Saint Fulvianus (in Baptism Matthew), Prince of Ethiopia

St. Fulvianus-Matthew (Feast Day - November 16)

It is believed that after the day of Pentecost, the Apostle and Evangelist Matthew preached the Gospel first in Palestine, and then in Syria, Media, Persia, Parthia and finally, Ethiopia. Tradition holds that the Lord appeared to Saint Matthew, giving him a wooden rod and instructing him to plant it in a particular place in Ethiopia. Upon his arrival at the place in Ethiopia described by the Lord, he met a man whom he ordained a Bishop named Platon. The rod was planted, as the Lord had instructed, and almost immediately it sprouted leaves and grew into a beautiful tree, the fruit of which was delicious. A spring also welled up nearby, the water of which could heal the sick.

Saint Elesbaan, King of Ethiopia (+ 555)

St. Elesbaan of Axum (Feast Day - October 24)

Saint Elesbaan, also known as Kaleb, was King of Ethiopia, and lived when Arabia was ruled by Dunaan, the oppressor of Christians. The pious Elesbaan was unable to look on indifferently as believers in Christ were being massacred. He declared war on Dunaan, but his military campaign was unsuccessful.

Saint Gregentios, Bishop of Ethiopia (+ 552)

St. Gregentios of Ethiopia (Feast Day - December 19)

Verses

Union with the flesh you left behind O Gregentios,
Departing to that place where there is no flesh.

Saint Gregentios lived in the sixth century and came from Mediolanum (Milan) in Italy. His parents were called Agapios and Theodotia, and were very devout. From a very early age Gregentios was distinguished for his eloquence and for his great virtues, and the Providence of God led him to hierarchical service.

While still a Deacon at Mediolanum, he heard the foretelling of his destiny from a hermit, and then he received confirmation of these words from another spirit-bearing Elder, who lived an ascetic life in the mountains.

Saint Frumentius, Enlightener of Abyssinia

St. Frumentius of Ethiopia (Feast Day - November 30)

Verses

Guarded by the grace of the revered Trinity,

Frumentios showed the ruin of error.

+ + +

Frumentius is mightier than those of the earth,

Alone raising up mortals and saving them from error.

Saint Frumentius of Ethiopia as a Model for our Lives

St. Frumentius of Ethiopia (Feast Day - November 30)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

Innumerable are the spiritual stars that shine in the noetic firmament of the Church, and with their brilliance they illuminate the ends of the world. Countless are the multitudes of saints, who like fragrant flowers intoxicate with their fragrance, namely their life and conduct, as well as their inspired words and "Christ-loving intellect". But many of our saints are completely unknown, although they offered much to society with their illumined personalities. Like signposts which lead in the right direction and along the correct path, they lead to illumination and the salvation of countless souls throughout the ages. To this category belongs the saint whose pious life we will recount.

Holy Apostle Matthew the Evangelist

St. Matthew the Apostle (Feast Day - November 16)

Verses

"You save, Jesus, even tax-collectors by Your grace,"

Cried out Matthew from the midst of the flames.

Without sense of toil Matthew was killed in the fire on the sixteenth.

The holy Apostle and Evangelist Matthew, the son of Alphaeus, otherwise known as Levi, lived in the Galilean city of Capernaum. He was a wealthy man who held the position of tax-collector, and was despised and shunned by the majority of the Jews. One day, as the Lord Jesus was passing through the city and Matthew was sitting in his customs booth, He said to him: "Come, follow Me!" Matthew not only physically heard these words, but they spoke to his heart as well, so the publican left his booth and followed after Christ, and forsaking all he was numbered among the Twelve Disciples. The Scribes and Pharisees were scandalized that Jesus did not shun sinners and publicans, but rather sat and ate with them, and when the Lord heard them murmuring such things, He said to them: "It is not the healthy that have need of a physician, but the sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

Fasting for Lent Forces Hyenas to Change Diet

April 5, 2012
Science Daily

Many Christians give up certain foods for Lent, however ecologists have discovered these changes in human diet have a dramatic impact on the diet of wild animals. In Ethiopia, members of the Orthodox Tewahedo Church stop eating meat and dairy products during a 55-day fast before Easter. As a result, spotted hyenas too change their eating habits -- from scavenging waste from butchers and households to hunting -- new research in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology has found.

