By Elias Kifle
Ethiopian Orthodox Church preacher Memher Zebene is once again causing havoc inside the Medhanialem Church in Maryland by turning members against each other so that he can overthrow the elected board members and make the church his personal property.
Most Ethiopian churches in the Diaspora are fulfilling the spiritual need of Ethiopians and providing essential services to our community quietly and with little or no controversy. In this regard, the St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Atlanta is a great role model.
But in some church that are infiltrated by individuals like Zebene, there is always chaos. Recently, at a Dallas church, a church official had called police officers on church members who spoke out against the way the board conducts. The police officers entered the church — without taking off their shoes — and removed individuals whom the officials wanted to silence. This has occurred after the church board was taken over through shenanigans.
Memher Zenebe is trying to do the same thing at the Medhanialem Church that has served the Washington Metro Area for over a decade.
The problem started when the Board hired and brought Zenebe from Ethiopia to teach Bible. His hip hop style of preaching gained him popularity — mainly among the young members — and he soon managed to get himself selected to the Board. He has also accumulated a great deal of personal wealth since he arrived in the Washington DC area. A few years ago, he went to Addis Ababa to get married at a lavish wedding party where Woyanne cade Ato Gebremedhin (formerly Aba Paulos), who claims to be the Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Church, was invited.
Memher Zebene’s recent actions, his endless squabbles with church elders and board members, his power struggle to take over the church all point to the conclusion that he is serving not the church but himself — he is after fame (vainglory), wealth and power over others. It is said that vanity is Devil’s favorite sin.
Click here to read a recent article posted about Zenebe for more information.
81 thoughts on “Memher Zebene’s vanity”
Elias there is no doubt Woyanes are after all churchs in America. So called Mhibere Kidusan and other Woyanes agents are infilitrated in the parish to divide members so Aba Gebremedhin eventually take over.As for Dallas I think you have got a wrong information. The new elected board members are fighting against hodam Woyanes agents. Should you want more information go to Senbete blog. They have been exposing the teleconferance between Dallas area agents and Aba Gebremedhin”
thanks elias;
Always the messengers of aba gebre medihin are doing these destabilization of Ethiopians across the board whether church or community or political parties.
Unfortunately we Ethiopians could not wake up from our deep sleep. The so called independent churches from the legal holy synod in diaspora or the illegal paulos synod are the main obstacles to let us unite in diaspora. Until then we will be kicked by weyane for long time to come. When are we going to be tired of this kind of silly division and fight back weyane in unison?
wey gud
Elias, thank you for exposing this guy. Zebene is a creepy, scary individuals. He has none of the grace, culture and humility of our traditional church leaders. He is acting more like a corrupt politician than a man of God.
Elias,
God bless you for exposing the dirty game of Memihr Zebene who is an undercover agent for TPLF working under the command in chief of Aba Paulos to divide and conquer the Diaspora Ethiopian Orthodox Twahedo church for the use of Aba Paulos and TPLF criminal groups.
The main role of Zebene is to take the attention of naïve and immature Ethiopian youth of Diaspora to create a division among various Orthodox Tewahedo Church followers. As a result for the last couple years Zebene and other Aba Paulos destructive cadres have been able to control the minds of many Orthodox youth from high school to college level and others through school bible group and other methods. While the majority of Zebene
‘s followers are too naïve and immature to realize that Zebene is a mercenary from Aba Paulos who has a destructive agenda but trying to appear as an innocent preacher.
Zebene usually only focuses on preaching the bible alone while he strongly fights anyone who wants to challenge him connecting our country’s problem respect to Bible. Zebene officially refuses to pray for those who were mercilessly killed by TPLF in connection with election 2005 aftermath. He always accuses other pro religion individuals by wrongly and false fully labeling them as “politician” in order to divert the attention from these young naïve followers.
Zebene is one of the worst evil person under the skirts of God who has been sent by Satan worshiper of Aba Paulos who is a man who destroys our religion that has been in history for over 3000 years. Aba Paulos is also a person who blindly broke our great and respected Orthodox Twehado rules and regulations and made himself as a holly canoed bishop for the first time in our history.
Ethiopians particularly the youth around Washington, DC and other areas should wake up and protect our religion by speaking up the truth rather than just being blindfolded by TPLF criminal group mercenaries like Zebene. Lets stop worshiping people and start to worship God by speaking the truth all the time as the Bible says these main things about truth below:
Truth is authenticity. God wants people to be truthful about how they are feeling and what they are thinking. In return, God is truthful about who He is and what people need to do in order to lead a better life. God wants people to speak the truth from their hearts (Psalm 15:2). God wants you to be truthful from the inner parts of your heart (Psalm 51:6). Walking in truth is the key to repairing a divided heart (Psalm 86:11).
