የሰማዕታት ደም የቤተ ክርስቲያን ምርጥ ዘር ነው | በአረቡ አለም አንጋፋው ቤተክርስቲያን በግብጽ ተመረቀ

ከ ካይሮ በስተ ምሥራቅ በሚገኝ ቦታ ላይ በመካከለኛው ምስራቅ አንጋፋ የሆነውን ቤተክርስቲያን ሕንፃ ፓትሪያርክ ታዎድሮስ እና የግብጹ ፕሬዚደንት አብዱል–ፋታህ አሌ–ሲሲ መርቀው ከፈተዋል። ሕንፃው “የልደት ካቴድራል” የሚል ስም ተሰጥቶታል።

ቀደም ሲል፡ በቅዳሜው ዕለት፡ ሙስሊሞች ቤተከርስቲያኑን በቦምብ ለማፈንዳት ባቅራቢው በሚገኝ ትልቅ መስጊድ ጣራ ላይ ቦምብ አጥምደው ተገኝተው ነበር። ቦምቡን ያከሸፍ ዘንድ ወደ መስጊዱ ተልኮ የነበረው አንድ ፖሊስ በፍንዳታ ሳቢያ ሕይወቱን አጥቷል።

የግብጽ ፕሬዚዳንት በመክፈቻው ሥነ ሥርዓት ላይ “ይህ ታሪካዊና አስፈላጊ ጊዜ ነው፣

ነገር ግን፤ እኛ እዚህ በአንድ ላይ የተከልነውን የፍቅር ዛፍ መጠበቅ አለብን” በማለት ተናግረዋል።

የመሀመድ አርበኞች የክርስቶስ ተከታዮችን ክፉኛ በመምታት ላይ በሚገኙበት በዚህ ዘመን፡ በእስያ እና አፍሪቃ ክርስትና እንደ ምስማር በመጥበቅ ላይ ነው።

ይህ ድንቅ የገና ተዓምር ነው! በእውነት ለክርስቲያን ወገኖቻችን ትልቅ ድል ነው፤ እንግዲህ ዲያብሎስና አርበኞቹ አሁን እርር፡ ፍርክስክስ ይበሉ፤ ጊዚያቸው አጭር ነው።

እውነት ነው፤ የሰማዕታት ደም የቤተ ክርስቲያን [ምርጥ] ዘር ነው። እኛ ክርስቲያኖች እንገፋለን እንጂ አንወድቅም፤ አዎ! ክርስቲያን እንደ ምስማር ሲመቱት የሚጠብቅ ነው።

+++የባሪያይቱን መዋረድ አይቶ+++

+++ንጉሥ ወደደሽ ከሴት ለይቶ+++

+++ዝቅ ማለትሽ ከፍ አድርጐሻል+++

+++ድንግል ትሕትናሽ ፍቅር አስጊጦሻል+++

__________________

Christmas Eve Asteroid: Is This The Biblical Star of Bethlehem? Is it a Sign From Jesus?

AN ASTEROID measuring 150ft across will dash across the heavens tomorrow night, mirroring the biblical Star of Bethlehem which announced the birth of baby Jesus Christ. But could this coincidence be a sign from God himself?

The asteroid, dubbed Asteroid 2018 XN5, will swing past the planet on the same night Christians believe the star announced the imminent birth of Jesus 2,018 years ago. Scientists at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California expect the space rock to flyby on a so-called Earth Close Approach tomorrow. At its closest, the asteroid will come within 706, 464.14 miles (1.13million km) of Earth at approximately 6.17pm GMT on Monday evening, December 24. And though the asteroid will not be visible to the unaided eye from the planet, is it more than just a coincidence it passes on the night of Christmas Eve?

The fabled Star of Bethlehem, or Christmas Star, appears in the nativity story penned in the Gospel of Matthew.

The star is believed to have led the Three Wise Men from the East to Jerusalem where they paid tribute to baby Jesus in his manger.

Matthew Chapter 2 reads: “And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.

“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

“And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him.”

But what does this mean for Asteroid XN5? Is tomorrow’s flyby connected to the biblical story of Jesus Christ’s birth?

