የዕለቱ ግጻዌ ምንባባት
መዝሙረ ዳዊት 97 : 7 - 7
ባሕርና ሞላዋ፥ ዓለምም በእርስዋም የሚኖሩ ይናወጡ።
የማቴዎስ ወንጌል 18 : 1 - 12
በዚያች ሰዓት ደቀ መዛሙርቱ ወደ ኢየሱስ ቀርበው፡— በመንግሥተ ሰማያት ከሁሉ የሚበልጥ ማን ይሆን? አሉት። ሕፃንም ጠርቶ በመካከላቸው አቆመ፡ እንዲህም አለ፡— እውነት እላችኋለሁ፥ ካልተመለሳችሁ እንደ ሕፃናትም ካልሆናችሁ፥ ወደ መንግሥተ ሰማያት ከቶ አትገቡም። እንግዲህ እንደዚህ ሕፃን ራሱን የሚያዋርድ ሁሉ፥ በመንግሥተ ሰማያት የሚበልጥ እርሱ ነው። እንደዚህም ያለውን አንድ ሕፃን በስሜ የሚቀበል ሁሉ እኔን ይቀበላል፤ በእኔም ከሚያምኑ ከነዚህ ከታናናሾቹ አንዱን የሚያሰናክል ሁሉ፥ የወፍጮ ድንጋይ በአንገቱ ታስሮ ወደ ጥልቅ ባሕር መስጠም ይሻለው ነበር። ወዮ ለዓለም ስለ ማሰናከያ፤ ማሰናከያ ሳይመጣ አይቀርምና፥ ነገር ግን በእርሱ ጠንቅ ማሰናከያ ለሚመጣበት ለዚያ ሰው ወዮለት። እጅህ ወይም እግርህ ብታሰናክልህ፥ ቈርጠህ ከአንተ ጣላት፤ ሁለት እጅ ወይም ሁለት እግር ኖሮህ ወደ ዘላለም እሳት ከምትጣል ይልቅ አንካሳ ወይም ጉንድሽ ሆነህ ወደ ህይወት መግባት ይሻልሀል። ዓይንህ ብታሰናክልህ አውጥተህ ከአንተ ጣላት፤ ሁለት ዓይን ኖሮህ ወደ ገሃነመ እሳት ከምትጣል ይልቅ አንዲት ዓይን ኖራህ ወደ ሕይወት መግባት ይሻልሃል። ከነዚህ ከታናናሾቹ አንዱን እንዳትንቁ ተጠንቀቁ፤ መላእክቶቻቸው በሰማያት ዘወትር በሰማያት ያለውን የአባቴን ፊት ያያሉ እላችኋለሁና። የሰው ልጅ የጠፋውን ለማዳን መጥቶአልና። ምን ይመስላችኋል? ለአንድ ሰው መቶ በጎች ቢኖሩት ከእነርሱም አንዱ ቢባዝን፥ ዘጠና ዘጠኙን በተራራ ትቶ ሄዶም የባዘነውን አይፈልግምን?