The Bible says that truth is very important to God. God wants you to love truth and peace (Zechariah 8:19). Truth goes hand in hand with “wisdom, discipline and understanding” (Proverbs 23:23). God commands people to “Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts” (Zechariah 8:16). The Bible says that the way to choose truth is to set your heart on God’s laws (Psalm 119:30). We must follow God’s laws to find truth.
Telling the truth is not always easy. In fact, telling the truth often means telling people something that they do not want to hear. However, truth is what sets people free (John 8:31), so you need to tell people the truth, whether they want to hear it or not. You should always tell the truth in a loving way (Ephesians 4:15). Jesus provided an example, saying the phrase, “I tell you the truth” around 25 times in the Bible as he shared many truths that people did not want to hear.
Ato Elias,
Thanks for making this issue on the top of your agenda today.
What is happening in Dallas has no comparisons to any base that any one can make any sense out of.
Some of the board members may have pocketed public money and afraid of exposure are fighting to keep in authority. They use name calling as if the public defenders are Weyane hired agents. In fact most of the defenders are true fighters of Weyane regime. It is true the Weyane agents and Paulos supporters are or maybe adding fuel the fire all around this church issues all over the place.
We need to be alert and see this and pull the bad root out.
I wish a Socio-political website reserves itself from Religious affairs! However, in the search for Truth, I admire Mr. Elias’s hard work. By the way, I do also admire Memihir Zenebe’s preaching only due to his articulation and eloquence in Ethiopian Orthodox Church styles. I wish Memihir Zenebe did not serve Abune Paulos. But he is a good servant of Abune Paulos. One day when he turns to be a true Servant of God, I will follow him. Why I am now suspicious about him is that he kept silent instead of denouncing politically and ethnically favored appointee Patriarch(Abune Paulos)while the True Patriarch (Abune Merkorios)is still alive.
“Egna senkebew meseretun nadew!” Now a days it becomes fashionable among these preachers like Zebene to build their cult under EOTC. The arrogance, the lack of respect to elders attribute to this behavior. My advise to Medhanealem Church or other churches is No place for the likes of David Korosh or Jim Jones. Last but not least, prevent Mhibere Kidsan elements from interfering in the Church business. Thanks Elias! Good job.
I am very much ashamed of Gebreye for acting like a TPLF cadre on yesterday’s meeting at the church. Shame on you Gebreye. You are a disgrace and a bad example for our community!
Thank you Elias for bringing this story in the open.
I am furious at this entire situations. The alarm should have gone off on memher Zenebe when the Ethiopian Orthodox Church elders found out that he had some kind of connection with Abba Diabelos. My suspicion is that, this man might be an Evangelical Christian, and not at all a member of Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Woyanes main priority is causing term oil and distraction among Ethiopians, and Ethiopians should be aware of Woyanes evil tactics at all times.
First of all Please Zebene if you read this web site do not feel bad rather you must correct your worldly thinking. I really like your preaching so why do you make stupid mistakes. Remember once you fail you may not recover forever.
The source of all these problems is Aba Diabilos a.k.a. Abune Paulos. He is installed on the throne of E.O.T.C. by Meles Zenawi to dismantle this historic church.
Zebene works for Aba paulos who is known as aba diabilos. Zebene’s main duty is to divide ethiopians. I dont know why many ethiopians around dc area let zebene to divide us while everyone knows that he is the worst selfish and hodam person who is working highly against the will of God and Bible in general.
shame on those ethiopians around dc who are silent to say anything against evil zebene while they see him lying and lying in a day light.
lets all be practical and fight weyane agents everywhere around the areas we live.
elias thanks for the great job!
