የጰራቅሊጦስ ድንቅ ተዓምር፤ ሰክሬአለሁ፤ ቃላት የለኝም!

😇 አዎ! ጰራቅሊጦስ ሐዋርያትን የወይን ጠጅ ሳይጠጡ እንዳሰከራቸውና በሀገሩ ሁሉ እንዳናገራቸው እኔም በእነዚህ ቀናት የሰከርኩ መስሎ ነው የተሰማኝ፤ ክርስቶስንና ቤተሰቦቹን በተመለከት ከብዙዎች ጋር በመነጋገር ላይ ነኝ፤ ሰው ሁሉ በበጎ እየቀረበኝ ነው። በእውነት ድንቅ ነው! በእውነት ጰራቅሊጦስ የሃይማኖትን አልጫነት የሚያጣፍጥ የልቡና ጨው ነው። ጰራቅሊጦስ በጭለማ ላሉ የሚያበራ የይቅርታ ብርሃን ነው።

• ✞ ወደ ጸሎት ቤት ስገባ
• ✞ ጸሎት ቤት ውስጥ

😇 ቅድስት እናታችንና ልጇ እግዚአብሔር ወልድ + የማርያም መቀነት + ክቡር መስቀል

✞ ከጸሎት ቤት ስወጣ፤ ማረፊያ ወንበሩ ላይ፤ ይህን አየሁት። የሕፃን ልጅ መጫወቻ ነው፤

እንጠንቀቅ! ቀስተ ደመና የሰዶማውያን አይደለም! “ኬኛ!” ብለው ሊነጥቁን ግን ይሻሉ!

• ✞ ከጸሎት ቤት ልክ ስወጣ ሜዳው ላይ ሰባት እርግቦችን አገኘሁ
• ✞ ማታ ላይ ቤቴ እንደገባሁ መብራቱ ይህን ሠርቶ ነበር።
• ✞ ጠዋት ላይ ደግሞ የእመቤታችን ሥዕል የማርያም መቀነትን ቤቴ ግርግዳ ላይ አንጸባርቆ ይታይ ነበር፤ ድንቅ ነው!

❖❖❖ እምዕርገት እስከ ጰራቅሊጦስ መዝሙር “በሰንበት ዐርገ ሐመረ” ❖❖❖

(በ፫/ፈ) በሰንበት ዐርገ ሐመረ ገሠፀ ባሕረ፤ ወገሠፆሙ ለነፋሳት፤ ወይቤሎሙ ኢትናፍቁ ወኢይምጻእ ኑፋቄ ውስተ ልብክሙ፤ በከመ ፈነወኒ አቡየ አነኒ እፌንወክሙ ውስተ ቤተ አቡየ ብዙኅ ማኅደር ቦቱ፤ ካዕበ እመጽእ ወእነሥአክሙ፤ ከመ ተሀልዉ ምስሌየ በመንግሥተ አቡየ ዘበሰማያት።

❖ አመላለሰ

ከመ ተሀልዉ ምስሌየ በመንግሥተ አቡየ፤

በመንግሥተ አቡየ ዘበሰማያት።

❖ ዓራራት

ትንሣኤሁ ገብረ በሰንበት ወሰበረ ኆኃተ ብርት እግዚአ ለሰንበት አመ ሣልስት ዕለት ምዖ ለሞት ወዓርገ ውስተ ሰማያት።

❖ ሰላም

ወልድ እኁየ ውእቱ ፍቁርየ ውእቱ ተንሥአ እሙታን ገብረ ሰላመ ለኵሉ ዓለም ዓርገ በስብሐት ውስተ ሰማያት ሎቱ ስብሐት ለዘቀደሳ ለሰንበት።

❖ ዘቅዳሴ ምንባባት

• ሮሜ ፲፥፩ ፡ ፍ፤
• ፩ጴጥ ፫፥፲፭ ፡ ፍ፤
• ግብ ፩፥፩ ፡ ፍ፤

❖ ዘቅዳሴ ምስባክ፦

• ዐርገ እግዚአብሔር በይባቤ፤
• ወእግዚእነ በቃለ ቀርን፤
• ዘምሩ ለአምላክነ ዘምሩ። መዝ ፵፮፥፭

❖ ወንጌል፦ ሉቃ ፳፬፥፵፭ ፡ፍ

ቅዳሴ ዘዲዮስቆሮስ (እምቅድመ ዓለም)

❖❖❖ ፯/7 እርግቦች ❖❖❖

• ሐዋሪያት ተባበሩ
• በአዲስ ቋንቋ እየተናገሩ
• ቃሉን አስተማሩ

❖ ፯ / ሰባት ፍጹም ቁጥር ነው

በቅዱስ መጽሐፍ አቆጣጠር ሰባት (፯) ፍጹምና ሙሉ ቁጥር በመሆኑ ከአንድ እስከ ሰባት ( ፩–፯ ) የተዘረዘሩት ምስጢራተ ቤተክርስቲያንም እንከንና ጉድለት የሌለባቸው ፍጹማን ናቸው።
ሰባት ቁጥር በመጽሐፍ ቅዱስ ሥርዓት ፍጹም ለመሆን ለማወቅ ከዚህ የሚከተሉትን ማስረጃዎች እንመልከት፦

❖ ሰባት ቁጥር ምስጢራት በቤተክርስቲያን፤

በመጽሐፍ ቅዱስና በስርዓተ ቤተ-ክርስቲያን አስተምህሮ ስባት ቁጥር ብዙ ምሳሌ እንዳለው ይታወቃል፡፡ በዕብራዊያን ዘንድም ሰባት ፍጹም ቁጥር ነው፡፡ ምሳሌ ፳፬፡፲፮ እግዚአብሔር ከሰኞ
እስከ እሑድ ያሉትን ቀናት በሰባት ቁጥሮች ወስኗል ሕዝበ እስራኤል ከግብጽ ባርነት ወጥተው በሲና በርሀ ሲጓዙ ይመሩት የነበሩት በ፯/7 ደመና እንደነበረ ይታወቃል፡፡ ዘዳ ፲፫፡፳፩

ከዚህ ቀጥለንም ለቤተ-ክርስቲያን አስተምህሮ የ፯ ቁጥር ምስጢራትን ምሉዕነትን የሚያስረዱ ልዩ ልዩ ማስረጃዎችን በዝርዝር እንመለከታለን፦

❖ ሀ/ ሰባቱ አባቶች

፩. ሰማያዊ አባታችን እግዚአብሔር
፪. የነፍስ አባት
፫. ወላጅ አባት
፬. የክርስትና አባት
፭. የጡት አባት
፮. የቆብ አባት
፯. የቀለም አባት

❖ ለ/ ሰባቱ ዲያቆናት

፩. ቅዱስ እስጢፋኖስ
፪. ቅዱስ ፊልጶስ
፫. ቅዱስ ጵሮክሮስ
፬. ቅዱስ ጢሞና
፭. ቅዱስ ኒቃሮና
፮. ቅዱስ ጳርሜና
፯. ቅዱስ ኒቆላዎስ

