children.”

Thus, St. George has become a place of worship for thousands of atheists, Christians, Jews, and especially Muslims, who with every means come to the island and bring their tamata (vows), and place them before the Saint, as they place their hopes in him. And the Saint shows that he does not judge and ‘imparts healing’ to every faithful person.”

Miracles

The Sick Turkish Woman

A Turkish woman from Levkochori had a serious health problem. She had heard a lot about St. George and wanted to come [venerate], but they did not let her come into the church because she was Turkish. But this didn’t deter her from remaining outside the church the whole night. In the morning they gave her holy oil from the vigil lamp of the Saint and she became well. After this, her husband gave many gifts to the church.

St. George Saves a Young Muslim Girl

A Muslim woman with her mother were taking a taxi for a long trip. The Muslims, as is well known, respect St. George very much.

On the road the taxi driver abandoned the proper course and began to show a threatening attitude towards the girl—the women apparently were praying—and at some point the taxi driver stopped the car and attempted to rape the girl. Immediately a police officer on horseback appeared, who ordered the taxi driver in a very powerful manner to the nearest police station. He went full of fear with the policeman, and the policeman on horseback went with him to the station, and issued a complaint for attempted rape. He signed the police book and left. When the taxi driver later came out of the interrogation, they looked in the book and said to him:

“There is no hope for you to escape! Do you know who brought you here?” Saint George! (Source.)

Note: These and similar miracles and sentiments do not at all vindicate the false religion of Islam, nor the terrible actions of some Turks against Christians, but the faith and love of some simple Muslims towards Christ and His Saints. Similarly, Christ found in the Roman Centurion greater faith than any in Israel (Matthew 8:10). And often, this presence of the Holy Spirit out of love not only acts to heal the bodies of non-Orthodox, but more crucially the souls, as many later embrace the light and are baptized Orthodox. May Christ grant us all repentance, that we all may be saved, and come to the knowledge of the Truth. St. George the Trophy-bearer, intercede for us all and help us! Amen.

More can be read here about Muslims at Koudouna.

Why Do Muslims Venerate Saint George?

According to Archimandrite Damianos, overseer of the Holy Sepulchre, there are three reasons:

• His green garments, which for Muslims represents “life” and for which reason they call him “the Green One,”
• Because many Muslims hear about and experience his miracles,
• Because as a Trophy-bearer with a cape and sword he inspires a certain amount of fear and respect.

It is because of the great respect for St. George that none of the Orthodox churches dedicated to him in Turkey have been demolished, as well as churches dedicated to the Theotokos who also is greatly respected by Muslims.

(For the full history of this Monastery with many pictures, visit this site.)

Ed’s note:

Well, no wonder why one of the richest men on planet Earth, a Saudi Arabian /Ethiopian business magnate, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi, is seriously involved in the Ethiopian sports club of St. George, for which he is currently building a soccer stadium in Addis Abeba.

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Ethiopia’s Underground Churches a Historic Wonder

Bete Giorgis Church

Ten centuries ago, King Lalibela had a vision: That his capital, Roha, in what is now northern Ethiopia, would equal Jerusalem in spiritual and architectural glory.

And thus 11 fantastic churches were hewn in the reddish-pink volcanic scoria rock, each unique in style.

Luckily Lalibela lived to be 96 years old so he saw his legacy completed. When he died in 1221, he was buried in Beta Mikael church, and Roha became known as Lalibela. And it still stands today, a landmark of sacred architecture, a World Heritage Site, and one of the wonders of Africa.

Continue reading…

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