በትናንትናው ዕለት በደብረገነት መድኃኔዓለም ቤተክርስቲያን ውስጥ በተካሄደው የአባላት ጠቅላላ ስብሰባ ላይ ተሳትፌ ነበር። ከአንዳንድ አባላት ይሰነዘሩ የነበሩ ቃላቶች ከተራ ዱርዬ እንጅ ከአበው ምዕመናን አንደበት ይወጣሉ ብሎ ለመገመት ያዳግታል፤ ያውም በቤተክርስቲያን ቅፅር ግቢ ውስጥ። በተለይ እኔን በጣም ያሳዘነኝ ዶክተር ገብርዬ የተባሉት አዛውንት ሃኪም በትናንትናው ዕለት ሳይፈቀድላቸው ጥሰው ክተሰብሳቢው ፊት በመቅረብ ሲያቅራሩና እሳቸውን ያልደገፈን ሰው ሲያስፈራሩ ለተመለከተ ሰው ሃኪምነታቸው ሳይሆን ተራ ማጅራት መቺ መስለው ይታዩ ነበር። እኝህ ሰው ከተወሰኑ ግብር አበሮቻቸው ጋር በተለይም ከዶክተር ሙሉጌታ ጋር በመሆን በሚጥጢር ባሰራጩት ደብዳቤ መምህር ዘበነን ዋና አለቃ ለማድረግ ሲወራጩ ተስተውለዋል። በአጠቃላይ በስብሰባው ላይ የነዶክተር ገብርዬ አንጃ በሹመት አስታከው ቤተክርቲያኑን ለሃሰተኛውና ለህገውጡ ፓትሪያርክ ለመሸጥ የጠነሰሱት ሴራ መኖሩን ለመገንዘብ ተችሏል። ይህንን አደገኛ እንቅስቃሴ አባላቱ ነቅተው መከታተልና ከአቡነ ማቴዎስ፡ ከአባ መላኩና ከአቡነ ገብርኤል የክህደትና የጥፋት ታሪክ ትምህርት እንደሚወስዱ ይጠበቃል።
እስቲ እባካችሁ ወደ ልባችሁ ተመልሳችሁ ነገሩን በጥሞና ለማየት ሞክሩ። እስካሁን እንዳየሁት አንድም ሰው ጉዳዩን ከሁሉም አቅጣጫ ምን እንደሚመስል ሊያስቀምጥ የሞከረ የለም፣ ኤልያስን ጨምሮ አንድም ነጥብ አላስቀመጠም። ስለዚሕ ሁሉም ስሜታዊ እንጂ ምክንያታዊ አይመስሉም አደሉምም።
ለመምህር ዘበነ ሐብቱም ንብረቱም የጌታ ወንጌል ነዉና የትም የትም ሄዶ ፀጋውን እንዲያበዛለት ጌታን እየለመነ እርሱም በረዳው መጠን ቃሉን እየመሰከረ ይኖራል።
ተቃዉሞ ያላችሁ ወገኖች እስቲ ይሕን አስቡት እዉነት የጌታ ወይም የቤተ ከርስቲያን ነገር አንገብገቡችሁ ነው ወይስ የሌላ ሰሜት? እባካችሁ ይሕንንም ለራሳችሁ መልሱና እስቲ ባለፉት 7 እና 8 አመት የጌታን ቃል በተከታታይ ስትማሩ ቆይታችሁል እና ለቤተክርስቲያኒቱ ምን አደረጋችሁላት – ለራሳችሁስ ምን ያሕል ተቀየራችሁ – ለሌላዉስ ቃሉን በማስተላለፍ ምን ያሕል አስተዋፅኦ አደረጋችሁ? ጣታችንን ወደሌላው ስንቀስር ሶስቱ ወደ እኛ እንደሚያሳዩ አስባችሁታል።
ኤልያስ አንተም ብትሆን አንድ ነገር ብዙ አንባቢ ያመጣል እና ብለህ ዝም ተበሎ አይለጠፍም። ጋዜጠኛ ነኝ ካልክ ሁሉንም ወገን ማየት አለብህ እንጂ ወሬ ለማማሞቂያ ግራ ቀኙን ሳያገናዝቡ መለጠፍ ከምትቃዎማችዉ የተለየህ አያረግህም።
ሳናዉቅ መናገር ሃጢያት እንዳይሆንብን። ቤተክርስቲያኗ መሪ ያስፈልጋታል ብሎ በደንቡ መሰረት መጠየቅ ተገቢ ይመስላል። እንጂ ገና ለገና ሰለኬን አየመልስም ፣ ድግሴን አልመጣም ፣ ቀለሙን አልዎደድኩትም ተብሎ እንዲህ አይታበድም።
ቸር ያሰማን አሜን
To እኔ ነኝ,
First of all you have to know that we humans are the responsibility to speak up the truth all the time since it is a power for us that is given from God. No one cannot claim that there are a number of Priests and preachers like Zebene who are working in favor of Satan to destroy our religion.
So we have a responsibility to speak the truth regarding anyone around our church. Unfortunately, these days as there are humble and respected priests who are dying for their God, there are also a number of selfish, greedy and power and money monger elements that are covered under our church. We should expose these destructive elements and clean up our church from Satan mentality individuals like Zebene.