❖ ሐ/ ሰባት የጌታ ቃላት /እኔ ነኝ

፩. የሕይወት እንጅራ እኔ ነኝ
፪. የዓለም ብርሃን እኔ ነኝ
፫. እኔ የበጎች በር ነኝ
፬. መልካም እረኛ እኔ ነኝ
፭. ትነሣዔና ሕይወት እኔ ነኝ
፮. እኔ መንገድና ሕይወት ነኝ
፯. እውነተኛ የወይን ግንድ እኔ ነኝ

❖ መ/ ሰባቱ ሰማያት

፩. ጽርሐ አርያም
፪. መንበረ መንግሥት
፫. ሰማይ ውዱድ
፬. ኢየሩሳሌም ሰማያዊት
፭. ኢዮር
፮. ራማ
፯. ኤረር

❖ ሠ/ ሰባቱ ሊቃነ መላእክት

፩. ቅዱስ ሚካኤል
፪. ቅዱስ ገብርኤል
፫. ቅዱስ ሩፋኤል
፬. ቅዱስ ራጉኤል
፭. ቅዱስ ዑራኤል
፮. ቅዱስ ፋኑኤል
፯. ቅዱስ ሳቁኤል

❖ ረ/ ሰባቱ አብያተ ክርስቲያናት

፩. የኤፌሶን ቤተ ክርስቲያን
፪. የሰርምኔስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን
፫. የጴርጋሞን ቤተ ክርስቲያን
፬. የትያጥሮስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን
፭. የሰርዴስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን
፮. የፊልድልፍያ ቤተ ክርስቲያን
፯. የሎዶቅያ ቤተ ክርስቲያን

❖ ሰ/ ሰባቱ ተዐምራት

ጌታ እኛን ለማዳን በመስቀል ላይ በተሰቀለ ጊዜ የተፈጸሙ ተዐምራት

፩. ፀሐይ ጨልሟል
፪. ጨረቃ ደም ሆነ
፫. ከዋክብት ረገፉ
፬. ዐለቶች ተሠነጠቁ
፭. መቃብራት ተከፈቱ
፮. ሙታን ተነሡ
፯. የቤተ መቅደስም መጋረጃ

❖ ሸ/ ሰባቱ የመስቀሉ ቃላት

፩. አምላኬ አምላኬ ለምን ተውከኝ
፪. አባት ሆይ የሚያደርጉትን አያውቁምና ይቅር በላቸው
፫. ዛሬ ከእኔ ጋራ በገነት ትሆናለህ
፬. እነሆ ልጅሸ እናትህ እነሆት
፭. ተጠማሁ
፮. ተፈጸመ
፯. አባት ሆይ ነፍሴን በእጅህ አደራ እስጥሃለሁ

❖ ቀ/ ሰባቱ ምሥጢራተ ቤተ ክርስቲያን

፩. ምሥጢረ ጥምቀት
፪. ምሥጢረ ሜሮን
፫. ምሥጢረ ቁርባን
፬. ምሥጢረ ክህነት
፭. ምሥጢረ ተክሊል
፮. ምሥጢረ ንስሐ
፯. ምሥጢረ ቀንዲል

❖ በ/ ሰባቱ ዐበይት አጽዋማት

፩. ዐቢይ ጾም
፪. የሐዋርያት ጾም
፫. የፍልሰታ ጾም
፬. ጾመ ነቢያት
፭. ጾመ ገሀድ
፮. ጾመ ነነዌ
፯. ጾመ ድኅነት

❖ ተ/ ሰባቱ በእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ የተጠሉ ነገሮች

፩. ትዕቢተኛ ዓይን ምሳ ፲፮፥፮፡፲፱
፪. ሃሰተኛ ምላስ
፫. ንፁህን ደም የምታፈስ እጅ
፬. ክፉ ሃሳብን የምታፈልቅ ልብ
፭. ለክፋት የምትፈጥን እጅ
፮. የሐሰት ምስክርነት
፯. በወንድሞች መካከል ጠብን የምታፈራ ምላስ

❖ ቸ/ ሰባቱ ፀሎት ጊዜያት

፩. ነግህ የጠዋት ጸሎት
፪. ሠለስት (የ፫ ሰዓት ጸሎት)
፫. ቀትር (የ፮ ሰዓት ጸሎት)
፬. ተሰአቱ (የ፱ ሰዓት ጸሎት)
፭. ሰርክ (የ፲፩ ሰዓት ጸሎት)
፮. ነዋም (የመኝታ ጸሎት)
፯. መንፈቀ ሌሊት (የሌሊት ጸሎት)

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ጰ ፦ ብሂል ጰራቅሊጦስ መንፈሰ ጽድቅ ፥ ጰራቅሊጦስ እውነተኛ መንፈስ ቅዱስ ነው

❖❖❖ እንኳን ለበዓለ ጰራቅሊጦስ አደረሰን!❖❖❖

ጰራቅሊጦስ› የሚለው ቃል ከሦስቱ አካላት አንዱ የኾነው የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ ቅዱስ መጠሪያ ስም ሲኾን፣ ትርጕሙም በጽርዕ (ግሪክ) ቋንቋ፦

❖ ናዛዚ (የሚናዝዝ)

❖ መጽንዒ (የሚያጸና)

❖ መስተፍሥሒ (የሚያስደስት) ማለት ነው።

መንፈስ ቅዱስ ለሐዋርያት በወረደበት ዕለት በቤተ ክርስቲያን የሚከበረው ይህ በዓል ‹በዓለ ጰራቅሊጦስ› ወይም ‹በዓለ ጰንጠቆስጤ› በመባል ይታወቃል። ‹ጰንጠቆስጤ› በግሪክ ቋንቋ በዓለ ኀምሳ፣ የፋሲካ ኀምሳኛ ዕለት፣ በዓለ ሠዊት (የእሸት፣ የመከር በዓል) ማለት ነው (ኪዳነ ወልድ ክፍሌ፣ ገጽ ፱፻፮-፱፻፯)።

ጌታችን አምላካችንና መድኀኒታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ካረገ በኋላ እመቤታችን ቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም፣ ዐሥራ ሁለቱ ደቀ መዛሙርት፣ ሰባ ሁለቱ አርድእት፣ አምስት መቶው ባልንጀሮች እና ሠላሳ ስድስቱ ቅዱሳት አንስት በኢየሩሳሌም ከተማ በአንድነት ኾነው በጸሎት ይተጉ ነበር።

ጌታችን በሚያርግበት ጊዜ “እነሆ አባቴ የሰጠውን ተስፋ እኔ እልክላችኋለሁ፤ እናንተ ግን ከላይ ኃይል እስክትለብሱ ድረስ በኢየሩሳሌም ከተማ ቆዩ፤” ሲል ለሐዋርያቱ በሰጣቸው የተስፋ ቃል መሠረት በዐረገ በዐሥረኛው ቀን መንፈስ ቅዱስን ልኮላቸዋል (ሉቃ. ፳፬፥፵፱)። ዅሉም በአንድ ቦታ ተሰባስበው ሳሉ በበዓለ ጰራቅሊጦስ ማለዳ እንደ ዐውሎ ነፋስ ያለ ድምፅ ድንገት ከሰማይ ወርዶ የነበሩበትን ቤት ሞላው። ከዚያም የተከፋፈሉ የእሳት ላንቃዎች በዅሉም ላይ አረፉባቸው። በዚህ ጊዜ ዅላቸውም መንፈስ ቅዱስ ባደላቸው መጠን በየአገሩ ቋንቋዎች ዅሉ ተናገሩ (ሐዋ.፪፥፩-፬)።