Spotted hyenas are supremely adaptable mammals, capable both of adapting to habitats with dense human populations and to eating whatever food is available. While they are efficient hunters, they are also opportunistic scavengers, eating everything from birds, mammals, fish and reptiles to garbage, cooked porridge and dung. And they have digestive systems to match, says Gidey Yirga from Mekelle University.

"Hyenas can eat almost any organic matter, even putrid carrion and anthrax-infected carcasses. They are capable of eating and digesting all parts of their prey except hair and hooves. Bones are digested so completely that only the inorganic components are excreted in the hyena's droppings," he explains.

Working at three sites around Mekelle in northern Ethiopia, Yirga collected all hyena droppings from each 1 hectare site on three occasions on the first and last days of the 55-day Abye Tsome (Lent) fast, and then again 55 days after the fast ended -- a total of 553 droppings.

To find out what the hyenas had been eating before, during and after Lent, he compared hairs found in the hyenas' droppings with a reference collection of hair from other animals found in the region.

The results showed that when humans stop buying, eating and discarding animal products the hyenas' eating habits change significantly: before Lent, 14.8% of hyena droppings contained donkey hairs, during Lent this increased to 33.1%, falling again to 22.2% once the fast was over.

According to Yirga: "Our study shows a remarkable change in the hyenas' diet -- we found that hyenas around Mekelle mainly scavenge waste from butchers and households but during fasting donkeys provided an alternative food source."

By providing this unique insight into the effect of changes in human diet on local hyenas, the results illustrate that hyenas are highly adaptable and opportunistic scavengers and hunters. They also have implications for those managing the conflict that can arise when large carnivores use anthropogenic food sources.

"Understanding details of the foraging behaviour of carnivores in an anthropogenic environment can help reveal specific causes of conflict, leading to better strategies for reducing availability of anthropogenic food and preventing conflict," Yirga concludes.

Journal Reference:

1. Gidey Yirga, Hans H. De Iongh, Herwig Leirs, Kindeya Gebrihiwot, Jozef Deckers, Hans Bauer. "Adaptability of large carnivores to changing anthropogenic food sources: diet change of spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) during Christian fasting period in northern Ethiopia." Journal of Animal Ecology, 2012; DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2656.2012.01977.x

Video: Man Carves Four Churches on Mountainside

After receiving a vision he believed came from the Holy Spirit, an Ethiopian weaver went to the mountains to carve entire churches from stone. He has carved four so far — all with basic tools. From National Geographic.

Christianity in Ethiopia (BBC Report)

Oldest Illustrated Bible Discovered in Ethiopia

World's First Illustrated Christian Bible Discovered at Ethiopian Monastery

5th July 2010
Daily Mail

The world's earliest illustrated Christian book has been saved by a British charity which located it at a remote Ethiopian monastery.

The incredible Garima Gospels are named after a monk who arrived in the African country in the fifth century and is said to have copied them out in just one day.

Beautifully illustrated, the colours are still vivid and thanks to the Ethiopian Heritage Fund have been conserved.

Abba Garima arrived from Constantinople in 494 AD and legend has it that he was able to copy the gospels in a day because God delayed the sun from setting.

The incredible relic has been kept ever since in the Garima Monastery near Adwa in the north of the country, which is in the Tigray region at 7,000 feet.

Experts believe it is also the earliest example of book binding still attached to the original pages.

The survival of the Gospels is incredible considering the country has been under Muslim invasion, Italian invasion and a fire in the 1930s destroyed the monastery's church.

They were written on goat skin in the early Ethiopian language of Ge'ez.

There are two volumes which date from the same time, but the second is written in a different hand from the first. Both contain illustrations and the four Gospels.