By the way, zebene has established his wealth from the money that he collects from young church attendants and he is also under a payroll of Aba Paulos. So don’t try to defend this corrupted Zebene without no tangible reason. You try to critize others as if they are accusing Zebene without facts while every commentators including elias kifle clearly described and stated Zebene’s divisive role and his personal goals that is surrounded by poor popularity and corruption.
Whether you like it or not Aba Paulos and his destructive Hodam agents like zebene are messengers of Satan that are highly working to destroy our religion. As a result we should get out of our silence and protect our religion by any means possible before it’s too late.
Zebene has been done enough damage to our religion given the fact that he uses his articulate skill to preach and attract many youth followers. I have personally challenged him many times regarding why he is attacking other Bishop and why he is teaching wrong thigs against our bible? But he reapeatldy failed to defend the facts but keep labeling me as “pente” since he was easily able to get the attention of his blind followers. Now his blind followers are considered me as the saying “ Enemy of Saint Mary” whenever they see me since they are brainwashed by Zebene’s propaganda.
Now it’s time to say enough is enough so regardless of Zebene’s counter attack and his blind followers silence, Ethiopians particualry Ethiopian Orthodox Twehado Church followers should expose the basic facts of Zebene once to save our religion second to abide by bible rules and regulations. If you keep allowing Zebene’s Satan role we eventually will give out our church to Satan.
So don’t try to keep us silent from speaking the truth. Lets truth reveals!
God Bless Ethiopia!
I also attended the Sunday’s meeting at the church and witnessed the stupidity and meaningless combativness of Dr. Gebreye. He was trying to suppress the right of other memebers by illegally dominating the meeting. He acted as if the members of the church were his cats or dogs. However, the Board Memebers handled the matter in a professional way and rejected Gebrey’s desire of authoritarianism and his effort to ram through the appointment of Memeher Zebene without due process of the Church’s by-laws. I personally have no problem if the Board of the Church appoint Zebene as Head of the Church since he is defacto Head of the Church now. He has the power to remove any prist that he does not like. So far he has played a great role in the removal of Aba Hiruye, Kes Sebsebe, Memeher Nehemya and Liqe Diaqonat Getahune. It is reported by Gebreye that the Council of the Prists and Dicons at the Church selected Zebene as their head. However, it is widely belived in the Church that the selection of Zebene is done by coersion and anyone who opposes Zebene’s appointment might lose their job. This looks like Melez Zenaw’s victory of 99.6% in the recent fake Ethiopian election. One thing is clear to me. The reason why Gebreye and his collaborators are ready to hand over our church to the illegitimate and criminal Abune Paulos.
Can anyone tell readers of this website who are collaborating with Gebreye in the sell out of our church to Ato Gebremedhe?
Selam Ato Elias,
I am not a regular visitor of your site except when I heard sometimes ruthless articles such as the one about Memher Zeben is posted.
This is my second time to read what you wrote about this Memher. From both your articles I read, it is not difficult to predict your target audience. They are those who come from different area and who want to see the Ethiopian Orthodox Twahedo Church (E.O.T.C) to be destroyed. Also, it is very clear to notice your effort to damage M.Z.’s credibility. Since, the Memher’s faith and work is very strong it would be very difficult to crack it by writing unfounded articles. So, it would be a waste of time.
Unless you are in denial, I am sure deep in your heart you know this person is well educated, experienced, dynamic, and very strong in his field. Furthermore, as I have seen him and I am sure if you take time and attend his Gubie, you would learn that this individual is not affected, distracted, or entertained such petty things like articles posted by you. Always, he appears to show that his faith and mission is clear and laud. If you note, that is why his work was not disturbed by all the hoy! hoye! which was previously written about him by you and others. May be, it gave a temporary satisfaction for those with a mission to break the E.O. T.C. like yourself. Surprisingly, it is great to see him still going strong.
FYI, it is not new for the E.O.T.C. to go through such a tough time in her entire history. If there are any new things, it would be that before outsiders were the ones who was tirelessly attempted to destroy the church and/or our country. Now, it is sad to witness that both the church and the country are targeted and threatened to be ruined by their own children like you and your supporters.
It is true M/Z. is very popular among the young E.O.T.C. followers. The reason is not as he is painted by your supporters. It is because he is teaching the new generations in the language and method they understand and quickly learn.