ጌታችን መንፈስ ቅዱስን ለሐዋርያት የላከበት ይህ ዐቢይ በዓል ዐሥራቱን፣ በኵራቱን፣ ቀዳምያቱን ካህናተ ኦሪት ስለሚቀበሉበት በብሉይ ኪዳን በዓለ ሠዊት ተብሎ ይከበር ነበር። በሐዲስ ኪዳን ደግሞ ቅዱሳን ሐዋርያት መንፈስ ቅዱስን ስለ ተቀበሉበት በበዓለ ሠዊት ምትክ በዓለ ጰራቅሊጦስ ገብቶበታል። የበዓለ ትንሣኤ መነሻው የአይሁድ የፋሲካ በዓል ማለትም በግብጽ፣ እስራኤል ከሞት የዳኑበት የመታሰቢያ በዓል እንደ ኾነው ዅሉ፣ ለበዓለ ጰራቅሊጦስም መነሻው ይኸው የአይሁድ የፋሲካ በዓል ነው። የአይሁድ ፋሲካ ከተከበረ ከሰባት ሳምንታት በኋላ በኀምሳኛው ቀን የሩቆቹ ከከተሙበት ወጥተው፣ የቅርቦቹ ከተሰባሰቡበት ተገናኝተው ለበዓሉ ፍጻሜ የሚኾነውን በዓለ ሠዊት (የእሸት በዓል) ያከብሩ ነበር።

ሐዋርያት በጽርሐ ጽዮን ተሰባስበው ሳሉ መንፈስ ቅዱስ በእሳት አምሳል ወርዶ ሰማያዊ ሀብትን፣ ዕውቀትና ጸጋን አድሏቸዋል። መንፈስ ቅዱስ ከወረደላቸው በኋላም በአእምሮ ጐልምሰዋል፤ ጥቡዓን (ቈራጦች)፣ ጽኑዓን ኾነዋል፤ ለስብከተ ወንጌል የሚፋጠኑበትንና ለሰማዕትነት የሚዘጋጁበትን ልቡና ታድለዋል።

ቅድስት በኾነች በጽርሐ ጽዮን በሐዋርያት ላይ የወረደው የእግዚአብሔር አብ ጸጋ፣ የእግዚአብሔር ወልድ ፍቅር፣ የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ ቅዱስ አንድነት በዅላችን ላይ ይደር፤ እጽፍ ድርብም ይኹን።

______________________________

መታየት ያለበት | ከኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ የመጣልንን መንፈስ ቅዱስ ያገኘንበት የመጀመሪያው ቤተክርስቲያን ይህ ነው

ይህ የሚመስጥና የሚያስለቅስ ታሪክ ነው።

ክርስትና እዚህ ቦታ ላይ ነው የተወለደው! በ ጰራቅሊጦስ ወይም ጰንጠቆስጤ ዕለት ከኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ የመጣልንን መንፈስ ቅዱስ ያገኘነው እዚህ ቦታ ላይ ነው።

በዓለም በጣም አስፈላጊ/ ተፈላጊ ከሆኑት ቦታዎች መካከል አንዱ ይህ ነው።

በዓለም የመጀመሪያው የቤ/ ክርስቲያን ህንፃ በጽዮን ተራራ ድብቅ በሆነ ቦታ መሬት ሥር ውስጥ ተቀብሮ ነው የሚገኘው።

በእየሩሳሌም የሚገኘው ይህ እጅግ በጣም ታሪካዊ ቦታ በግሪክ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤ/ክርስቲያን ቁጥጥር ሥር ነው።

በዚህ ቅዱስ ቦታ፡ ልክ በኢየሱስ ዘመን እንደነበረው አሁንም በተከታዮቹ ላይ በደል ሲደርስባቸው

ማየቱ በጣም የሚያስገርም ነገር ነው።

ከ ሮማውያን ወታደሮች ለማምለጥ መሬት ውስጥ ተደብቀው ነበር ጸሎት ሲያደርጉ የነበረው። (ልክ እንደ ላሊበላ ዓብያተክርስቲያናት)

ቅ/ ያዕቆብ የመጀመሪያዋ የዚህች ቤ/ክርስቲያን ሐዋርያ ነበር።

እመቤታችን ቅድስት ድንግል ማርያም ወደዚህ ቤተክርስቲያን ትመጣ ነበር።

ኢየሱስ የ ያዕቆብ ወንድም ነበር። ያዕቆብ የኢየሱስን ትንሣኤ ካየ በኋላ አመነ፡ ከዚያም የመጀመሪያዋ ቤተክርስቲያን ሐዋርያ ለመሆን በቃ።

የመጀማሪያዎቹ ክርስቲያኖች በ44 ዓ.ም አካባቢ ለሮማውያኑ ህገ ወጥ ነበሩ፡ ስለዚህ ያሳድዷቸውና ይበድሏቸው ነበር። ለዚህም ነበር በመሬት ውስጥ ተደብቆ እንዲሠራ የተደረገው።

በዚህም ዘመን ቢሆን ቤተክርስቲያኑ ታሥሯል፤ ልክ በኢየሩሳሌም እንዳለው፡ ወይም በአገራችንም እንዳሉት ገዳማትና ቅዱሳን ቦታዎቻችን፡ ይህም ቤተክርስቲያን አሁንም ድረስ ፈተናዎች ይበዙበታል። የቤተክርስቲያኑን በር ለመክፈት እንኳን ልዩ ፈቃድ ያስፈልጋል፤ ለጎብኚዎች ዝግ ነው፣ ማደስና መጠገንም አይፈቀድም። እንዲያውም ጽንፈኛ የሃይማኖት አክራሪዎች ወደዚያ እየሄዱ፡ በመስክቶት በኩል፡ ውስጥ ድረስ ቆሻሻ ይደፉበታል። ፀረ–ክርስቶሱ ነው ኢየሩሳሌምንም የሚቆጣጠራትና።

ልክ በኢየሱስ ዘመን እንደነበረው አሁንም በተከታዮቹ ላይ በደል ሲደርስባቸው ማየቱ በጣም የሚገርም ነገር ነው።

በእውነትም፡ ይህ የሚያነቃቃና የሚመስጥ ድንቅ ቦታ ነው።

ይህ የመጀመሪያው ቤ/ ክርስቲያን የመጨረሻው ቤ/ ክርስቲያን ይሆንን?

የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ በሰው ላይ አድሮ ጥበብን ይገልጣል

‹ጰራቅሊጦስ› የሚለው ቃል ከሦስቱ አካላት አንዱ የኾነው የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ ቅዱስ መጠሪያ ስም ሲኾን፣ ትርጕሙም በጽርዕ (ግሪክ) ቋንቋ፦

• ናዛዚ (የሚናዝዝ)
• መጽንዒ (የሚያጸና)
• መስተፍሥሒ (የሚያስደስት) ማለት ነው፡፡

መንፈስ ቅዱስ ለሐዋርያት በወረደበት ዕለት በቤተ ክርስቲያን የሚከበረው ይህ በዓል ‹በዓለ ጰራቅሊጦስ› ወይም ‹በዓለ ጰንጠቆስጤ› በመባል ይታወቃል፡፡

በቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ ትምህርት የተማረኩ አሕዛብም ‹‹ምን እናድርግ?›› ብለው በጠየቁት ጊዜ ከክፋታቸው ተመልሰው፣ ንስሐ ገብተው በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ስም እንዲጠመቁ ነገሯቸዋል፡፡ በዚያችም ሰዓት ሦስት ሺህ ሕዝብ በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ አምኖ ተጠምቋል (ሐዋ.፪፥፩–፵፩)፡፡

አዳምና ልጆቹን ከዲያብሎስ ተገዢነት እና ከሲኦል ባርነት ያወጣው ቸሩ መድኃኔ ዓለም የወደቁትን ወገኖቻችን ያንሳቸው፣ ጰራቅሊጦስንም ያውርድላቸው።

እንኳን አደረሰን!

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Happy PENTECOST: Divine Ethiopia

 

Its landscapes are biblical and its rituals haven’t changed for centuries.

There are moments when Ethiopia seems to belong to an atlas of the imagination – part legend, part fairy-tale, part Old Testament book, part pulling your leg.

In the northern highlands priests with white robes and shepherds’ crooks appear to have stepped out of a Biblical painting. In the southern river valleys bare-breasted tribeswomen, who scar their torsos for erotic effect and insert plates the size of table mats in their lower lips, seemed to have emerged from a National Geographic magazine circa 1930. Ethiopia.

“resembles no other country in Africa”, wrote the great explorer Wilfred Thesiger, “or anywhere else.”

Its isolation is legendary. Not only was Ethiopia never colonised, but it also inflicted the greatest defeat on a European army in the history of the continent – at the Battle of Adwa in 1896. It was only the Italians, of course, but it still counts. Ethiopians were “forgetful of the world”, Edward Gibbon wrote, “by whom they were forgotten”. For long medieval centuries Europeans believed that Ethiopia was home to Prester John, legendary Christian ruler, descendant of one of the three Magi, keeper of the Fountain of Youth, protector of the Holy Grail, and all-round good guy who would one day rescue the Holy Land from the Muslims.

There are always two histories in Ethiopia: the history of historians, sometimes a trifle vague, often tentative; and the history of Ethiopians, a people’s history, confident, detailed, splendid, often fantastical. The two rarely coincide. Historians are still wringing their hands about the mysteries of Aksum in Tigray in the north, with its colossal stelae, its underground tombs, its ruined palaces and its possible connections to the Queen of Sheba. For a thousand years, until about AD 700, it was a dominant power in the region, “the last of the great civilisations of antiquity”, according to Neville Chittick , the archaeologist, “to be revealed to modern knowledge”.

Fortunately, the Ethiopians are on hand to fill in most of the historical blanks. The city was founded, they say, by the great-grandson of Noah. For 400 years it was ruled by a serpent who enjoyed a diet of milk and virgins. Historians may be divided about the Queen of Sheba but Ethiopians know she set off from here to Jerusalem with 797 camels and lot of rather racy lingerie to seduce King Solomon. Historians carelessly lost track of the Ten Commandments not long after Moses came down from Mount Sinai. Ethiopians have the originals under lock and key in a chapel in Aksum, guarded by those mute monks, assigned to kill all intruders.

Ethiopia may not be big on stylish boutiques hotels, littered with objets d’art and architectural magazines, but it is a delightfully old-fashioned place, with ravishing landscapes, sleepy villages and friendly, unhurried people.

Continue reading…

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Elder Paisios – The Holy War

“The spirit of lukewarmness reigns. There’s no manliness at all! We’ve been spoiled for good! How does God still tolerate us? Today’s generation is the generation of indifference. There are no warriors The majority are fit only for parades.”

 

 

“There’s a war on today, a holy war…”

 

“If the Metropolitans are silent, then who will speak?”

 

That unsettles me is the reigning mood of tranquility. Something is in the works. We still haven’t understood properly either what’s going on, or the fact that we will die. I don’t know what will come of this. The situation is very complicated. The fate of the world depends on just a few people, but God is still putting on the brakes. We have to pray a lot, and with pain in our hearts, so that God will intervene: our times are very hard to understand. A lot of ash, rubbish, and indifference has accumulated, and a strong wind will be needed to blow it all away.

 

It’s frightening! The Tower of Babel is upon us! Divine intervention is needed: Great upheavals are happening. What a bedlam! The minds of whole nations are in confusion. But in spite of the ferment I feel a certain consolation inside, a certain confidence. God still dwells in a part of the Christians. God’s people, people of prayer, still remain, and God in his all-goodness still tolerates us and will put everything in order. Don’t be afraid! We’ve gone through many storms, and still haven’t perished. So should we be afraid of the storm which is now gathering? We’ll not perish this time either”

 

God loves us. In Man there’s a hidden power which comes out when necessary. The difficult years will be few. Just a lot of thunder.

 

Don’t get upset in the least, for God is above everything. He rules everyone and will bring all to the defendant’s bench to answer for what they’ve done, according to which each will receive his just desserts from God. Those who’ve in some way helped the cause of good will be rewarded, and those who do evil will be punished. God will put everyone in their place in the end, but each of us will answer for what they did in these difficult years, both in prayer and in deeds.

 

Today they’re trying to destroy faith, and for the edifice of faith to fall they quietly pull out one stone, then another. But we’re all responsible for the destruction; not just those who destroy but we who see how faith is being undermined and make no effort to strengthen it. As a result the seducers are emboldened to create even greater difficulties for us, and their rage against the Church and the monastic life increases.

 

Today’s situation can be resisted only spiritually, not by worldly means. The storm will continue to rage a bit, will throw all the flotsam, everything unnecessary, onto the shore, and then the situation will become clearer. Some will receive their reward, while others will have to pay their debts.

 

Today there are many who strive to corrupt everything: the family, the youth, the Church. In our day it’s a true witness to speak up for one’s people, for the state is waging war against divine law. It’s laws are directed against the Law of God.

 

But we are responsible for not letting the enemies of the Church corrupt everything. Though I’ve heard even priests say: “Don’t get involved in that. It’s none of your business!” If they had reached such a non-striving condition through prayer I would kiss their feet. But no! They’re indifferent because they want to please everyone and live in comfort.

 

Indifference is unacceptable even for laymen, and all the more so for the clergy. An honest, spiritual man doesn’t do anything with indifference. “Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully”, says the Prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 48:10). There’s a war on today, a holy war. I must be on the front lines. There are so many Marxists, so many Masons, so many Satanists and assorted others! So many possessed, anarchists and seduced ones! I see what awaits us, and it’s painful for me. The bitter taste of human pain is in my mouth.

 

The spirit of lukewarmness reigns. There’s no manliness at all! We’ve been spoiled for good! How does God still tolerate us? Today’s generation is the generation of indifference. There are no warriors The majority are fit only for parades.