According to Dr Bob Thiel, an expert on biblical prophecy and scripture, the passage is more likely than not a coincidence.

But the biblical expert suggested there are other such celestial bodies described in the New Testament, which could be headed for Earth.

Dr Thiel told Express.co.uk: “In my view, Asteroid XN5 is simply a natural phenomenon.

“But it would not surprise me if some feel that the timing is supernatural or that it could be related to the prophesied destruction of Wormwood described in the Book of Revelation.

“Wormwood could be an asteroid, though a comet seems more likely.

“But because of the timing of Asteroid XN5, it cannot be Wormwood.

“That destruction cannot happen for at least seven years from now as it happens after the seventh seal of the scroll of Revelation 5 is opened, which is shown in Revelation 8:1.”

Dr Thiel added most biblical scholars, himself included, do not actually believe Jesus was born on the widely celebrate Christmas Day on December 25.

The Bible does not specify an exact date for Jesus’ birth, but some clues point towards the springtime.

The date of December 25 was adopted by early Christians from pagan traditions in a bid to ease the transition into the growing religion.

Dr Thiel said: “We would not think that the timing of Asteroid XN5 is a message from God related to Christmas.”

Source

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እግዚአብሔር አምላክ ዓለምን ከፈጠረበት ጥበቡ ይልቅ ዓለምን ያዳነበት ጥበቡ ይበልጣል

“በዓለ ልደት፣ በሰውና በእግዚአብሔር መካከል እርቅ የተፈጸመበት በዓላችን ነው፡፡ ለሞት ከመገዛት የዳንበት፤ ጨለማው ተወግዶልን የብርሃን ልጆች የኾንበት፤ የእባብ ራስ የተቀጠቀጠበት፤ ከምድር ወደ ሰማይ ያረግንበትና ከመላእክት ጋር ኾነን ለእግዚአብሔር ምስጋና ያቀረብንበት፤ ከነቢያት ኅብረት ጋር አንድ የኾንበት በዓል ነው፡፡“

የጌታችን ልደት እና የመላእክት አገልግሎት

ለአምስት ሺሕ አምስት መቶ ዘመን በዓለም ላይ ሠልጥኖ የነበረውን ጨለማ ያስወግድ ዘንድ እግዚአብሔር አምላክ ሰው ኾነ፡፡ ከቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም የተወለደው አማናዊው ብርሃን ፀሐየ ጽድቅ ክርስቶስ በሥጋ ተገለጠ፡፡ ‹‹ብርሃን ዘበአማን ዘያበርህ ለኵሉ ሰብእ ለእለ ይነብሩ ውስተ ዓለም፤ በጨለማ ውስጥ ለሚኖር ሕዝብ ታላቅ ብርሃን ወጣላቸው›› እንዳለ ቅዱስ ኤፍሬም በውዳሴው (ኢሳ. ፱፥፪)፡፡ ቀዳሚ ቃል ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ከእመቤታችን ከሥጋዋ ሥጋ፣ ከነፍሷ ነፍስ ነስቶ ሰው በኾነ ጊዜም ቅዱሳን መላእክት በቤተ ልሔም ተገኝተዋል፡፡ ይህንም ቅዱስ ሉቃስ ‹‹ወግብተ መጽኡ ብዙኃን ሐራ ሰማይ፤ የሰማይ መላእክት በድንገት መጡ›› በማለት ገልጾታል (ሉቃ. ፪፥፲፫)፡፡ በድንገት መባሉም አመጣጣቸው ግሩም በመኾኑ ነው፡፡ ቅዱሳን መላእክት ቀድሞ አመጣጣቸው ጻድቃንን ለመርዳት፣ ሰማዕታትን ከስለት ለመታደግ፣ የተቸገረውን ለማጽናት ነበር፡፡

