Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EOTC), His Holiness Abune Merkorios, will officially open the St. Mary of Zion Church’s new building in New York Saturday, Nov. 28.
The inauguration program will start at 6 AM tomorrow in the presence of His Holiness as well as Abune Melketsedik, Abune Elias, Abune Samuel, Abune Baslios, and other religious leaders and guests from all over the United States.
Location: 77 High Street Yonkers, New York, 10703 (Click here for map)
The event will also celebrate the annual Saint Mary’s Day, according to Melakegenet Gezahegn G. Kirstos, the Church’s administrator.
New York’s St. Mary of Zion Church was first established in 1991 by the late Abune Yesehaq, Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Western Hemisphere. It is the first Ethiopian church that took a stand against the illegal take over of the EOTC by a cadre of the ruling Woyanne junta, Ato Gebremedhin (formerly Aba Paulos).
(For further info call (917) 837-8245, (203) 645-0275, (631) 671-6090. Also visit stmaryofzion.com)
12 thoughts on “Ethiopia’s patriarch to inaugurate a new church building in NY”
ኤሊያስ ፣እግዚያብሔር ቸሩን ያሰማህ ይህንን ታላቅ ዜና ስላበሰርከን። ብጽዕ ወቅዱስ አቡነ መርቆሪዎስ ሕጋዊና ትክክለኛው የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋህዶ ቤተክርስቲያን ፓትርያርክ ናቸው። የሚመረቅው ቤተክርስቲያን በአገራችን ፍትህና ርትህ ላጡት ዳኝነትን፣ በእስር ለሚማቅቁት ነፃነትን፣ ለተሰደዱት ወደአገራችው መመለስን፣ የተዋረደችዋንና በጠላቶችዋ ተረግጣ በግፍ ለምትገዛው አገራችን አርነትንና ነፃነትን የሚጸለይበት ያድርግልን። ብጹዕ አባታችንን ዕድሜና ጤና ይስጥልን።
Elias
According to your sins, I have a feeling that god isn’t going to wait till u go to hell. He may make ur life here on earth as good as u would feel in hell. It may already be I don’t know.
The Lord “who watches over” the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church “will not slumber” and “will not let her foot slip”!
Standing firm in what she believes since its inception 2000 years ago, overcoming all the vicissitudes throughout its long and exhausting historical journey, stretching out its helping hands and calling loud its members allover the world to come together and fight the common enemy of men – the absence of God in every person’s heart in this carnal, adulterous, and faithless world of ours – the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church is here today with us in New York City, the envy of the whole world.
What a great blessing to see this historical and ancient Church of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church expanding and spreading the word of God by building new schools and new churches like this impressing new building of St. Mary of Zion Church the world over. This remarkable eighteen years old New York’s St. Mary of Zion Church, with its founder, faithful, and hard working Abune Yesehaq, has a remarkable history of its own that distinguishes it from the rest of the other Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Churches in America.
Our St. Mary’s of Zion Church has been consistent and truthful to the traditional manner and rule of our Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church Fathers that once a patriarch has been appointed to the Holy See of the patriarch to appoint bishops, archbishops, and to honestly administer the ecclesiastical affairs, he will stay in office until death claims him. This rule has been the norm of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church for centuries and has never been violated until the death of His Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie, defender of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church.
However, after the horrifying death of the Shining Sun, King Haile Selassie, followed by the death of Patriarch Theophelos who was murdered by Mengistu Haile Mariam, and after Mengistu Haile Mariam fled the country, many strange things have been happening in Ethiopia since then. One of these strange things is the overtaking of the Ethiopian government by an obscure man from an obscure region, terrorizing the entire country, selling its land, its heritage, and its innocent baby boys and baby girls to foreign buyers, and that evil man is Meles Seitanawi (Zenawi). And the other strange thing is the appointment of a worldly man, Ato Gebre Medhin, from that obscure country – Tigray – by Meles Seitanawi and his wife Jezebel to be the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church while the legitimate patriarch Abune Merkorios is still alive and well.