 

Godlessness and blasphemy are allowed to appear on television. And the Church is silent and doesn’t excommunicate the blasphemers. And they need to be excommunicated. What are they waiting for? Let’s not wait for someone else to pull the snake out from its hole so that we can live in peace.

 

They’re silent out of indifference. What’s bad is that even people who’ve got something inside have begun to grow cool, saying: “Can I really do anything to change the situation?” We have to witness our faith with boldness, because if we continue to be silent we’ll have to answer in the end. In these difficult days each must do what’s in their power. And leave what’s out of their power to the will of God. In this way our conscience will be clear.

 

If we don’t resist, then our ancestors will arise from their graves. They suffered so much for the Fatherland, and we? What are we doing for it?.. If Christians don’t begin to witness their faith, to resist evil, then the destroyers will become even more insolent. But today’s Christians are no warriors. If the Church keeps silent, to avoid conflict with the government, if the metropolitans are silent, if the monks hold their peace, then who will speak up?

 

Give thanks to God for everything. Try to be manly. Pull yourself together a bit. Do you know what Christians are suffering in other countries? There are such difficulties in Russia! But here many exhibit indifference. There’s not enough disposition to kindness, love of devotion.

 

You see, if we don’t begin to make war against evil, to expose those who tempt believers, then the evil will grow larger. If we throw aside fear then the faithful will be emboldened a bit. And those who wage war against the Church will have a harder time.

 

In the past our nation lived spiritually, so God blessed her, and the saints helped us in miraculous fashion. And we were victorious against our enemies, who always outnumbered us. Today we continue to call ourselves Orthodox Christians, but we don’t live Orthodox lives.

 

A lukewarm clergy lulls the people to sleep, leaves them in their former condition so they won’t be upset. “Look”, they say. “By all means don’t say that there’ll be a war, or the Second Coming, that one must prepare oneself for death. We must not make people alarmed!”

 

And others speak with a false kindness, saying: “We mustn’t expose heretics and their delusions, so as to show our love for them.” Today’s people are water-soluble. There’s no leaven in them.

 

If I avoid upsetting myself to protect my fleshly comfort then I’m indifferent to holiness! Spiritual meekness is one thing, and softness and indifference are quite another. Some say: “I’m a Christian and therefore I have to be joyful and calm.” But they’re not Christian. They’re simply indifferent. And their joy is only a worldly joy.

 

He in whom these worldly seeds are present is no spiritual person. A spiritual person consists of nothing but pain. In other words, he’s in pain at what’s going on, he’s in pain for people’s condition. And divine comfort is bestowed upon him for his pain.

 

Elder Paisios was a gentle ascetic who lived out his monastic life, until he became ill, on Mount Athos. After a few days of suffering following surgery, he gave up his spirit on July 12, 1994.

 

Source

 

Pentecost / ጰራቅሊጦስ Reading

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በዓለ መንፈስ ቅዱስ / ጰራቅሊጦስ

አጋጣሚ? ፦ የእንግሊዙ ቴሌግራፍ ስለ ደብረ ዳሞ ይህን አቀረብ፣ ‘ገለባ–ገለባው–ሲኤን ኤን‘ እንኳን ያልተለምዶው ስለ ገዳማቶቻችን የሚለው አለ። ይህን ጽሑፍ በማቀርብበት በዚህ ሰዓት፡ ምስሉ ላይ የገባችው ‘እርግብ‘ በመስኮቴ ብቅ ብላ ቁልጭ ቁልጭ ትልብኝ ጀመር። ቀስ ብዬ ፎቶ ካነሳኋት በኋላ፡ ጥሬ ስንዴ ለማምጣት ወደ መዓድ ቤት ገባሁ። ከፊሉን ስንዴ ለንፍሮ፣ ከፊሉን ደግሞ ለርግቧ ወስጄ ጣል ጣል ማድረግ ስጀምር እርግቧ ተንስታ በረረች። የበረረችበት አቅጣጫ ወደ ደቡብ ምስራቅ (የኢትዮጵያ አቅጣጫ) እንዲሁም ከኔ አንድ ኪሎሜትር ያህል እርቃ ልክ በዚያው አቅጣጫ ወደምትገኘው “የመንፈስ ቅዱስ ቤተክርስቲያን“ነው። “ነገ ተነስተህ ወደዚያ መሄድ አለብህ” በማለት እርግቧ ምልክት እየሰጠችኝ መሆኑ ታወቀኝ። ወገኖቼን ይዤወደ ቤተክርስቲያኗ አመራለሁ፡ ከተቀቀለውም ስንዴ፡በአብ፣ በወልድ በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ስም እንቀምሳለን ማልተ ነው። ስብሐት ለእግዚአብሔር!

በዓለ መንፈስ ቅዱስ / ጰራቅሊጦስ

ይህች ታላቅ ዕለት ከቅድስት ሥላሴ አንዱ አካል የሆነው እግዚአብሔር መንፈስ ቅዱስ ለቅዱሳን ሐዋርያት፣ ለቅዱሳን አርድእትና ለቅዱሳት ሴቶች የተገለጠባት ዕለት ናት፡፡ እነዚህ ሁሉ በጸሎት ተግተው በሚጸልዩበት ወራት መንፈስ ቅዱስ በተከፋፈሉ የእሳት ልሳን አምሳል የወረደበት ቅዱስ ቀን ነው፡፡

አስቀድሞ ጌታችን አምላካችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ለቅዱሳን ሐዋርያት ደብረ ዘይት በተባለ ታላቅ ተራራ ላይ ሳሉ እንዲህ ብሎ አስተምሯቸው ነበር “ኀይልን ከላይ ከአርያም እስክልክላችሁ ድረስ በኢየሩሳሌም በጸሎት ቆዩ፡፡”/ሉቃ 24፡36/ መቶ ሃያው ቤተሰብም በኢየሩሳሌም ሀገር በምትገኝ በቤተ መቅደስ በአንድነት ሆነው በጸሎት በመትጋት ቆዩ፡፡ ልጆችዬ መቶ ሃያው ቤተሰብ የሚባሉት 12ቱ ሐዋርያት፣ 72ቱ አርድእት/አገልጋዮች/ እና 36ቱ ቅዱሳን አንስት/ሴቶች/ ናቸው፡፡

ከዕርገት በኋላ በአሥረኛው ቀን እግዚአብሔር መንፈስ ቅዱስ ሐዋርያት ወዳሉበት፣ በጸሎትና በምሥጋና ወደ ሚተጉበት ሥፍራ በእሳት አምሳል /ምሳሌ/ ወርዶ በእያንዳንዳቸው ላይ ተቀመጠባቸው፡፡ ይሄንንም ሁኔታ ተከትሎ ምስጢር ተገለጠላቸው፣ ይፈሩ የነበሩት ሐዋርያትም ወንጌልን ለማስተማር ደፋሮች ሆኑ፣ በተለያየ ቋንቋዎች እንዲናገሩ እውቀት ተሰጣቸው፤ የእግዚአብሔርንም ጸጋ ተቀበሉ፡፡ ይህንን ታላቅ ኀይል እና ሰማያዊ ስጦታን የሰጣቸውን እግዚአብሔርን በታላቅ ዝማሬና እልልታ አመሰገኑት፡፡