ዛሬ ግን ስለ ሰው ፍቅር ከሰማይ የወረደውን፣ በጎል (በበረት) የተጣለውን፣ በጨርቅ የተጠቀለለውን አምላክ ከሰው ልጅ ጋር በአንድነት ለማመስገን መጡ፡፡ ‹‹ዮም አሐደ መርዔተ ኮኑ መላእክት ወሰብእ ከመ ይሰብሕዎ ለክርስቶስ ንጉሥ፤ ሰውና መላእክት፣ ንጉሥ ክርስቶስን ያመሰግኑ ዘንድ ተባበሩ›› እንዲል፡፡ መላእክት በተፈጥሯቸው የማይሞቱ (ሕያዋን) ሲኾኑ ሰው ደግሞ ሟች ነው፤ ሞት ይስማማዋል፡፡ በጌታችን ልደት ግን መላእክትና የሰው ልጆች በአንድ ማኅበር፣ በአንድ ቃል ‹‹ስብሐት ለእግዚአብሔር›› እያሉ እግዚአብሔርን አመስግነዋል፡፡ በአዳም ኀጢአት ምክንያት ፈርሶ የነበረው የመላእክትና የሰው ልጆች ማኅበር ከተቋረጠ ከብዙ ዘመን በኋላ በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ልደት እንደ ገና ተጀመረ፡፡ ይህ የምስጋና ኅብረትም ምድር እንደ ልብስ ተጠቅልላ ስታልፍ ወደ ፊት በምትመጣዋ በአዲሲቷ ዓለም፣ በአዲሱ ሰማይ፣ በአዲሱ ቤተ መቅደስ ይቀጥላል (ራእ. ፳፩፥፩–፬)፡፡

አንድነታችን እንደማያቋርጥና በሰማይም እንደሚቀጥል አረጋዊ መንፈሳዊ ሲገልጥም ‹‹እሉሂ ወእልክቱሂ በአሐዱ ኁባሬ አልቦ ማዕከሌነ ወማዕከሌሆሙ፤ በእኛ በደቂቀ አዳም እና በቅዱሳን መላእክት መካከል ልዩነት የለም›› ይላል፡፡ ይህም የኾነው በጌታችን መወለድ ምክንያት ነው፡፡ በጌታችን ልደት ምክንያት እኛም ዳግመኛ ተወለድን፡፡ የጌታችን ልደት የእኛም የክርስቲያኖች ዅሉ ልደት ነው፡፡ ከሦስቱ የቀጰዶቅያ አባቶች (The three Cappadocian Fathers) አንዱ፣ ታላቁ የቤተ ክርስቲያን አባት ሊቁ ቅዱስ ባስልዮስ ዘቂሣርያ ይህን ምሥጢር ሲገልጥ ‹‹The nativity of Christ is the birthday of the whole human race – የክርስቶስ ልደት የመላው ሰው የልደት ቀን ነው›› ሲል መስክሯል (Hyman of praise to the mother of God)፡፡

ሊቃውንት እንዳስተማሩን እግዚአብሔር አምላክ ዓለምን ከፈጠረበት ጥበቡ ይልቅ ዓለምን ያዳነበት ጥበቡ ይበልጣል፡፡ ጌታችን መድኀኒታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ የተወለደበት እና ዓለምን ያዳነበት ምሥጢር ከምሥጢራት ዅሉ በላይ ነው፡፡ ይህን ምሥጢር ከማድነቅ ሌላ ሊናገሩት አይቻልም፡፡ ሊቁ ቅዱስ ዮሐንስ አፈወርቅም በመገረም ይህን ጥበብ እንዲህ ሲል ይገልጸዋል፤ ‹‹ምን እላለሁ? ምንስ እናገራለሁ? ከዘመን አስቀድሞ የነበረው እርሱ ሕፃን ኾኗልና፡፡ እኔ ፈጽሜ አደንቃለሁ፡፡ ከሰማየ ሰማያት በላይ የሚኾን፣ በዘለዓለማዊ ዙፋን የሚኖር እርሱ በበረት ተጣለ፡፡ ከሥጋዌ አስቀድሞ አይዳሰስ የነበረ አንዱ እርሱ በምድራውያን እጅ ተዳሰሰ፡፡ ኀጢአትን የሚያስተሰርይ እርሱን በጨርቅ ጠቀለሉት፡፡ ይህን ወዷልና፤›› (ሃይማኖተ አበው ዘዮሐንስ አፈ ወርቅ፣ ፷፮፥፲፯)፡፡ ቅዱስ ዲዮስቆሮስም በቅዳሴው የእግዚአብሔርን ሰው የመኾን ምሥጢር እንዲህ በማለት ገልጾታል፤ ‹‹በጐለ እንስሳ ተወድየ አሞኀ ንግሡ ተወፈየ ወከመ ሕፃናት በከየ እንዘ ይስእል እምአጥባተ እሙ ሲሳየ፤ በእንስሳት በረት ተጨመረ፡፡ የንጉሡንም እጅ መንሻ ተቀበለ፡፡ ከእናቱ ጡቶች ምግብን እየለመነ እንደ ሕፃናት አለቀሰ፤›› (ቅዳሴ ዲዮስቆሮስ ቍ. ፲፯)፡፡