ወደ ዕብራውያን 11 : 33 -
እነርሱ በእምነት መንግሥታትን ድል ነሡ፥ ጽድቅን አደረጉ፥ የተሰጠውን የተስፋ ቃል አገኙ፥ የአንበሶችን አፍ ዘጉ፥ የእሳትን ኃይል አጠፉ፥ ከሰይፍ ስለት አመለጡ፥ ከድካማቸው በረቱ፥ በጦርነት ኃይለኞች ሆኑ፥ የባዕድ ጭፍሮችን አባረሩ። ሴቶች ሙታናቸውን በትንሣኤ ተቀበሉ፤ ሌሎችም መዳንን ሳይቀበሉ የሚበልጠውን ትንሣኤ እንዲያገኙ እስከ ሞት ድረስ ተደበደቡ፤ ሌሎችም መዘበቻ በመሆንና በመገረፍ ከዚህም በላይ በእስራትና በወኅኒ ተፈተኑ፤ በድንጋይ ተወግረው ሞቱ፥ ተፈተኑ፥ በመጋዝ ተሰነጠቁ፥ በሰይፍ ተገድለው ሞቱ፥ ሁሉን እያጡ መከራን እየተቀበሉ እየተጨነቁ የበግና የፍየል ሌጦ ለብሰው ዞሩ፤ ዓለም አልተገባቸውምና በምድረ በዳና በተራራ፥ በዋሻና በምድር ጕድጓድ ተቅበዘበዙ። እነዚህም ሁሉ በእምነታቸው ተመስክሮላቸው ሳሉ የተሰጠውን የተስፋ ቃል አላገኙም፥ ያለ እኛ ፍጹማን እንዳይሆኑ እግዚአብሔር ስለ እኛ አንዳች የሚበልጥ ነገርን አስቀድሞ አይቶ ነበርና።
1ኛ የጴጥሮስ መልእክት 4 : 12 -
ወዳጆች ሆይ፥ በእናንተ መካከል እንደ እሳት ሊፈትናችሁ ስለሚሆነው መከራ ድንቅ ነገር እንደ መጣባችሁ አትደነቁ፤ ነገር ግን ክብሩ ሲገለጥ ደግሞ ሐሤት እያደረጋችሁ ደስ እንዲላችሁ፥ በክርስቶስ መከራ በምትካፈሉበት ልክ ደስ ይበላችሁ። ስለ ክርስቶስ ስም ብትነቀፉ የክብር መንፈስ የእግዚአብሔር መንፈስ በእናንተ ላይ ያርፋልና ብፁዓን ናችሁ። ከእናንተ ማንም ነፍሰ ገዳይ ወይም ሌባ ወይም ክፉ አድራጊ እንደሚሆን ወይም በሌሎች ጒዳይ እንደሚገባ ሆኖ መከራን አይቀበል፤ ክርስቲያን እንደሚሆን ግን መከራን ቢቀበል ስለዚህ ስም እግዚአብሔርን ያመስግን እንጂ አይፈር። ፍርድ ከእግዚአብሔር ቤት ተነሥቶ የሚጀመርበት ጊዜ ደርሶአልና፤ አስቀድሞም በእኛ የሚጀመር ከሆነ ለእግዚአብሔር ወንጌል የማይታዘዙ መጨረሻቸው ምን ይሆን? ጻድቅም በጭንቅ የሚድን ከሆነ ዓመፀኛውና ኃጢአተኛው ወዴት ይታይ ዘንድ አለው? ስለዚህ ደግሞ እንደ እግዚአብሔር ፈቃድ መከራን የሚቀበሉ፥ መልካምን እያደረጉ ነፍሳቸውን ለታመነ ፈጣሪ አደራ ይስጡ።
የሐዋርያት ሥራ 23 : 10 - 15
ብዙ ጥልም በሆነ ጊዜ የሻለቃው ጳውሎስን እንዳይገነጣጥሉት ፈርቶ ጭፍሮቹ ወርደው ከመካከላቸው እንዲነጥቁት ወደ ሰፈሩም እንዲያገቡት አዘዘ። በሁለተኛውም ሌሊት ጌታ በአጠገቡ ቆሞ፡— ጳውሎስ ሆይ፥ በኢየሩሳሌም ስለ እኔ እንደ መሰከርህ እንዲሁ በሮሜም ትመሰክርልኝ ዘንድ ይገባሃልና አይዞህ፡ አለው። በጠባም ጊዜ አይሁድ ጳውሎስን እስኪገድሉት ድረስ እንዳይበሉና እንዳይጠጡ በመሐላ ተስማሙ። ይህንም ሴራ ያደረጉት ሰዎች ከአርባ ይበዙ ነበር፤ እነርሱም ወደ ካህናት አለቆችና ወደ ሽማግሌዎቹ መጥተው፡— ጳውሎስን እስክንገድል ድረስ ምንም እንዳንቀምስ ተረጋግመን ተማምለናል። እንግዲህ አሁን እናንተ ከሸንጎው ጋር ሆናችሁ ስለ እርሱ አጥብቃችሁ እንደምትመረምሩ መስላችሁ ወደ እናንተ እንዲያወርደው ለሻለቃው አመልክቱት፤ እኛም ሳይቀርብ እንድንገድለው የተዘጋጀን ነን አሉአቸው።
መዝሙረ ዳዊት 96 : 7 - 7
ለተቀረጸ ምስል የሚሰግዱ ሁሉ፥ በጣዖቶቻቸውም የሚመኩ ይፈሩ፤ መላእክቱ ሁሉ፥ ስገዱለት።
የማቴዎስ ወንጌል 11 : 23 -
አንቺም ቅፍርናሆም፥ እስከ ሰማይ ከፍ አልሽን? ወደ ሲኦል ትወርጃለሽ፤ በአንቺ የተደረገው ተአምራት በሰዶም ተደርጎ ቢሆን፥ እስከ ዛሬ በኖረች ነበርና። ነገር ግን እላችኋለሁ፥ በፍርድ ቀን ከአንቺ ይልቅ ለሰዶም አገር ይቀልላታል። በዚያን ጊዜ ኢየሱስ መልሶ እንዲህ አለ፡— አባት ሆይ፥ የሰማይና የምድር ጌታ፥ ይህን ከጥበበኞችና ከአስተዋዮች ሰውረህ ለሕፃናት ስለ ገለጥህላቸው አመሰግንሃለሁ፤ አዎን፥ አባት ሆይ፥ ፈቃድህ በፊትህ እንዲህ ሆኖአልና። ሁሉ ከአባቴ ዘንድ ተሰጥቶኛል፤ ከአብ በቀር ወልድን የሚያውቅ የለም፥ ከወልድም በቀር ወልድም ሊገለጥለት ከሚፈቅድ በቀር አብን የሚያውቅ የለም። እናንተ ደካሞች ሸክማችሁ የከበደ ሁሉ፥ ወደ እኔ ኑ፥ እኔም አሳርፋችኋለሁ። ቀንበሬን በላያችሁ ተሸከሙ ከእኔም ተማሩ፥ እኔ የዋህ በልቤም ትሑት ነኝና፥ ለነፍሳችሁም ዕረፍት ታገኛላችሁ፤ ቀንበሬ ልዝብ ሸክሜም ቀሊል ነውና።
Daily Bible Reading
Psalms 97 : 7 - 7
7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
Matthew 18 : 1 - 12
1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. 6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10 Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
Hebrews 11 : 33 -
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
1 Peter 4 : 12 -
12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. 16 Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Acts 23 : 10 - 15