በዓለ ሃምሳ የሚባለውን የአይሁድን በዓል ለማክበር ከተለያዩ ሀገራት የመጡ በጊዜው የነበሩ ቁጥራቸው በብዙ ሺዎች የሚቆጠሩ ሰዎች የሐዋርያቱን ታላቅ የዝማሬና የእልልታ ድምፅ ሰሙ፡፡ ከመቶ ሃያው ቤተሰብ መካከል አንዱ የሆነው ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ የተሰበሰቡት ሁሉም እንዲሰሙት ድምፁን ከፍ አድርጎ ቃለ እግዚአብሔርን እንዲህ ብሎ አስተማራቸው፡፡ “እናንተ የእስራኤል ሰዎች ሆይ እኛን የሰው ልጆችን ለማዳን እግዚአብሔር ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ ሰው ሆኖ ወደ ምድር መጥቶ ከክፉ ሥራ ተመለሱ፣ ኀጢአትን አታድርጉ፣ በቅድስና ኑሩ፣ ወደ እኔም ተመለሱ ቢላችሁ፤ እናንተ ግን ምንም በደል ሳይኖርበት ገረፋችሁት፣ አንገላታችሁት፣ በመስቀል ላይም ሰቀላችሁት፡፡ እርሱ ግን እግዚአብሔር ነውና ሞትን ድል አድርጎ ተነሣ፡፡ እርሱ ግን አሁንም ይቅር ባይ ነውና ከኀጢአታችሁ ተመለሱ ንስሐም ግቡ ፡፡” በማለት አስተማራቸው፡፡

የተሰበሰቡት ሰዎች ሁሉ ተገረሙ፡፡ ምክንያቱም ሐዋርያት በፊት የሚያውቁት አንድ ቋንቋ ብቻ ነበረ፡፡ በዚህ ሰዓት ግን ሰባ ሁለት ቋንቋን እግዚአብሔር መንፈስ ቅዱስ ገልጦላቸው ለሁሉም በየቋንቋቸው አስተማሯቸው፡፡ ይህንንም ድንቅ ተአምር ከተመለከቱት ብዙዎች እግዚአብሔርን አመሰገኑት፡፡ ወደ ሐዋርያትም ቀርበው “አባቶቻችን እናንተ የእግዚአብሔር አገልጋዮች ናችሁና ምከሩን፡፡ እንደ እናንተ የእግዚአብሔር ልጆች እንድንሆንና በቅድስና እንድንኖር ምን እናድርግ?”በማለት ጠየቁ፡ በዚያች ቀን ቁጥራቸው ሦስት ሺ ያህል ሰዎች በቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ ትምህርት አምነው ክርስቲያን ለመሆን ቀረቡ፡፡

ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስም እንዲህ አላቸው፡፡ “እነሆ ሁላችሁም ንስሐ ግቡ፡፡ በአምላካችን በኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ የባሕርይ አምላክነት አምናችሁ ተጠመቁ፡፡” አላቸው በዚያው ዕለትም ሦስት ሺ ሰዎች ወደ ሐዋርያት በመቅረብ ኀጢአታቸውን ተናገሩ፤ ሐዋርያትም እግዚአብሔር ይፍታችሁ እያሉ ልጅነትን የሚያሰጣቸውን ጥምቀት አጠመቁዋቸው፡፡

ከዚያ ቀን ጀምሮም በየዓመቱ ይህችን ታላቅ የቤተ ክርስቲያን የልደት ቀን የምትባለውን በዓለ ጰራቅሊጦስን ክርስቲያኖች በታላቅ ደስታና ምሥጋና እናከብራታለን፡፡ እናንተም ልጆችዬ እንደ ቅዱሳን ሐዋርያት በቤተ ክርስቲያን ተገኝታችሁ ቅዳሴ በማስቀደስ፣ መዝሙር በመዘመር እና በመጸለይ ይህችን ታላቅ በዓል ልታከብሯት ይገባል፡፡

የእግዚአብሔር አብ ጸጋ የእግዚአብሔር ወልድ ቸርነት የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ ቅዱስ አንድነት ከሁላችን ጋር ይሁን አሜን፡፡

ምንጭ

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Holy Spirit: The Most Precious Gift

This Sunday marks the high point in the Church’s post-Paschal celebrations. After proclaiming the Resurrection of Christ for the past several weeks, the Church has called our attention to several post-Resurrection appearances to underscore the reality of the risen Lord for the life of the Church.

Today marks the highpoint of those celebrations. Today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the twelve disciples in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. Why is this so important? Historically, Pentecost was the Jewish feast which celebrated the first fruits of the harvest. Every Jewish home celebrated God’s good gifts to them by giving the Lord a portion of their grain harvest, in anticipation of the full crop to come. It is simply a thank-you gift.

On this day the Church celebrates God’s gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church. Much of the service is devoted to two things: the Trinity and the coming of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. There is so much to say on a day like today, but there is one truth that especially stands out that I would like to emphasize. It comes from a phrase we find repeated several times in the special hymns for today, which reads, “Verily, the fire of the Comforter has come and lit the world.”

Verily, the fire of the Comforter has come and lit the world. Let’s look at this a little closer. The comforter is the Holy Spirit, described by Jesus in John 14 when he said, “I will pray to the Father and he will give you another Helper, or Comforter, that he may abide with you forever: the Spirit of truth.”

That’s what the Holy Spirit does for us. He is sent by the Father, through the Son, and abides in us through his Holy Spirit. That’s where the Church gets its emphasis on the Trinity today. But the other lesson focuses on the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the disciples.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus said:

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.

Why did Jesus focus on the power of the Spirit’s presence in the life of the disciples? Simply because they needed it. Up to now they were shaky and timid people, for the most part. They were following Jesus, but the Jesus they followed died and rose from the dead, and now they did not know what to do except to wait for the Spirit, as Jesus told them to do.

And then, it happened. We are told in Acts 2:

When the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with tongues, as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance.

And then, shortly after that:

Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea, let this be known to you. This is what was spoken by the Prophet Joel.”

Power, power, power. That’s one of the most important truths we learn from Pentecost. Christ gave his Holy Spirit to his followers to take his place on earth, and to empower them for Christian service. That’s what Peter was doing when he preached. Why is the power of the Holy Spirit so important to have?

The power of the Holy Spirit is important because he enables us to fulfill Christ’s demands. It is as simple as that. We simply cannot fulfill the Lord’s commands apart from the inner strength to obey them.

Every once in a while I meet people who tell me, “I have tried and tried to live the Christian life, but just cannot do it. I have this hang-up, and I just cannot get over it. I have tried hard, and, well, I just cannot do it. I cannot live, and I cannot obey, Jesus’ teachings, even though I have tried with all my heart.”

Have you ever felt like that? Have you tried living the Christian life and felt like giving up because you do not have the power to live it? If so, I have good news for you today. You are absolutely right. You have just discovered one of the most important truths you could ever learn about the Christian life. That truth is the truth that will set you free from all self-help and all the self-reliance that has made you so discouraged.