በዚህ ታላቅ በዓላችን የምናደንቀው ሌላው ምሥጢር እግዚአብሔር ወልድ በቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም ማኅፀን፣ በኅቱም ድንግልና ተፀንሶ በኅቱም ድንግልና የመወለዱ ረቂቅ ምሥጢር ነው፡፡ ሊቃውንተ ቤተ ክርስቲያን ይህን ድንቅ የሥጋዌ ምሥጢር ግሩም፣ ዕፁብ እያሉ ያደንቁታል፡፡ ሐዋርያውያን አበውን ተከትለው ከተነሡ የቤተ ክርስቲያን ጠባቆች (Apologists) መካከል አንዱ ቅዱስ ሄሬኔዎስም ፩ኛ የእመቤታችን ዘለዓለማዊ ድንግልና፣ ፪ኛ ድንግል ማርያም አማኑኤል ጌታን መውለዷ እና ፫ኛ የማይሞተው አምላክ መሞት በእግዚአብሔር የዝምታ ሸማ የተጠቀለሉ ሦስት ምሥጢሮች መኾናቸውን ይናገራል፡፡ ኢትዮጵያዊው ቄርሎስ የተባለው አባ ጊዮርጊስ ዘጋሥጫም በመጸሐፈ አርጋኖን ድርሰቱ ይህን ድንቅ የተዋሕዶ ምሥጢር በሚከተለው መልኩ ይገልጠዋል፤

‹‹ሦስቱን ደጆች ያልከፈተ የአብን ልጅ ጥበብ አደንቃለሁ፤ ያለ መለወጥ በኅቱም ድንግልና በመወለዱ፣ የመቃብሩን ደጅ ሳይከፍት በመነሣቱ፣ ደቀ መዝሙርቱ ተሰብስበው ወዳሉበት ቤት በተዘጋ ቤት በመግባቱ እና በሩን ሳይከፍት በመውጣቱ ስለነዚህም ሦስት ደጆች ልቤ አደነቀች፡፡ ከሁለቱ ይልቅ የመጀመሪያው እጅግ ያስደንቀኛል፡፡ ምክንያቱም ሁለቱን ከዚህ በፊት በመጽሐፍ ቅዱስ አውቃቸዋለሁ፡፡ የመቃብሩን ደጅ የሚመስለው ነገር አለ (ዮሐ. ፳፥፲፱)፡፡ ብልጣሶር የተባለ ዳንኤልን በአንበሶች ጕድጓድ ውስጥ በጣሉት ጊዜ ጕድጓዱን በታላቅ መዝጊያ ዘጉት፡፡ ዳንኤልም በረሃብ እንደ ተጨነቀ ልዑል እግዚአብሔር ባየ ጊዜ መልአኩን ወደ ነቢዩ ዕንባቆም ላከ (ዳን. ፮፥፲፮–፲፯)፡፡ በራሱም ፀጕር አንሥቶ ተሸክሞ ወስዶ ዳንኤል ወዳለበት ጕድጓድ አገባው፡፡ ዳንኤልና ዕንባቆም እንጀራውንና ንፍሮውን በልተው እግዚአብሔርን አመሰገኑ፡፡ ዕንባቆምም ደጅ ተዘግቶ ሳለ ወጣ፡፡ ስለ ቤቱ ደጅም የሚመስል ነገር አለ፡፡ የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ ከሰማይ ወርዶ ጴጥሮስን ከግዞት ቤት እንዳወጣው በሐዋርያት ሥራ ተጽፏል፡፡ ጴጥሮስንም ካወጣው በኋላ ደጁ ተቈልፎ ዘበኞች በዅሉ ወገን ይጠብቁ ነበር (ሐዋ. ፲፪፥፮)፡፡ ለእነዚህ ለሁለቱ ደጆች ለቅዱሳን የተገኘውን ምክንያት አገኘሁ፡፡ ስለ ድንግልናሽ ደጅ እጠናለሁ፤ ግን ምክንያት አላገኘሁም፡፡ በድንግልና የኖረች ሴትም አላየሁም፡፡ እንደዚህ ዓይነት ነገር ኾኖ አያውቅም፡፡ ኢኮነ እምቅድመ ዝ ወኢኮነ እምድኅረ ዝ – ከዚህ በፊት አልተደረገም፤ ከዚህ በኋላም አይደረግም፤›› (አርጋኖን ዘቀዳሚት)፡፡