Though the texts had been mentioned by the occasional traveller since the 1950s, it had been thought they dated from the 11th century at the earliest.

Carbon dating, however, gives a date between 330 and 650 - which tantalisingly overlaps the date Abba Garima arrived in the country.

So the first volume could be in his hand - even if he didn't complete the task in a day as the oral tradition states.

The charity Ethiopian Heritage Fund that was set up to help preserve the treasures in the country has made the stunning discovery.

It was also allowed incredibly rare access to the texts so experts could conserve them on site.

It is now hoped the Gospels will be put in a museum at the monastery where visitors will be able to view them.

Blair Priday from the Ethiopian Heritage Fund said: 'Ethiopia has been overlooked as a source of these fantastic things.

'Many of these old Christian relics can only be reached by hiking and climbing to remote monasteries as roads are limited in these mountainous regions.

'All the work on the texts was done in situ and everything is reversible, so if in future they can be taken away for further conservation we won't have hindered that.

'The pages had been crudely stitched together in a restoration in the 1960s and some of the pages wouldn't even turn. And they were falling to pieces.

'The Garima Gospels have been kept high and dry which has helped preserve them all these years and they are kept in the dark so the colours look fresh.

'This was the most astounding of all our projects and the Patriarch, the head of the Ethiopian Church, had to give his permission.

'Most of the experts did the work for nothing.

'We are currently undertaking other restoration programmes on wall paintings and religious texts.

'We believe that preserving Ethiopia's cultural heritage will help to increase visitor revenue and understanding of the extraordinary history of this country.'

Patriarch Abune Paulos denies Italian Reports That He Will Reveal the Ark to the World

[Well, I guess I won't consider any further making travel plans to Ethiopia any time soon. It looks like the Italian media either misquoted or just simply misunderstood Patriarch Abune Paulos regarding the alleged unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant in Ethiopia. The details of the report sound sketchy, but for now the Ark remains out of public spectacle, which may not be an entirely bad thing either. -J.S.]

Patriarch Abune Paulos denies Italian Reports That He Will Reveal the Ark to the World

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
June 30, 2009
Reuters

The head of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church denied reports that he is about to unveil to the world the Ark of the Covenant that Moses is said to have stored the Ten Commandments tablets in. Patriarch Abune Paulos said Italian media had incorrectly reported that he would place the Ark in a museum in the country’s north.

Legend has it that the box-shaped Ark has been hidden from sight in Ethiopia since 642 BC. “I am deeply disappointed that the Italian media misquoted me and disseminated false information about me unveiling the Ark of the Covenant to the world,” he said at a news conference. “It is a fabrication, disinformation.”

Some Ethiopians believe that Prince Menelik I — who is said to be the result of a union between Israel’s King Solomon and the Ethiopia Queen of Sheba — took the Ark from Jerusalem to Ethiopia while he was in power around 950 BC.

“I would like to confirm once again that the Ark of the Covenant and the sacred tablets containing the Ten Commandments that God delivered to Moses are in Ethiopia,” Abune added. Replicas of the Ark are in more than 50,000 Orthodox
churches in the Horn of Africa country, the church says. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church says it keeps the Ark in a holy shrine in the north of the country. Only a small number of priests can even go near the room where it is said to be kept.

Ethiopia's Orthodox Patriarch Backs Off Announcement To Display Ark of the Covenant to the Public

Hark! Where's the Bible Ark?
Ethiopia's Orthodox patriarch cops out on revealing plan for public viewing

Posted: June 26, 2009
Worldnetdaily.com

The leader of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church today backed off on a much-anticipated announcement about the Ark of the Covenant -- the ancient container holding the Ten Commandment -- which he claims to have seen.

But no other evidence or, indeed, even any announcement, was made public today when word had been expected.

Ark hunters and Bible enthusiasts have been buzzing for two days on the report from the Italian news agency Adnkronos that Patriarch Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, said, "Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries."

He had suggested the possibility the artifact might be viewable in a planned museum.

"I repeat (the Ark of the Covenant) is in Ethiopia and nobody … knows for how much time. Only God knows," he said in the Adnkronos report available online.