10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. 11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. 12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. 14 And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. 15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.
Psalms 96 : 7 - 7
7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
Matthew 11 : 23 -
23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee. 25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. 26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
የዕለቱ ስንክሳር
የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ ቅዱስ ገብርኤል ተራዳቸው መልአኩ ቅዱስ ገብርኤል ከእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ተልኮ ለቅዱስ ቂርቆስና ለቅድስት ኢየሉጣ ተረዳኢ የሆነበት ሐምሌ ፲፱ ቀን ታላቅ በዓል በመሆኑ ቅድስት ቤተ ከርስቲያናችንም ታከብረዋለች፡፡ የእነዚህም ቅዱሳን ታሪክ በስንክሳር እንደተመዘገበው እንዲህ ይተረካል፡፡ ቅድስት ኢየሉጣ በሮም ግዛት በሚገኝ አንጌቤን በሚባል አገር በፈሪሃ እግዚአብሔር፣ በክርስትና ሃይማኖት እና በበጎ ምግባር ጸንታ ትኖር የነበረች ደግ ሴት ናት፡፡ በሥርዓት ያሳደገችው ቂርቆስ የሚባል ሕፃን ልጅም ነበራት፡፡ ይህቺ ቅድስት የዘመኑን አረማዊ መኰንን እለእስክንድሮስን በመፍራቷ ከልጇ ጋር ከሮም ወደ ጠርሴስ በተሰደደች ጊዜ መኰንኑ እነርሱ ከሚገኙበት አገር ገብቶ ክርስቲያኖችን እያሳደደ መግደል ጀመረ፡፡ የንጉሡ ወታደሮችም እግዚአብሔርን እንዲክዱ፤ ለጣዖት እንዲሰግዱ ቅድስት ኢየሉጣንና ቅዱስ ቂርቆስን አስፈራሯቸው፡፡ ቅዱሳኑ ግን ሃይማኖታቸውን ለመለወጥ ፈቃደኛ አልሆኑም ነበር፡፡ በዚህም መኰንኑ ተቈጥቶ በዓይንና በአፍንጫቸው ውስጥ ጨውና ሰናፍጭ በመጨመር፤ በጋሉ የብረት ችንካሮች በመቸንከርና መላ ሰውነታቸውን በመብሳት በብዙ ዓይነት መሣሪያ አሠቃያቸው፡፡ እግዚአብሔርም የጋሉ ብረቶችን እንደ ውኀ ያቀዘቅዝላቸው፤ ሥቃያቸውንም ያቀልላቸው ነበር፡፡ በሌላ ጊዜም በገመድ አሳሥሮ ንጉሡ ሲያስጨንቃቸው ከቆየ በኋላ ራሳቸውን ከቆዳቸው ጋር አስላጭቶ እሳት አነደደባቸው፡፡ ዳግመኛም ከትከሻቸው እስከ እግራቸው ድረስ በሚደርሱ ችንካሮች ቸነከራቸው፡፡ በዚህ ጊዜ የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ ቅዱስ ገብርኤል ከእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ተልኮ ከሥቃያቸው አድኗቸዋል፡፡ አሁንም ቀኑን ሙሉ በልዩ ልዩ የሥቃይ መሣሪያዎች ቢያስጨንቃቸውም የእግዚአብሔር ኃይልና የቅዱስ ገብርኤል ተራዳኢነት አልተለያቸውም ነበርና ምንም ዓይነት ጉዳት አልደረሰባቸውም፡፡ እንደ ገናም በመጋዝ ሰንጥቀው በብረት ምጣድ በቆሏቸው ጊዜ ጌታችን ከሞት አነሣቸውና በመኰንኑ ፊት ድንቅ ተአምራትን አደረጉ፡፡ ከተአምራቱ መካከልም ሕፃኑ ቅዱስ ቂርቆስ የመኰንኑን ጫማ በጸሎት ወደ በሬነት እንዲቀየር ማድረጉ ተጠቃሽ ሲሆን፣ መኰንኑ በተአምራቱ ተቈጥቶ የቅዱስ ቂርቆስን ምላስ አስቈርጦታል፤ ጌታችንም ምላሱን አድኖለታል፡፡ ዳግመኛም በፈላ የጋን ውኀ ውስጥ ቅዱሳን ቂርቆስና ኢየሉጣን ሊጨምሯቸው ሲሉ ቅድስት ኢየሉጣ በፈራች ጊዜ ቅዱስ ቂርቆስ ‹‹እናቴ ሆይ አትፍሪ፤ አናንያ፣ ዓዛርያና ሚሳኤልን ከእሳት ነበልባል ያዳናቸው እግዚአብሔር እኛንም ከዚህ የፈላ ውኀ ያድነናል›› እያለ ያረጋጋት በተጋድሎዋ እንድትጸና ወደ እግዚአብሔር ይጸልይላት ነበር፡፡ ከዚህ በኋላ ተያይዘው ወደ ጋኑ ውስጥ ገቡ፡፡ ያ ውኀም እንደ ውርጭ ቀዘቀዘ፡፡ ደግሞም ወታደሮቹ መንኰራኵር ባለበት የብረት ምጣድ ውስጥ አስገብተው ሥጋቸው እስኪቈራረጥ ድረስ በጎተቷቸው ጊዜ ቅዱስ ገብርኤል አድኗቸዋል፡፡ በመጨረሻም ከእግዚአብሔር ቃል ኪዳን ተቀብለው በመንፈቀ ሌሊት አንገታቸውን ተቈርጠው በሰማዕትነት ዐርፈዋል፡፡ እስከ ሞት ድረስ በታመኑበት ተጋድሏቸውም ከእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ የሕይወትን አክሊል ተቀብለዋል፡፡ በአጠቃላይ ቅዱስ ቂርቆስና ቅድስት ኢየሉጣ የዚህን ዓለም ጣዕም በመናቅ ‹‹ሞት ቢሆን፣ ሕይወትም ቢሆን፣ መላእክትም ቢሆኑ፣ ግዛትም ቢሆን፣ ያለውም ቢሆን፣ የሚመጣውም ቢሆን፣ ኃይላትም ቢሆኑ፣ ከፍታም ቢሆን፣ ዝቅታም ቢሆን፣ ልዩ ፍጥረትም ቢሆን በክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ በጌታችን ካለ ከእግዚአብሔር ፍቅር ሊለየን እንዳይችል ተረድቼአለሁ›› በማለት ቅዱስ ጳውሎስ የተናገረውን ቃል በተግባር በማሳየት ለክርስቶስ ፍቅር ሲሉ ራሳቸውን ለመከራና ለሞት አሳልፈው ሰጥተዋል፡፡ ቅዱሳኑ ተጋድሏቸውን እስኪፈጽሙ ድረስም ቅዱስ ገብርኤል አልተለያቸውም፡፡ በቅዱስ ገብርኤል ተራዳኢነት ቅድስት ኢየሉጣና ቅዱስ ቂርቆስ ብቻ ሳይሆኑ ብዙ ምእመናንም ተጠቅመዋል፡፡ ስሙ በሚጠራባቸው ገዳማትና አድባራት መልአኩ የሚያደርጋቸው ድንቅ ድንቅ ተአምራት ለዚህ ማስረጃዎች