በአጠቃላይ በዓለ ልደት፣ በሰውና በእግዚአብሔር መካከል እርቅ የተፈጸመበት በዓላችን ነው፡፡ ለሞት ከመገዛት የዳንበት፤ ጨለማው ተወግዶልን የብርሃን ልጆች የኾንበት፤ የእባብ ራስ የተቀጠቀጠበት፤ ከምድር ወደ ሰማይ ያረግንበትና ከመላእክት ጋር ኾነን ለእግዚአብሔር ምስጋና ያቀረብንበት፤ ከነቢያት ኅብረት ጋር አንድ የኾንበት በዓል ነው፡፡ ድንቅ የተዋሕዶ ምሥጢር የተፈጸመበትን ይህን ልዩ በዓል በመንፈሳዊ ሥርዓት ማክበር ይገባናል፡፡

ወስብሐት ለእግዚአብሔር ወለወላዲቱ ድንግል ወለመስቀሉ ክቡር፡፡

ምንጭ

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የሰይጣን መገለጫዎቹ እየተጋለጡ ነው | ጸረ-ክርስቶሱ ሙስሊም የናዝሬት ከንቲባ ገና በዓል በጌታችን ቅድስት ከተማ እንዳይከበር አዘዘ

ምክኒያቱ፦

ቅናት፣ ጥላቻና ክፋት ነው!

እንደ ከብቲማው ግን፦

ፕሬዚደንት ዶናልድ ትራምፕ እየሩሳሌምን የእስራኤል ዋና ከተማ መሆኗን በማወጃቸው።

የሚገርመው፤ የግብጽም ሆነ የሌሎች “አረብ” ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናት የፕሬዚደንት ትራምፕን ውሳኔ እንደማይቀበሉ ቀደም ሲል ገልጸው ነበር፤ ያውም የናዝሬትን ክርስቲያኖች ከክርስቶስ ከተማ እንዲወጡ፣ ያልወጡትም በሙስሊሞቹ እጅ ለመታረድ እንዲበቁ ከተደረጉ በኋላ። ግን ትዕቢታኛው ሙስሊም ከንቲባ ይህ ሁሉ አለበቃ ብሎት የጌታችንን የልደት በዓል እንዳይከበር ትዕዛዝ ለማስተላለፍ ቃጣ።

አይገርምም?! አይ ፈረዖናዊ ትዕቢት! አቤት ድፍረት! ይህ የዲያብሎስ ሥራ አያስቆጣንምን? ሁልጊዜ በዳዮቹም ተበዳዮቹም እነርሱ ናቸው። ይታየን፤ የመሀመድ የልደት ቀን አይከበረም ብለን አዲስ አበባ ላይ አዋጅ ብናወጣ፤ መቼም መሀመዳውያኑ ምን ዓይነት ቴአትር ይሠሩ እንደነበር አሁን እናውቀዋለን።