King Solomon once said: ‘Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up: a servant who becomes king, a fool who is full of food, an unloved woman who is married, and a maidservant who displaces her mistress.” (Proverbs 30:21-23) But I would say under three things our country Ethiopia trembles, under four it cannot bear up:
1. The withholding of donated food from being distributed to the hungry Ethiopian Children
2. The selling of the Ethiopian babies to foreigners
3. The appointment of a hated person to the holy see of the Ethiopian patriarchate
4. The prolonged stay of Meles Seitanawi in power
During the time of King Haile Selassie, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church was a state Church and strong financially, but after his death the Church has to struggle to survive not only financially but from internal conflict created by Aba Paulos, a worldly, power-hungry, self-sanctimonious, and self-righteous man.
Most of us will remember in our study of the Roman Catholic Church history that St. Peter of Damian described Pope Benedict IX as ‘feasting on immorality’ and a demon from hell in the disguise of a priest.’ The same description applies exactly to Aba Paulos, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. Benedict IX was also accused by Bishop Benno ‘of Piacenza of many vile adulteries and murders.’ In the same way Aba Paulos has gunned down an innocent Ethiopian monk while he was preaching the Ethiopian public in a day light at Meskel Adebabay in Addis Ababa; he is also a womanizer and the father of many children. He has been one of the most hated people in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church history, and as a result, many of the Ethiopian Orthodox members have prohibited themselves from taking the Holy Communion from his hand and regard him as a disgrace to the holy see of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church Fathers.
And it is with this clear historical facts that the Mary of Zion Church adamantly refused to recognize him as the legitimate patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church; it only recognizes Abune Merkorios as the legitimate Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church at home and abroad, and that is why his holiness with the other invited Bishops and highly respected guests is here today to kindly bless the inauguration of the new building of the St. Mary of Zion Church.
The New York’s St. Mary of Zion Church is built according to the will of God, Jesus Christ, who promised us that he “will build his Church, and that the gates of hell” – the death squad of Aba Paulos that murdered the Ethiopian holy man – “will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18)
By the way, what are the qualifications of a patriarch, a bishop, and an archbishop to be the leader of the Church of Jesus Christ?
As the Holy Bible unequivocally tells us some of the qualifications of a church leader, a bishop or a patriarch are that “he must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife” (we do not know for sure how many concubines Aba Paulos has, as we couldn’t figure out as to the multiplicities of the prophet Muhammad’s harems), “temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money….He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.” (1st Timothy 3:2-7)
Does it seem that Aba Paulos has any of the above qualifications to become the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church? Indeed, he may have one qualification, and that is he has a good reputation with outsiders such as the Portuguese and the Spanish governments for awarding him this week the “highest-Honor Portuguese and Spanish Medal” for working hard to secure “peace and co-existence among the people of the world as announced by one of the patriarchate persons. I do not know where the Spanish and the Portuguese people got the idea that this evil man, Aba Paulos, has ever been a man of peace; then if it is true, that is the only quality he has, or he may have gotten this price by simply selling some valuable Church artifacts to the two governments of Spain and Portugal, but we Ethiopians know very well that he is the only person that has the keys to the gates of death and the grave to let in Meles Seitanawi and his wife Jezebel.
His absence in this delightful inauguration of the new building of St. Mary of Zion Church and the presence of his holiness Patriarch Merkorios are double blessings to all of the members of this new Church.
May the Almighty God bless, prosper, and protect the Children of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church wherever they are and choose them to be his instruments to build his Church and expand it with his eternal blessings.
Thank you, Elias, for posting the good news – the inauguration of a new Church building in New York City.
Can anyone, please, tell me the real names of the following persons before they were appointed to become Abunes?
1. Abune Melketsedik
2. Abune Elias
3. Abune Samuel
4. Abune Baslios
When did they get their positions and from whom? Did they get their appointments from Mengistu Haile Mariam, or from Meles Seitanawi and his wife Jezebel? If they are appointed by Aba Paulos; then their appointment is invalid since Aba Paulos himself is a fake patriarch.