The report said Pauolos reported the artifact "is described perfectly in the Bible" and is in good condition.

"The state of conservation is good because it is not made from man's hand, but is something that God has made," Pauolos said, according to the report.

The agency had reported an announcement would be made at the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome, and a hotel spokeswoman told WND Pauolos had been in residence there, but no news conference or event was scheduled.

"The Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia for many centuries," said Pauolos in the report. "As a patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes and only few highly qualified persons could do the same, until now."

Bob Cornuke, biblical investigator, international explorer and best-selling author, has participated in more than 27 expeditions around the world searching for lost locations described in the Bible. A man some consider a real-life Indiana Jones, he has written a book titled "Relic Quest" about the Ark of the Covenant and participated in History Channel production called "Digging for Truth."

Next week, Cornuke will travel to Ethiopia for the 13th time since he began his search for the Ark. He told WND he believes it is possible Ethiopia could have the real artifact.

"They either have the Ark of the Covenant or they have a replica that they have believed to be the Ark of the Covenant for 2,000 years," he said.

Cornuke said, if it is genuine, there's a plausible explanation of how the Ark may have come to the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Ethiopia.

"The Ark could have been taken out of the temple during the time of the atrocities of Manasseh," he said. "We have kind of a bread crumb trail that appears to go to Egypt, and it stayed on an island there for a couple hundred years called Elephantine Island. The Ark then was transferred over to Lake Tana in Ethiopia where it stayed on Tana Qirqos Island for 800 years. Then it was taken to Axum, where it is enshrined in a temple today where they don't let anybody see it."

Cornuke said he traveled to Tana Qirqos Island and lived with monks who remain there even today.

"They unlocked this big, four-inch thick wood door," he said. "It opened up to a treasure room, and they showed me meat forks and bowls and things that they say are from Solomon's temple. When the History Channel did this show, they said it was one of the largest viewed shows. People were fascinated."

He said Ethiopians consider the Ark to be the ultimate holy object, and the church guards the suspected artifact from the "eyes and pollution of man."

"In Ethiopia, their whole culture is centered around worshipping this object," Cornuke said. "Could they have the actual Ark? I think I could make a case that they actually could."

But according to a statement delivered to WND by the webmaster for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, there is no chance that the religious leaders and people in the nation will give up their custody of what they believe is the Ark.

"I think Abba Pauolos must be out of his mind. … An (artifact) should not be shown or touched other than the clergies but to put it on display is a reckless comment let alone doing it," the statement said. "Not only the local clergies but the people of Ethiopia won't allow it and it is not going to happen."

The webmaster noted there were artifacts moved from Ethiopia to Britain over the years, and even those are not allowed to be displayed.

Pauolos in the Adnkronos report said any display would need the approval of the supreme court of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

A spokesman for a U.S. branch of the church, Mehereto Belete of Los Angeles, told WND he had been given no word of any major change in the status of the Ark.

"It is news for us just as it is for you," he said.

Cornuke explained that a special guardian lives inside the church which reportedly holds the Ark and never leaves. Once a guardian is appointed, he stays until he dies and another man replaces him.

"We know for a fact that there have been 30 guardians in history who have never left that enclosure," Cornuke said. "I know the guardian. When CNN and BBC went over there, he wouldn't see anybody but me. So I went and talked to him, and he's getting very aged. He told me they have the real Ark and he worships 13 hours a day in front of it. When he gets through, he is covered in sweat and he's exhausted."

He said he met a 105-year-old man who claimed to have seen the Ark 50 years ago when he was training a replacement guardian.

"It frightened him to death when he got a glimpse of it."

Cornuke said he also met with the president of Ethiopia nearly nine years ago and had a one-on-one conversation with him in his palace. He asked if Ethiopia had the Ark of the Covenant.

According to Cornuke, the president responded: "Yes, we do. I am the president, and I know. It's not a copy. It's the real thing."