እንዲያውም ለሁሉም ሲባል መከልከል ያለበት የእስልምና አምልኮት ነበር። በቅርቡ መከልከሉም የማይቀር ነው፤ ከብዙ ደም መፋሰስ በኋላ።

ተመሳሳይ የሆነ ነገር በጣዖተኛው የምዕራቡ ዓለምም እየታየ ነው፦

አገራቱን እያመሷቸውት ያሉት የዱር አህዮቹ እስማኤላውያን ናቸው፣ ንጹሐኑን ሁሉ እየጨፈጨፉ ያሉት እነርሱ ናቸው፣ ሴቶቻቸውንና ህፃናቱን እየደፈሩ ያሉት ሙስሊሞች ናቸው፣ ባጠቃላይ ምዕራባውያኑን እያታለሉ፣ እየመነዘበሩ፣ እያሸበሩና እየገደሉ ያሉት ሙስሊሞች ናቸው፤ ታዲይ ይህ እንዲህ ሆኖ ሳለ ምዕራባውያኑ ቀደመው የሚወነጅሉትና የሚኮንኑት ክርስቲያኖችንና አፍሪቃውያኑን ነው፤ ምንም ያላደረጓቸውን። የተገለባበጠ ዓለም!

የቪዲዮው መጀመሪያው ክፍል ላይ፤ ኢትዮጵያውያን ጎብኚዎች ጌታችን ያደገባትን የናዝሬትን ከተማ ሲጎበኙ ይታያሉ፤ የእስራኤል ቴሊቪዥን ያዘጋጀው ነው። አስጎብኚዋ እህታችን ቤተ እስራኤላዊት መሰለችኝ፤ አንዳንድ ቦታ ላይ እህቶቻችን ሲያርሟት ይሰማል፤ እንደነርሱም ነጠላ አላደረገችም።

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ብሩክ ልደት – Merry Christmas

We don’t have Santa Claus here. We never saw him in the streets carrying big sacks and presenting Christmas gifts for our kids. We never saw the snow falling down on our roofs or on the ground. It doesn’t matter though. We have our own Christmas; a Christmas on which we share big smiles that you wouldn’t see the rest of the year afterward. Let’s just flip through few pages of the Good Book and see how we came to own our own Christmas.

የገና ጨዋታ == YegenaChewata (the game on Gena)

Carry the clubs and set out to the field for waiting you is the ancient game Gena! Here we have a very interesting story on how we came to have the game.

On the days of Herod, according to the books we were able to consult during the preparation of this writing, the Wise men who travelled in search of Jesus the Son were not just three. There were twelve tribes each with 100, 000 people. But, on their way they had to fight with ‘armenewoch’ destroying 9 of the tribes. Only three of them were able to survive the battle and keep their journey. Mantusimar, Bedidasphar and Melku were the names of the three leaders of the tribes. (in Western Christian tradition) their names are listed as Balthazar, Caspar, and Melchior; they were the three leaders of the tribes. The Bible knows them as the (3)Three Wise Men.

Now, as they cross his land Herod met the wise men. He asked them what they were in search of. Innocent in heart, they told him that they were looking for the king that had been prophesied to be born on those days. Herod asked of them again that they would tell him where the child was born on their way back home. They agreed. On the journey to Bethlehem Herod sent a spy named Roor. He was supposed to go with the wise men to Bethlehem and bring the news of Jesus’ whereabouts to Herod so that he could go there and kill the child for prophesy said that he was the king of Israel.

A star in the sky served the wise men as a guide. But after they met Herod the star was difficult to be seen. This happening vexed the wise men that they cast a lot amongst the leaders of the tribes. It fell on the tribe lead by Melku where the secret agent Roor was brought in to.

The stranger was found to be the cause for the disappearance of the guiding star. They cut off his head and played with it hitting and passing it amongst them.

Now, the angel of God appeared in the wise men’s dream and told them to change their route when they went back. They listened to the Angle of the Lord and went back to their land without telling anything about the Child’s whereabouts to Herod. He was so wrathful that he sent soldiers to the land of Bethlehem and slaughtered all the children under two years old.