And what is that truth? It is the truth that only the Holy Spirit can give you the power to live as Jesus wants you to live. You cannot live by the power of your own sweat. On the contrary, the inner power for living the Christian life is summed up on this Day of Pentecost, and it is given in the words of Jesus, who declared, “Without me you can do nothing.”

And that is the good news of the Gospel.

Source: AncientFaithRadio

• Menfes Qedus

• Acquisition of The Holy Spirit

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ምስጢረ ጰራቅሊጦስ

በስመአብ ወወልድ ወመንፈስ ቅዱስ አሐዱ አምላክ አሜን።

ዘንድሮ የጰራቅሊጦስ (ጰንጠቆስጤ) በዓል በኦርቶዶክሳዊት ተዋሕዶ ቤተክርስቲያናችን ሰኔ ፭ ቀን በመላው አብያተ ክርስቲያናት ተከብሮ ይውላል። ከጌታ ዘጠኙ ዐበይት በዓላት አንደኛው የጰራቅሊጦስ በዓል ነው። ይህ በዓል በኦሪቱ በዓለ ሠራዊት ይባላል። የእሸት በዓል ማለት ነው። ከፋሲካ ሰንበት በኋላ እሑድ በሃምሳኛው ቀን ላይ ስለሚውል በዓለ ሃምሳ ተብሎ ይታወቃል። ይህንን ዕለት ጽርአውያን በቋንቋቸው ጸንጠቆስጤ ይሉታል። የሃይማኖት ስም አይደለም። በዘመናችን በተለይም እንደ አውሮፓውያን ዘመን አቆጣጠር ከ ፲፱፻፮ ዓ.ም ጀምሮ በዚህ ስም ራሳቸውን የሰየሙ ቡድኖች የሃይማኖታቸው መታወቂያ በማድረግ ሲጠሩ ይሰማል። በመጽሐፍ ቅዱሱም ሆነ በጥንታዊት ቤተክርስቲያን ታሪክ በጰንጠቆስጤ ስም የሚታወቅ የሃይማኖት ድርጅት አልነበረም አይታወቅም።

ቤተክርስቲያናችን ይህን በዓል የምታከብረው መጽሐፍ ቅዱስንና ትውፊተ ሐዋርያትን መሠረት አድርጋ ነው። በግብረ ሐዋ.፪፥ ፩ – ፳፪ ተጽፎ እንደምናገኘው አይሁድ ከመላው ዓለም ተሰብስበው በዓለ ሃምሳን ሲያከብሩ ጰራቅሊጦስ የተባለው መንፈስ ቅዱስ ድምፁን እንደ አውሎ ነፋስ እያሰማ ጸጋውን እንደ ባዘቶ በእሳት ላንቃ አምሳል ከፍሎ ከፍሎ በጸሎት ጽሙዳን ለሆኑት መቶ ሃያ ቤተሰብ አድሏቸዋል። (ሐዋ.፪፥፲፬–፲፭) ሐዋርያትም ከሦስቱ ክፍላተ አህጉር ለመጡት አይሁድ መንፈስ ቅዱስ በገለጸላቸው ቋንቋ ለማስተማር በቅተዋል።

በሚያውቁት በአንድ የዕብራይስጥ ቋንቋ ላይ ሰባ አንድ ቋንቋ ስለተጨመረላቸው እንደ ልባቸው የክርስቶስን አምላክነትና ትንሣኤውን ያለ ፍርሃት መስክረዋል። በተገለጸላቸው ቋንቋ ለሰው ሁሉ ስላስተማሩ ሰሚዎቹ ተአምራቱን በማድነቅ “የእግዚአብሔርን ታላቅ ሥራ በልሳኖቻችን ሲናገሩ እንሰማቸዋለን” በማለት ተገርመዋል። የመንፈስ ቅዱስን ሥራ የተጠራጠሩ ሰቃልያን ክርስቶስ አይሁድ ግን የመንፈስ ቅዱስን ጸጋ ለጉሽ ጠጅ ሰጥተው ማፌዝ ስለጀመሩ ቅዱስ ጴጥሮስ ነቢዩ ኢዮኤል በምዕራፍ ፪ ከቁጥር ፳፰—፴፪ የተናገረውን ትንቢት በመጥቀስ በተግሳፅ አሳፍሯቸዋል። ኢዮኤል የተናገረው ትንቢት ለአንድ ጊዜና ለመጨረሻው በዘመነ ሐዋርያት ተፈጽሟል። መንፈስ ቅዱስ ከዚያን ጊዜ ጀምሮ በቤተክርስቲያን አድሮ ለምእመናን እንደ ሃይማኖታቸው ጽናት፥ እንደ ምግባራቸው ቅንነት ጸጋውን ሲያድል ይኖራል። የመንፈስ ቅዱስ ጸጋ በጥምቀተ ክርስትና በሜሮን ሲሰጥ በመጠኑ ነው። ምዕመናን ጸጋው እየተጨመረላቸው እንዲሄድ በገድል በትሩፋት ተወስነው የክርስቲያንን ተግባር እየፈጸሙ ሲሔዱ ጸጋው እየተጨመረላቸው እንዲሄድ በገድል በትሩፋት ተወስነው የክርስቲያንን ተግባር እየፈጸሙ ሲሔዱ ጸጋው እየተጨመረላቸው ከነጽሮተ ሥሉስ ቅዱስ፥ ከከዊነ እሳት ማዕረግ ለመድረስ ይበቃሉ። በዚህን ጊዜ እንደሐዋርያት በጥላቸው በልብሳቸው ሕሙም መፈወስ፣ ጋኔን ማውጣት፣ ሙት ማንሳት

ይቻላቸዋል። ቤተክርስቲያናችን ጠቅለል ባለ መልኩ ስለ መንፈስ ቅዱስ ለቤተ ክርስቲያን እንዳልተሰጠ ተቆጥሮ አንዳንድ መናፍቃን በኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተክርስቲያን ላይ የሚሰነዝሩት ጉንጭ አልፋ ዘለፋ መሠረት የሌለው ስለሆነ አንደነቅበትም። “እነዚህ የሚያለያዩ ሥጋውያንም የሆኑ።” መንፈስም የሌላቸው ሰዎች ናቸውና። (ይሁዳ ፩፥፲፱) ሐዋርያው ቅዱስ ጳውሎስ በመጀመሪያይቱ የቆሮንቶስ ክታቡ የኢየሱስ ክርስቶስን የባሕርይ አምላክነት አምነው በተጠመቁ ክርስቲያኖች መንፈስ ቅዱስ አድሮባቸው እንዳለ ገልጾልናል። በተጨማሪም የመንፈስ ቅዱስ አካሉ አንድ ሲሆን ጸጋው (ሀብቱ) ግን ልዩ ልዩ በመሆኑ ለምዕመናን ሁሉ አንድ አይነት ጸጋ የላቸውም ብሏል። (፩ቆሮ. ፲፪፥፩—፲፩) ጸጋውንም እነርሱ እንደወደዱት ሳይሆን መንፈስ ቅዱስ እንደፈቀደ እንደሚጠቅማቸው አድርጎ ይሰጣቸዋል። ከመንፈስ ቅዱስ ሥጦታዎች ከእምነትና ከፍቅር የሚበልጥ ጸጋ አለመኖሩን ዐውቀን በየሰፈሩ እየተሹለከለኩ መንፈስ ወርዶብናል እያሉ ከሚያጭበረብሩ ቢጽ ሐሳውያን ሁሉ መጠበቅ ይገባናል።