ናቸው፡፡ ይህም ቅዱሳን መላእክት በእግዚአብሔር ስም መከራ የሚቀበሉ ምእመናንን እንደሚጠብቁና ከልዩ ልዩ ደዌ እንደሚፈውሱ የሚያስረዳ ታሪክ ነው፡፡ (ሮሜ. ፰፥፴፰-፴፱) እኛም በሃይማኖታችን ምክንያት መከራ ባጋጠመን ጊዜ ቈራጥ ልብ ያለው ሕፃኑ ቅዱስ ቂርቆስ ‹‹እናቴ ሆይ አትፍሪ›› እያለ በእሳት ውስጥ ሊጣሉ ባሉበት ወቅት እናቱን እንድትጸናና ለሰማዕትነት እንድትበቃ እንዳደረጋት ሁሉ፣ ዘለዓለማዊውን የእግዚአብሔርን መንግሥት በአንድነት ለመውረስ እንድንችል ‹‹አይዞህ! አይዞሽ! አትፍራ! አትፍሪ›› በመባባል በዚህ ዓለም የሚገጥመንን መከራ ታግሠን፣ እስከ ሞት ድረስ በሃይማኖታችን ጸንተን መኖር ይገባናል፡፡ ክርስትና ለብቻ የሚጸደቅበት መንገድ ሳይሆን በጋራ ዋጋ የሚያገኙበት የድኅነት በር ነውና፡፡ ከዚሁ ሁሉ ጋርም ቅዱስ ቂርቆስንና ቅድስት ኢየሉጣን የተራዳው የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ ቅዱስ ገብርኤል በአማላጅነቱ እንዲጠብቀን ‹‹በተአምኖ ንሴፎ ትንባሌ ዚአከ መዓልተ ወሌሊተ፤ በእግዚአብሔር ታምነን በቀንም በሌሊትም የአንተን ልመና ተስፋ እናደርጋለን›› እያልን ዘወትር ልንማጸነው ያስፈልጋል፡፡ እርሱ ከፈጣሪው ከእግዚአብሔር በተሰጠው ቃል ኪዳን መሠረት ከሚደርስብን ልዩ ልዩ መከራና ሥቃይ ያድነናልና፡፡ ‹‹የእግዚአብሔር መልአክ በሚፈሩት ሰዎች ዙርያ ይሠፍራል፤ ያድናቸውማል›› ተብሎ እንደ ተጻፈ (መዝ. ፴፬፥፯)፡፡ ይህን እንድናደርግም የቅዱሳን ተራዳኢነት አይለየን፡፡ የቅዱስ ገብርኤል፣ ቅድስት ኢየሉጣ እና ቅዱስ ቂርቆስ ጸሎታቸው፣ ምልጃቸው ይጠብቀን፡፡ ወስብሐት ለእግዚአብሔር
Daily Synaxarium
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT, ONE GOD. AMEN. On this day the saints of the city of ‘Esna became martyrs, and the cause of their martyrdom was this: Arianus, the governor, came to the city of Esna thrice. The first time he killed the holy woman Dilaj and her four sons, whose names were Sares, and Harman, and Yanufa, and Sentonita, and they finished their testimony on the seventh day of Ginbot. The second time he killed four nobles whose names were Eusaphius, and Taman, and Harwag, and Bacchus; and their martyrdoms took place on the seventh day of the month of Sane. The third time he killed an old woman, who was lying on her bed inside her house. And the soldiers of Arianus asked that old woman about the holy martyrs of the city of ‘Esna, and she said unto them, “Behold, they are in the monastery which is called by the name of Agathon; for they heard of the arrival of Arianus the governor, and they knew that he would kill the Christians, and persecute them.” And after this the governor commanded his soldiers to kill everyone they found, and they ceased not to kill everyone they found, from the western [quarter] of the city, which is called “Sekyot Karim...” And they found many people on the road, and they slew them until they came to the monastery of the glorious father who is called “Isaac the solitary.” And at that time this good shepherd, who was called Ammonius, gave them strength, and he comforted them and said unto them, “Be strong and endure so that ye may enter into the kingdom of heaven.” And whilst he was exhorting them thus, the governor came to them, and when they saw him they all cried out with one voice, saying, “We are Christians.” And the governor commanded the soldiers to kill them with the sword like sheep, and his soldiers rose up and rushed upon them with swords and killed them. And the men of the cities of Alexandria and ‘Esna, from the least of them to the greatest, both man and