As a memory for this happening a game called Yegena Chewata has been played by Ethiopians since Christianity was introduced. The game is played with a stick much like a golf club and a little wooden ball named after the spy – Roor.

YegenaChewata in the olden times of the nation grants a special democracy. It was the rare occasion where a slave and his owner play with equal status. As the saying goes,

‘በ ገና ጨዋታ

አይቆጡም ጌታ‘

’Be GenaChewata

AyekotumGeta’

The literal meaning of which is that on the game of Gena the servant’s owner no matter what happened would not get angry at anyone.

Source

Ethiopian Christ Icon Found 500 Years On

An 15th century Ethiopian icon of the infant Christ child sitting on his mother’s knee was discovered after it was cleaned by a British charity.

The central panel of the triptych had over the centuries become blackened with the sprinkling of perfume that the monks use as they worship.

The hugely important and stunning painted wood panel is now visible in its original coloured glory, showing a pale-faced Jesus with black curly hair and rosy cheeks.

His hand has three digits raised and two down as if blessing the person looking at him.

He has a halo and is wearing a gown and is perched on his mother’s knee and she too has a halo.

The monks at the Monastery of St Stephen on an island in Lake Hayq in the north of the African country believe the icon, known as The One Who Listens, to be miraculous.

The central panel of the triptych had over the centuries become blackened with the sprinkling of perfume that the monks use as they worship.

The hugely important and stunning painted wood panel is now visible in its original coloured glory, showing a pale-faced Jesus with black curly hair and rosy cheeks.

His hand has three digits raised and two down as if blessing the person looking at him.

He has a halo and is wearing a gown and is perched on his mother’s knee and she too has a halo.

The monks at the Monastery of St Stephen on an island in Lake Hayq in the north of the African country believe the icon, known as The One Who Listens, to be miraculous.

The artist had great skill, which is particularly obvious in the detail of Mary’s robes.

In the central panel are three other figures, two archangels, Michael and Gabriel, armed with swords ready to protect the saviour and the third, St Stephen, after whom the monastery is named.

The side panels have 12 figures upon them all looking inwards towards the central picture.

They include Abuna TeklelyesusMoa, who sponsored the work, various saints including St Peter and St Paul, and abbots from the monastery.

It is one of the most celebrated icons in Ethiopia and is now housed in a special museum with other ancient relics.

The British charity The Ethiopian Heritage Fund sent experts to preserve the painting that had previously been covered with varnish.

Blair Priday from the charity, said: “This icon is one of the most celebrated in Ethiopia and because of its veneration, over time, the central panel had become blackened and was later painted over with thick layers of varnish as protection.

“The faces of the mother and child were barely visible.

“The varnish was carefully removed so it regained the original luminosity.

“The icon’s repair was undertaken by Laurie Morocco, a foremost icon restore, who camped in the monastery’s grounds while he did the work.

“In the mid 15th century a new technique of painting on wood with an undercoating of Gesso was introduced resulting in a much more luminous effect.

“When the varnish was removed by Laurie, one of the glories of Ethiopian art was visible once more.

“St Stephen’s was a very important monastery and seat of learning, and although it was raided and lost some of its relics, many remained including a beautiful cross, manuscripts and this icon.

“This ancient seat of learning now has a museum where these incredible treasures are displayed in a small museum within the monastery

“We could not have carried out the work without the support of the Bureau of Culture and the Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Church and our expert advisor Jacques Mercier.”

Christianity was adopted by the Ethiopians in the fourth century when King Ezra, ruler of the Axumite kingdom, was converted.

The country boasts one of the world’s oldest illustrated Christian manuscripts – the Garima Gospels – which the charity has also conserved.

The charity has also been working on the rock churches of Tigray in the highlands of north east Ethiopia.

These are built high in the sandstone cliffs that dominate the landscape.

The churches are carved out of the rock and contain many beautiful paintings of Christian saints many of which are indigenous to Ethiopia.

In a church in Bahera, the saints on the church pillars had been splashed with lime wash which has now been cleaned off.

The frescos that cover the walls of Debta Tsion are currently being conserved.

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Christmas Means Complete Serenity & Warmth

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