Many theories exist about the ultimate fate of the Ark, including that it has been hidden in a still unknown location, it was destroyed by enemies of the Israelites, taken by Egyptian invaders to Egypt or removed by divine intervention.

The quest for the artifact received additional publicity in 1981 when actor Harrison Ford searched for it in Steven Spielberg's "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

Cornuke said Ethiopians claim their purported Ark is kept in a large stone sarcophagus lined in ornately hammered silver. The Ark itself is made of acacia wood and laminated with a thin veneer of gold. The mercy seat sits atop the Ark and is made of pure, hammered gold and includes two cherubim facing one another.

Whether the artifact is real or simply a copy, Cornuke said an unveiling might leave the world with more questions than answers.

"We have only typology to go on," he said. "We could probably have some people analyze the wood samples and come up with some kind of dating protocol on it because it is acacia wood to see if that is it."

Rives said a close inspection of the Ten Commandments would be necessary to ensure they are in accordance with true text and not later versions of the Ten Commandments.

Cornuke said experts would also need to determine whether the artifact itself fits biblical description and trace its path to Ethiopia.

"We are peeking behind the veil of history," he said. "We're taking a glimpse of an artifact that could be a very holy object."

Ark of the Covenant to be Unveiled In Ethiopia

[This is amazing news in light of the fact that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has always insisted they would never unveil the Ark of the Covenant. Only one monk at a time was ever allowed to see the Ark at the St. Mary's Church in Axum and remained there for life, and the military protected it with guns from outside the locked gates. Many of these monks have reported losing their vision from looking at the Ark too long, so I wonder how it will keep up in a museum. More about the Ark in Ethiopia can be seen here. - J.S.]


'Ark of the Covenant' about to be unveiled?
Ethiopian patriarch tells pope he will show artifact to world

June 24, 2009
WorldNetDaily

The Patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia says he will announce to the world Friday the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant, perhaps the world's most prized archaeological and spiritual artifact, which he says has been hidden away in a church in his country for millennia, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos.

Abuna Pauolos, in Italy for a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI this week, told the news agency, "Soon the world will be able to admire the Ark of the Covenant described in the Bible as the container of the tablets of the law that God delivered to Moses and the center of searches and studies for centuries."

The announcement is expected to be made at 2 p.m. Italian time from the Hotel Aldrovandi in Rome. Pauolos will reportedly be accompanied by Prince Aklile Berhan Makonnen Haile Sellassie and Duke Amedeo D'Acosta.

Abuna Pauolos, patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia

"The Ark of the Covenant is in Ethiopia for many centuries," said Pauolos. "As a patriarch I have seen it with my own eyes and only few highly qualified persons could do the same, until now."

According to Pauolos, the actual Ark has been kept in one church, but to defend the treasure, a copy was placed in every single church in Ethiopia.

He said a museum is being built in Axum, Ethiopia, where the Ark will be displayed. A foundation of D'Acosta will fund the project.

The Ark of the Covenant is the sacred container of the Ten Commandments as well as Aaron's rod and a sample of manna, the mysterious food that kept the Israelites alive while wandering in the wilderness during their journey to the promised land.

The Bible says the Ark was built to the specifications of God as He spoke to Moses. It was carried in advance of the people and their army by priests. It was also carried in a seven-day procession around the walled city of Jericho.

The idea that the Ark is presently in Ethiopia is a well-documented, albeit disputed, tradition dating back to at least 642 B.C. The tradition says it was moved to Elephantine Island in Egypt, then to Tana Kirkos Island in Ethiopia and finally to its present site at St. Mary's of Zion Church in Axum.

Ethiopians believe it is destined to be delivered to the Messiah when He reigns on Mount Zion – the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Axum Zion Church/ St. Mary Church of Zion which has housed the Ark of the Covenant for centuries

Jeremiah 3:16 points to a time when the Ark will vanish not only physically, but from the minds of the people: "And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more."

The Book of Revelation says the Ark is in the temple of God in heaven (Rev. 11:19). Muslim scholars say it will be found near the end of times by the Mahdi – a messianic figure in Islam.