እነዚህ ሰዎች የጵጵስናም ሆነ የቅስና ማዕረግ ክህነት ሳይኖራቸው ራሳቸውን በራሳቸው ሾመው እጆቻችንን እየጫንን መንፈስ ቅዱስ እናሳድራለን በማለት ብዙዎቹን የዋሆች የመንፈስ ርኩስ ቁራኛ ስላደረጉዋቸው ምዕመናን ሆይ በተዋሕዶ ሃይማኖታችሁ እስከመጨረሻው እንድትጠበቁ እንመክራችኋለን። (፩ቆሮ.፲፪፥፫፧ ፩ቆሮ.፲፫፥ ፩—፲፫) በጸሎተ ሃይማኖታችን ስለ መንፈስ ቅዱስ ያለን እምነት እንደሚከተለው ይጠቃለላል፡

“በመንፈስ ቅዱስም እናምናለን። እርሱም ጌታ ሕይወትን የሚሰጥ ከአብ የሠረፀ፣ ከአብና ከወልድ ጋራ በአንድነት እንሰግድለታለን እናመሰግነዋለን። እርሱም በነቢያት አድሮ የተናገረ ነው።” መንፈስ ቅዱስ እንዳይለየን በመናፍቅነትና በእልከኝነት ልባችን እንዳይደነድን ጌታችን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ በኦርቶዶክሳዊት ተዋሕዶ ሃይማኖታችን አጽንቶ በክርስቲያናዊ ሕይወት ለመመላለስ ያብቃን፡ አሜን።

MenfesQedus

 

ምንጭ፡ ethiopianorthodox.org

Speaking In Tongues: An Orthodox Perspective

Fr. George Nicozisin

Speaking in Tongues, “Glossolalia,” a popular practice with many Churches today, is a phenomenon which can be traced to the days of the Apostles. A decade ago, Speaking in Tongues was encountered only in Pentecostal Churches, Revival Meetings, Quaker gatherings and some Methodist groups. Today, Glossolalia is also found in some Roman Catholic and Protestant Churches.

Serapion of Egypt, a fourth century contemporary of St. Athanasios summarized Eastern Orthodox theology:

“The Anointing after Baptism is for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, that having been born again through Baptism and made new through the laver of regeneration, the candidates may be made new through the gifts of the Holy Spirit and secured by this Seal may continue steadfast.”

Bishop Maximos Aghiorghoussis, Greek Orthodox Diocese of Pittsburgh and world-reknowned Orthodox theologian on the Holy Spirit states it this way: “For Orthodox Christians, Baptism is our personal Paschal Resurrection and Chrismation is our personal Pentecost and indwelling of the Holy Spirit.”

There are two forms of Glossolalia:

Pentecost Glossolalia happened this way: Fifty days after the Resurrection, while the disciples were gathered together, the Holy Spirit descended upon them and they began to speak in other languages. Jews from all over the civilized world who were gathered in Jerusalem for the religious holiday stood in amazement as they heard the disciples preaching in their own particular language and dialect (like in a United Nations Assembly). They understood!

Corinthian Glossolalia is different. St. Paul, who had founded the Church of Corinth, found it necessary to respond to some of their problems, i.e., division of authority, moral and ethical problems, the Eucharist, the issue of death and resurrection and how the Gifts of the Holy Spirit operated. In chapter 12, St. Paul lists nine of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, i.e., knowledge, wisdom, spirit, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues and interpreting what another says when he speaks in tongues.

Specifically, Corinthian Glossolalia was an activity of the Holy Spirit coming upon a person and compelling him to external expressions directed to God, but not understood by others. In Pentecost Glossolalia, while speaking in several different tongues, both the speaker and the listener understood what was uttered. The Glossolalia manifested in Corinth was the utterance of words, phrases, sentences, etc., intelligible to God but not to the person uttering them. What was uttered needed to be interpreted by another who had the gift of interpretation.

GlossolaliaOrthodoxPerspective

TheTruthOfOurFaith

A Neuroscientific Look at Speaking in Tongues

The Glorious Feast of Pentecost

The readings, appointed for today, indicate the basic religious problem of Western civilization, as well as its proper solution. Western civilization’s basic religious problem stems from the common misunderstanding held by most followers of three dominant faith systems in that part of the world. Many Jews, Muslims and Christians imagine that they worship the same God. Yet, in fact, repeatedly, their interactions seem to indicate, rather, that most of them continue serving their own selfish interests in this world. Despite much eloquent talk about God, the various ways they walk, deny the kernel of what God tries to teach them.

St. Paul instructed the Ephesians, “lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” That’s the right way to grow to the full stature of Christ. St. John wrote, “Whoever says, ‘I have come to know him’, but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; 5but whoever obeys his word, truly, in this person the love of God has reached perfection.” After tongues of fire descended upon Christ’s disciples, they were filled with gifts of the Holy Spirit. Then, they no longer hid and asked idle questions. Instead, they went out and began speaking boldly “about God’s deeds of power.’

On that very day they began demonstrating what Jesus Christ had told them the night before he died (John 14). They started living the truth in the present. Demonstrating the unity of belief and action that is worshiping in Spirit and in truth, they even did greater works than He had done. They proved their love for Him by keeping His commandments, always conscious of being loved by His Father, as well as by Him Who revealed Himself, by sending the Spirit to them.

Even though Jesus Christ came into His own, and He spent three years exposing various ways in which the God’s chosen people had erred. They had been distorting the spirit of the Law, He had given them through Moses. Cunningly, they enslaved each other, by serving the letter of that Law, while violating its purpose. During His earthly ministry, less than a hundred individuals fully accepted Christ’s interpretation of the Law; and fewer than five showed the courage of their convictions, to be present as He offered Himself as a ransom for many.

Fifty days after Jesus Christ’s victory over death, thousands of those who had probably been yelling, “Crucify Him!” were accepting baptism in His Name, at the hands of His Spirit-filled disciples. However, less than six centuries later, as the Gospel spread throughout the world, so did various corruptions of that message. Scandalous contentions arose over mysteries that no one fully understands. Such wrangling, mixed with political and pseudo-intellectual agendas lost whole cultures, while convincing others. No wonder some felt compelled to seek a new prophet, only to lapse into a new legalism, repeating mistakes that Christ had come to correct.

Once again, we celebrate the Holy Spirit inaugurating the New Jerusalem, the foretaste of God’s coming Kingdom. Therefore, tomorrow, let us embrace the Fast of the Apostles, that we may turn away from whatever keeps us from walking with God, in the present. To complete their mission, we must develop the same level of commitment which prompted disciples, so that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping saints for the work of ministry, building up the body of Christ; until all of us come to the unity of the faith and knowledge of the Son of God. Then we will be know how to use what we have already received to witness to His love for mankind, then, we too, will become fishers of men.

Source: Ninesaintsethiopianorthodoxmonastery

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