woman, finished their good fight, on the nineteenth day of the month of Hamle; and the armies of the angels received their souls, and crowned them with crowns of light. And the governor went to the city of Aswan, and then returned to the city of ‘Esna, where he found three laborers coming from the fields and carrying the implements of their toil with them. As soon as they saw him they cried out boldly, saying, “We are Christians”; and when the governor heard this he commanded his soldiers to cut off their heads with the implements of their toil. Now their names were Surufas, and Antichius, and Mashadre, and they finished their martyrdom on the eleventh day of the month of Meskerem. And the governor bound in fetters this glorious father Abba Ammonius, the bishop, and he urged him to sacrifice to idols, and when he refused to do so he commanded the soldiers to cast him into the fire, and they did so, and he finished his martyrdom on the fourteenth day of the month of Tahsas. And certain believing men took him and wrapped him in cloths, and buried him in the place, which is called Bet-Hapes; and when the days of persecution were ended they built a church over him, and they consecrated it in his name. Salutation to the martyrs of ‘Esna. And on this day also Saint Cyriacus (Qirkos) and Julitta (Iyalota) his mother became martyrs. When this saint was a child, and his days were three years, his mother took him and fled from the country of Rome to another country. And she found there the brother of the governor from whom she had fled, and certain men laid information against her before him, and he had her brought and questioned her about the worship of idols. And Saint Julitta answered and said unto him, “Ask the child whose days are three years to tell us what is right, and whether it is good for us to worship the gods or not.” And when the soldiers of the governor went to her house they found Saint Cyriacus (Qirkos) her son, and they brought him to the governor; and the governor questioned him about the worship of idols. And God gave the child strength, and he spoke and cursed the emperor and his gods, and at length he frightened all those who were there, and they marveled greatly at him. And the governor was ashamed, and he tortured the child severely with every kind of torture, the which even a grown up man could not endure, and he tortured Julitta (Iyalota), the mother of the child, even as he tortured her son, but God raised them up whole and uninjured. And because of this many people marveled, and believed on our Lord Jesus Christ, and became martyrs, and the grace of the Holy Spirit descended upon them. And the child Cyriacus (Qirkos) healed many sick folk, and performed great miracles. And when fear came over his mother, and her faith dwindled, he prayed to God on her behalf, and God lifted up her heart unto heaven, and she saw the