#4, the way you write things it looks like you don’t follow our church closely. Abune Melketsadik has been serving the church for the last 80 years. He wrote more than 62 books. I read 5 of them, and it is the best best books I ever read. One of them is ‘KIRISTIYANAWI SINEMIGIBAR’ is the best book of the century. I read it 20 years ago , but I feel I read it today. I think Joel Osteen copied some of his articles from this book. This guy (abune Melketsadik) is talented when he preach in church. He knows the whole ADIS KIDAN oraly. He teachs many people including Abb Diabilos. When Gebre Medihin came from Adwa and begging in front of the trinity church, Melketsedek to many kids including Gebremedihin from their mothers to teach church doctrine. At that time Abune Melkeketsedek was the administrator of the Trinity church in Addis. Some of His students are the Patriarch him self Abune Merkorios, abune Zena Markos and many other bishops. Other are Kebede Micheal , etc.
As I said above, no body is better than Aba Melketsedik in our church at this time . He was in jail for 8 years by Derg. He was almost in jail by Meles, but he escaped to USA. He is secretary of the legal holy synod, and they opened more than 100 churches in US and Canada. But of course he is the victim of character assassination of Woyannes. Also here victim of Zebene (the Arusi Jimmy Swaggart). I remember few years ago Aba Melketsedik came to Medhanialem church, but zebene didn’t give him the chance to talk. And zebene annanunce him to the people as an ordinary bishop.
Well GIZE YESETEW QIL DIGAY YISEBRAL.
What ever I wrote is written in the book, I am not making it. Aba Melketsedil was the adiminstrator of the Holy Trinity church around 4 KILO. Aba Melketsedik took many kids including Ato Gebremedihn and feed , teach him until he become deacon. ZEMED KE ZEMEDU AHIYA KAMEDU Ato Gebremedin sides with Meles and kicked out Aba Melketsedik out of the country.
Dear Amare,
Melktsedik is a name given to him when he was appointed as a bishop, but what was his real name when he was the administrator of the Holy Trinity Church, and before that the director of St. Paul School at Kolfe? This man then must be Like Siltanat Aba Habtemariam, the most influential and the brightest person the Ethiopian Orthodox Church ever produced as far as I remember. If indeed he is that person that I am thinking of, I am very glad that he is still alive after all the great turmoils that has almost destroyed that lovely country of ours.
Yes Gettu, he is the one. Did you read his book KIRISTIYANAWI SINEMIGBAR’? please read it . I read it when I was a teenager. It helps me to straight up myself. You know what firestage means, I could have distroy myself.
I heard that , he has 9 unpublished books. Because of the shortage of money , he couldn’t do it . He has already 62 published books, but all the money he got from the book gave it to the poors. Can you imagne a man with 62 books has no money? He could have been a millionair.
He is now in the late 80’s, and I hope he will publish it before be die.
Compair this guy with Zebene, ohhhhh. men!
#2 ዋቆ ግብረ ዲያብሎስን በማድረግ ላይ ያለህ ክፉ ሰው ነህ:: በተክርስቲያን ተመረቀ ብሎ ማብሰር ክፋቱ ምኑ ላይ ነው? ዲያብሎስ ተግባሩ መዛትና ማስፈራራት ብቻ ነው:: የወደቀና የታሰረ መንፈስ ስለሆነ እንደ ዋቆ ይዝታል በከንቱ…
Mr. Wako of Oromia,
How do you know Mr. Elias Kifle, a well-known journalist all over the world, who interviewed a president, and visited the Ethiopian fighters, is a sinner? It is not for you to say that someone is a sinner since we all are sinners, and especially you may be the worst one. Have you listened to Jesus words: “He who is without sin among you let him through the first stone at her.” (John 8:7)
Mr. Assta,
since you claim Tigray to be obscure region and country, do you then render Axum, Debre Damo, Yeha and other nine saints monasteries, Abraha and Atsbaha, and all the other ancient holy sites from the 4th-6th century which are the FOUNDATION of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church culture obscure also?