♰ Founded in
1872, The Addis Ababa St. Raguel and Elijah Church, also known as
Kiddus Raguel Church, is a historic Ethiopian Orthodox site on Entoto
Mountain (3,200 meters above sea level), famous for its stunning,
centuries-old wall paintings made from natural pigments, its unique
hand-carved rock-hewn church, and a small museum with relics,
offering a glimpse into early Addis Ababa history and Ethiopian art.
The Church features beautiful frescoes and a fascinating ancient cave
church, making it a key spiritual and cultural landmark.
Key Features & What
to Expect:
Stunning Frescoes:
The interior walls boast vivid, hand-painted murals depicting
biblical stories and saints, some as old as the church itself
(around 140 years).
Rock-Hewn Cave
Church: A separate, ancient church carved directly into the rock on
the same grounds, predating the main wooden structure.
Small Museum: A
nearby museum houses historical artifacts like old manuscripts and
crosses.
Location: Perched
on the scenic Entoto Hills, offering great views.
Living Church:
It's an active place of worship, not just a museum, with pilgrims
visiting.
😇 One
day, as the prophet Elijah was praying, the Angel, the Holy Raguel
was revealed and told him, "Rejoice, for the time has come for
you to ascend to heaven. You will live in a land of complete
happiness. A place where no sickness, death, sorrow, but full of
blessing. There is one like you, Enoch, who writes the commandment of
the Most High God.
In the Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church (EOTC) calendar, the Prophet Elijah (Kidus Elias) is
honored, with his birth commemorated on the 1st day of the month of
Tahisas (December 10th), a significant feast alongside the birth of
the Virgin Mary (Lideta Mariam) and the Archangel Raguel. The EOTC
celebrates his miraculous birth, where angels were seen around him,
and his life as a great prophet who brought Israel back to God,
eventually being taken to heaven in a fiery chariot.
Key Details:
Date: Tahisas 1
(December 10th).
Significance: A
monthly feast day celebrating the birth of the Virgin Mary,
Archangel Raguel, and Prophet Elijah.
Tradition:
Celebrates Elijah's birth in Gilead to righteous parents, with
angelic visions at his circumcision, and his life as a lamp to God's
people, leading them from idolatry.
Elijah's Role in EOTC
Tradition:
Prophet of Fire: Known for his
fiery zeal for God and powerful miracles, like bringing rain.
Foregoer of Christ: Believed
to be the one who will return before Christ's Second Coming, as
prophesied in Malachi.
Ascension: Honored for being
taken to heaven alive in a fiery chariot, appearing with Moses at
the Transfiguration
According to
Ethiopian Orthodox calendar The prophet Elijah was born on December
10 [Tahisas 1], in the province of Gilead, to his righteous parents,
his father, Joshua, and his mother, Tonya, who had lived in the house
of Levi. On the eighth day, when they had performed circumcision,
they named him Elijah.
When the
prophet Elijah grew up learning the Law, he left his mother, his
father, his relatives, and all his money and lived in the wilderness.
St. Paul in the Hebrews' message, "They went about in sackcloth,
on carpets, and in goatskins; they were distressed, afflicted,
afflicted, hungry, thirsty. These are the things that the world does
not deserve: the forest goes for the mountain and the mountain, the
cave for the caves and the crumbs for fear. " Hebrews 11:37
"Elijah"
also means a lamp to the house of God, that olive oil might shine
upon all that are in darkness. When the Israelites were in darkness
when they broke into the law of God, worshiping idols, the prophet
Elijah arrived and brought them back to God with a bright heart.
One of the
great miracles the prophet had done with the power of God was to make
rain and to revive again [1 Kings 17: 2]. The sacrifice of the Lord
in the presence of the priest, and the disgrace of the priests [2
Kings 18: 38].
One day, as the
prophet Elijah was praying, the Angel, the Holy Raguel was revealed
and told him, "Rejoice, for the time has come for you to ascend
to heaven. You will live in a land of complete happiness. A place
where no sickness, death, sorrow, but full of blessing. There is one
like you, Enoch, who writes the commandment of the Most High God.
"When the
time came for God to bring Elijah to heaven, the prophet went from
Gilgal to Jericho, and his disciple Elisha said, "By your living
soul, I will not leave you." When they arrived in Jericho, there
came small prophets from Jericho. Elijah's ascension was revealed to
them by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and they said to Elisha, "Do
you know that today the Lord will take away your Lord from you?"
He said, "I know, keep quiet." Then Elijah went with
Elisha, when he said, "Sit down here, for the LORD has sent me
to the Jordan . I will not leave you."