habitation of the spirit, and she became strong under the torture, and gave thanks to God. And she said unto her son, “O my son, henceforward thou art my father, and I am thy blessed daughter; blessed be the hour wherein I bore thee.” And when the governor was tired of torturing them he commanded the soldiers to cut off their heads with the sword, and they did so, and the saints received the crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens. Salutation to Cyriacus (Qirkos). On this day the holy and honorable Matlan (Batlan), the physician, became a martyr. This saint was from a city, the name of which is Ta’madan, and his father, whose name was Asturius, was an infidel, and his mother, whose name was ‘Ulana, was a believer. When the child grew up, his father taught him writing and every kind of learning (or, philosophy), and he became a very great and famous physician. And a certain man who was a priest lived near their house, and when Batlan passed by, and he saw his comeliness and his knowledge, and his wisdom and skill, and his understanding, he was sorry for him, because he was a denier [of Christ]. And the priest entreated our Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of Batlan, that He might guide him into the way of life, and bring him into the True Faith. And having multiplied his petitions to God on behalf of Batlan, a time came when God told the priest in a vision of the night that Batlan should believe through him, and the priest rejoiced. And the priest always spoke to Batlan whenever he passed before him, and saluted him, and through this custom friendship grew up between them; and Batlan used to go into the priest’s house to talk with him about the Faith. And the priest explained to him the uncleanness of idols, and the corruptness of heart of those who worshipped them, and he showed him the glory of the Faith of Christ, and the knowledge and understanding of those who serve Him; and then he made him to know that by the hands of all those who believe in Christ our Lord miracles are wrought; and great healings effected. And when Saint Batlan heard that all those who believe in Christ could perform miracles, he rejoiced exceedingly, and he longed to perform miracles for himself, and he fulfilled his desire with wisdom and worked miracles; for he believed in our Lord through that priest, who taught him at all times. And one day Saint Batlan was passing through the market place of the city, and he saw a man whom a serpent had bitten lying on the ground and the serpent was standing up before him. And he said within himself, “I will stand up that I may put to the test the words of the priest, my teacher, who saith unto me, ‘If thou dost belong to our Lord Jesus Christ, thou shalt work miracles in His Name.’” And he drew nigh unto the man whom the snake had bitten, and he prayed a long prayer, and asked Christ to make manifest His power and heal the man, and kill the serpent, so that it might not do harm to any one else. And when he had finished his prayer the man rose up alive and whole, and without pain, and the serpent fell down and died straightway. And Batlan’s faith increased, and he went to the priest who baptized him with Christian baptism, and he used to visit him continually. One day a blind man came unto him that he might heal him, and when the father of the saint saw him he sent him away. And Batlan questioned his father about this, and he said unto him, “Who was the man that was enquiring for me?” And his father answered, and said unto him, “It was a blind man, and thou canst not heal him.” And the saint answered and said unto his father, “Thou shalt see [the power of] God.” And he called the blind man back, and said unto him, “If thou canst see wilt thou believe in the God Who shall heal thine eyes for thee?” And the blind man said unto him, “Yea, I will believe.” And the saint prayed over him for a long time, and then he laid his hand upon the eyes of the blind man, and said unto him, “In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ receive thy sight”; and straightway the blind man’s eyes were opened. And when the father of the saint saw this he believed, together with the man who was blind, on our Lord Jesus Christ, and Batlan took them to the priest, his teacher, who baptized them both with Christian baptism. And when the father of the saint died, Batlan set his slaves free, and gave the greater part (?) of his money to the poor. And he practiced medicine, and healed men without payment, but he required those whom he healed to believe on Christ. And the [other] physicians were jealous of him, and they laid information against him, and the priest, and the man who was blind, and many other believers, before the king. And the king was wroth with them, and he said unto them, “Sacrifice ye to the gods,” but they refused to obey him, and the soldiers cut off their heads with the sword and they received crowns of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens. And after this the king tortured Saint Batlan very severely, and many signs and wonders appeared through him, and many men believed through him, whilst he was under torture, and became martyrs. And the king was wroth with Saint Batlan, and cast him to the lions, but they would not injure him, and only licked his feet; and the king commanded the soldiers to cut off his head with the sword, and they did so, and thus he finished his fight, and received the crown of martyrdom in the kingdom of the heavens. Salutation to Batlan. Salutation Isaac, the righteous man. And on this day also are commemorated Abba Batrabo, and Macarius of Falga Halib, and Moses of Shoki. Salutation to Abel, the son of Takla Haymanot. Glory be to God Who is glorified in His Saints. Amen.