Fifty men from
the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the
place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. 8 Elijah
took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water
divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed
over on dry ground.
9 When they had
crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you
before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of
your spirit,” Elisha replied.
10 “You have
asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I
am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”
11 As they were
walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and
horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah
went up to heaven in a whirlwind. 12 Elisha saw this and cried out,
“My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And
Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore it
in two. 13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen
from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He
took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with
it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he
struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he
crossed over. [2 Kings 6-14]
As Elijah
crossed the Jordan River into the living nations, the believers born
of the water and the Holy Spirit will inherit the kingdom of God. Our
Lord said in the Gospel of John that "a person who is not born
again cannot see the kingdom of God."
The prophet
Elijah was one of the fifteen prophets (Moses, Joshua, Samuel,
Jonathan, Gad, David, Solomon, Elisha, Ezra, Isaiah, Daniel,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and John the Baptist). This is a prophet who spoke
physically with our Lord on the Mount of Tabor, a priest who broke
down the sacrifice of idols, a traditional priest who initiated the
ordinance;
Our Lord, our
Savior, Eyesus Kirstos, has called John "Elijah" when he
witnessed the greatness of the Holy Spirit of baptism. Our Lord calls
John “Elijah” because it implies that he is teaching ahead of the
Second Coming of Eyesus Kirstos,
James 5:17:
"Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he
prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the
earth by the space of three years and six months."
🙏 May the
prayers of Prophet Elijah and St, Raguel
the Archangel of JUSTICE be up on us!
✞ In the name of the
Father the Son the Holy Spirit One God Amen!!!
✞ The
Axum Massacre ✞
❖ This November, we Christians are
marking this November the 5th anniversary of the genocide
against Ethiopian Christians.
Five
years ago This
week (between
November 26 and 29, 2020), 1000 Orthodox Christians were brutally
massacred in The Holy city of Axum, Ethiopia, while defending The
Biblical Ark of The Covenant.
27.
- 29. November 2020 Muslim soldiers from Ethiopia, Eritrea and
Somalia armed by Iran, UAE and Turkey went on the rampage in Axum, a
Holy City in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, whose main Church
of Our Lady Mary of Zion is believed by Ethiopian Orthodox Christians
to hold The Biblical Ark of Covenant.
Over the course of 24
hours, the Muslim soldiers went door to door summarily shooting
unarmed young men and boys. Some of the victims were as young as 13.
❖ The
Ark of the Covenant had the power to bless and curse, and that it was
the dwelling place of God's presence. (1
Samuel 4:3-7). The Ark of Covenant Can
Destroy An Entire Planet & Everything on It (Revelation
11:19).
Every year the Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahdo Church celebrates “Hidar Tsion” on the 21st of
November in geez calendar. It is one of the 33 Holidays that our
church has put for St. Mary. The history of the Holiday goes back to
when God saw the Israelis suffering and led them out Egypt through
the red-sea by the prophet Moses. God gave them an Ark of Covenant
that includes the Ten Commandments so that they can worship him and
obey his words. “and the Lord called to him from the mountain,
saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the
children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians,
and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now
therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant,
then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all
the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a
holy nation.” Exodus 19:3. So with the Ark of Covenant with them
they started their journey to the Promised Land beating every
obstacle that were in front of them.
The bible tells us in many
events whenever an enemy comes to the Israelis they would take the
Ark of Covenant and by the power of God they were able to defeat all
of their enemies. They were even able to take down tower of Jericho
Joshua 6. So through the leadership of different people God lead his
people; although they would disobey his commandments at times God
always had mercy upon them.
Among the leaders that God
had chosen for the people of Israel was Eli the high priest. They
fought with Philistines and as usual with the help of the Ark of
Covenant, they defeated them several times. However, during the
leadership of Eli the Israelis started disobeying God’s
Commandments. Eli’s sons that were chosen to serve the house of the
Lord were committing adultery and many sinful things. When another
war with the Philistines arose, the Israelis carried the Ark of
Covenant to help them defeat their enemies, separated the lake of
Jordan, and broke the tower of Jericho to the battlefield. But
because their sinful deeds during the war there were a lot of people
who died, many were heavily injured, the two sons of Eli died and the
Ark of Covenant that was their power and strength got captured by the
Philistines who worshiped Idol. When Priest Eli heard that the Ark of
Covenant was captured, he fell from his seat and died. Phinehas’
wife was in labor to give birth, when she heard all this she named
her baby Ichabod, which mean the glory has departed from Israel. “And
she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God
has been captured.” 1 Samuel 4:22.
The Philistines placed the
Ark of Covenant in the house of Dagon ( their Idol). The next morning
they found Dagon by his face kneeling to the Ark of Covenant. There
was a lot of death and a lot of problems; & it was getting worst
day by day so the Philistines decided to send it back to Israel[ 1
Samuel 6]. It was in this month that they Ark of Covenant came back
to its place, which is why our church celebrates it with great Glory.
Our Mother St Mary is
called “Tsion”. It means a mount, something that you would hide
yourself in. When God told Lot to escape because he going to destroy
Sodom and Gomorrah he told him “Escape for your life! Do not look
behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains,
lest you be destroyed.” Genesis 19: 17. Our fathers symbolize St.
Mary as the mountain that Lot hid in. King David also said “His
foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion
More than all the dwellings of Jacob.” Psalm 87:1. After stating
that our Virgin Mary is the dwelling place of God and that she is
also our refuge King David Continued to say “For the Lord has
chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: This is My
resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it”
Psalm 132:13.
Just like Ark of Covenant
is where the commandments of God is written, God the Son dwelled in
St. Mary. Kudus Efriem said in wdasie Mariam ZeArb (Friday) “ኮንኪ
ታቦቶ ለፈጣሬ ሰማያት ወምድር” You have
became the resting-place for the creator of the Heaven and earth.
The Virgin
Mary is
one of the most venerated of all religious figures in Ethiopia. About
33
days are annually dedicated to different celebrations in the
commemoration of Mary. „Hidar
Zion“
is associated with the presence of the Ark of the Covenant in Axum
and the belief that the Ark itself is a symbolism to The
Womb
of The Mother of
Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our
Lord Jesus Christ died at 33.
The human spine has 33 vertebrae. The same structure that
holds us up is the same number of years He held this Earth.
We have 12 ribs on
each side. 12 disciples. 12 tribes of Israel. God built
His design into our bones. He wrote Heaven into our anatomy.
😇 Archangel
Saint Michael will take care of our wicked
Antichrist enemies.
Ethiopian Orthodox
Tewahedo Church honors Saint Michael (Kidus Mikael); the Angel of
mercy; on the 12th of each month of which two of them are
great annual feasts of the saint – on Hidar 12 (November 21)
and Senie 12 (June 19). His name Michael means “who is like
God”.
Saint
Michael is one of the seven Archangels, who is always standing
besides God’s throne and is honored for leading the army of Holy
Angels and defeated Satan and the rebellious angels into Hell.
Revelation 12:7 On this day God crowned him with his glory and mercy
and become the Arch of the the Archangel’s.
2.
The Commander of the Lord’s Army
Joshua, the son of Nun,
saw him in great glory and was frightened by him and fell on his face
to the earth and said to him, "Are you for us, or for our
adversaries?" So he said, "No; but as Commander of the army
of the Lord... I have given Jericho into your hand, ... and its
king." (Joshua 5:13-15, 6:2)
3.
The Exodus of Israel from Egypt through the help of the Arch Angle
Michael
Exodus
14:19-22:
19
Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s
army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved
from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of
Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to
the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the
other all night long.
21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night
the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it
into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went
through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right
and on their left.
23
The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots
and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of
the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at
the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed[a] the
wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the
Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is
fighting for them against Egypt.”
26
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so
that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots
and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at
daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing
toward[b] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water
flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army
of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of
them survived.
29
But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of
water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved
Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians
lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty
hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared
the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Michael,
is the commander of the angels, came down from heaven, and rolled
back the stone from the mouth of the tomb, and announced the women
“Christ is risen from the dead”.
St.
Paul observes that the Hebrews “ all our fathers were under the
cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto
Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1-4; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal.
3:27).
There
is a common ritual practiced by the devotees in order to commemorate,
worship and give thanks. Ethiopian traditional bread – Difo Dabo,
roasted barley – Kolo in the name of St. Michael are being
prepared and shared in the church.
🙏 May the prayer of
Archangel Saint Michael be up on us!
Why
Do the Luciferians Build their Embassies & the Chaka Project
Around The St. Michael Ethiopian Monastery?
♰ History does not know the conventional way and does not believe
in chance. Everything that happened in the past will definitely
respond today. And St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is a
monumental confirmation of this opinion.
Founded in the summer of 1108 on the occasion of the victory over the
Polovtsians, the church was consecrated in honor of Archangel
Michael. He was considered the patron of military affairs - work
worthy of princes. The temple was the first among others to receive
golden domes and began the tradition of gilding them. It was the
domes that suffered the greatest losses in 1240 during the Mongol
invasion - the Mongols damaged the cathedral and removed its gilded
baths. But this did not prevent the temple from being reborn in full
beauty in two centuries.
Demolition of St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral by Bolsheviks
At the beginning of the summer of 1919 Bolshevik (Communist)
government moved to Kyiv from Kharkiv. They started the
nationalization of buildings and property.
In the 1930s, Soviet historians called into question the known
historical facts regarding the age of the cathedral. They emphasized
that the medieval building had undergone major reconstructions and it
hadn’t preserved the original Byzantine style. In its place, they
planned a new administrative center for the Ukrainian Soviet
Socialist Republic.
The cathedral was declared to belong particularly to the Ukrainian
Baroque architectural style, rather than to the 12th-century
Byzantine style. This conclusion was encouraged by the Soviet
government to demolish the entire monastery. All the professors
signed the demolition act except for Mykola Makarenko, who stood his
ground and refused to do so. As a consequence, he was arrested and
eventually sentenced to death in Tomsk, Russia in 1938.
The cathedral saw the hetman's greatness and the Ruin, the prosperity
of Kyiv and the destruction of its churches during the "godless
five-year plan". It took about 60 years for the St. Michael's
Golden-Domed Monastery to be restored in the same way to which modern
Kyivans are accustomed. It was restored so that the church could
stand up for them again in 2013-2014. Then, for the first time in 8
centuries, the bells of the monastery sounded the alarm, and its
walls became a place of rest and hiding for the participants of the
Revolution of Dignity.
History does not believe in chance. It creates symbols, and then,
century after century, turn by turn, strengthens them. Whether it's a
temple wall or a baby surrounded by lambs, those destined to stand up
for the people will surely be reborn to fulfil their historic
purpose.
😇
'White Ethiopians' Singing Hymn to St. Michael in Ethiopic/ Geez |
የቅዱስ
ሚካኤል ግዕዝ መዝሙር በነጭ ኢትዮጵያውያን
አንደበት
😇 Commemoration
of the Archangel Saint Michael- የሕዳር
ሚካኤል
Ethiopian
Orthodox Tewahedo Church honors Saint Michael (Kidus Mikael); the
Angel of mercy; on the 12th of each month of which two of them are
great annual feasts of the saint – on Hidar 12 (November 21) and
Senie 12 (June 19). His name Michael means “who is like God”.
Saint
Michael is one of the seven Archangels, who is always standing
besides God’s throne and is honored for defeating Devil at God’s
command (Rev.12:7-9).
In
addition to the Holy Bible, "Dersane Michael" contains the
miracles of St. Michael. Archangel Saint Michael is powerful and the
guardian of the souls and fighter against evil. He is often painted
in the walls of every Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church followers
with a flaming sword and spear, which pierces the devil.
❖ On
Hidar / ሕዳር
፲፪/
12 (November 21):
1.
Crowned and became the Arch of the Archangel’s
Saint
Michael is one of the seven Archangels, who is always standing
besides God’s throne and is honored for leading the army of Holy
Angels and defeated Satan and the rebellious angels into Hell.
Revelation 12:7 On this day God crowned him with his glory and mercy
and become the Arch of the Archangel's.
2.
The Commander of the Lord’s Army
Joshua,
the son of Nun, saw him in great glory and was frightened by him and
fell on his face to the earth and said to him, "Are you for us,
or for our adversaries?" So he said, "No; but as Commander
of the army of the Lord... I have given Jericho into your hand, ...
and its king." (Joshua 5:13-15, 6:2)
3.
The Exodus of Israel from Egypt through the help of the Arch Angle
Michael
Exodus
14:19-22:
19
Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s
army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved
from in front and stood behind them, 20 coming between the armies of
Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to
the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the
other all night long.
21
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night
the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it
into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went
through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right
and on their left.
23
The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots
and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of
the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at
the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed[a] the
wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the
Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is
fighting for them against Egypt.”
26
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so
that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots
and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at
daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing
toward[b] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water
flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army
of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of
them survived.
29
But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of
water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved
Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians
lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty
hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared
the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Michael,
is the commander of the angels, came down from heaven, and rolled
back the stone from the mouth of the tomb, and announced the women
“Christ is risen from the dead”.
St.
Paul observes that the Hebrews “ all our fathers were under the
cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto
Moses in the cloud and in the sea” (1 Cor. 10:1-4; Rom. 6:3-4; Gal.
3:27).
There
is a common ritual practiced by the devotees in order to commemorate,
worship and give thanks. Ethiopian traditional bread – Difo Dabo,
roasted barley – Kolo in the name of St. Michael are being
prepared and shared in the church.
🙏 May the prayer of
Archangel Saint Michael be up on us!