The other thing is, I don’t know why you are bothered about his wedding? It looks like you have a personal hatred of the Memeher. From what I see, he has a very wonderful and a blessed marriage ……… Nobody cares how and where M.Z. got married? It should be comprehensible that many people are interested in his teaching but not in his personal life. It is sad to see that you are using his wedding as a cosmetic to your baseless articles.
By the way, M.Z.’s popularity didn’t come just from the ground. It is very transparent that it is a result of his traditional and modern education, self-determination, dedication, and a gift from God. In order to understand his work you must attend sessions wherever he teaches instead of writing what those with the mission to demolish the
E.O. T.C. are gossiping.
Politicians please leave the church alone. Our church is a universal church and you can not tie her up with your political ideology. Most people here in the US who start church have no idea of how our church run. The church has thousands of years old administration mechanism and it was never by board. Please you politicians you always think you know a lot. You didn’t change in the real politics and neither are you gonna change spirituality of a church member.
Please let the people ,who has the education and the will to serve, work.
Memihhir Zebene is a graduate from Holy Trinity Theology college with honors, after studying for 5 years. While he was in Addis he has served in almost all the churches and was very good spiritual influential person.
He knows what he is doing and please listen to him and help him serve the church well.
I have a message for A. ShIferaw above, Elias is reportilng about Sunday’s meeting because we members of the church reported in detail about the illegal, TPLF style meeting conspiracy of Gebrie, Ngatu, Fisseha, and others who blindly and in a CULT style follow Memher Zebene. Don’t blame Elias for exposing your back door deals conducted to handover our church to Aba Diabilos (abune Paulos) by making Memher Zebene Aleka of the Church. Thank you so much Elias for reporting this important news.
A. Shiferaw,
Regardless, Elias is a member of EOC or not the question is…Did the fake Woyane Priest, Aba Diablos (the one who handed hundreds of Ethiopians who were seeking shelter inside Ethiopian Orthodox Churches to Agazi army in 2005) attended Memher Z wedding? If he did, what is Memher Z’s relation with Aba Diabilos, the very man that is working hard to demolish EOC?. Is Memher Z getting paid more money than the Church can afford to pay him? Is he living over his means and a worldly life? I came from many generations of EOC and I take this news very seriously. I am also aware that, there are lots of non-Orthodox Ethiopians who hate our Orthodox Church that work hard to break it and replace it with their religion.
A. Shiferaw, I can’t wait to meet you in person to discuss with you some of my concerns views.
There may be some humble good priests who really serve the church good.There are also aggressives who would like to controll all the church buisnesses including the finance.The urge to control the power and the money is humongus among these priests.Beware of these kind of priests. They are the reason for the problems in many churchs, supported by Maheibere Kidusan. Recent incident in Dallas was a typical example.
Let the elected Board Members run the the Church buisness under term limit, Remember these are volunters with wide range of experts from finance and administration to Planning and Development. Allow the priest council to do only the relegion side of the buisness.This way you will save the church from voultures.
Mr.Elias,didn’t you hear that Memeher Zebene has got his masters and is advancing ahead to get his phd.Well,be aware whatever you write on your website about him,you should understand that he is our beloved brother in God who changed our life.In short you really don’t know him.Why don’t you go to Asmara and release one ‘netela zema’like ‘kendebu yamarew’if you want to get some attention,that is my suggestion to you.
with respect,amen!
Thx Elias like always aba g/Medhin and the likes of Zenebe should be confronted
in any possible action like bringing him to court after first telling him to go
to dedebit.
I’m glad good folks like A Shiferaw are out there doing something about it.
The Lord must be real happy with Memher Zebene. Persecution is the thermometer of our Christian lives. Joy controls persecution, & I’m sure the Memher is happy.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.
Do not be silent, O God of my praise.
For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
They beset me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
In return for my love they accuse me,
even while I make prayer for them.
So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
We Bless those who curse Him. We Pray for those who mistreat, and insult him.
It is sad to see these morons evaluate their knowledge by what kind of degree the acquire. Ehiopian Orthodox church is blessed for having its own higher education. Even though Our church did not call the Education M.A Phd blabla Washera used to be the highest education center. Before these devinnity school our church used to have its own carriculum all kinds of administerative books. The late Dr David Viscot even though he was radical evangelist he studied geez and he always his admiration to Our church. Go and read the story Aba Gorgorios and you will admire the Ethiopian Orthodox Educational System. So don’t tell me about this Zebene guy having, MA or PHd.
i admire Memher for his genuine preaching, i know he thought me a lot about my religion Ethiopian Orthodoxe Tewahedo Church. I am more than ever confident at my religion now after i attended his gubae for many years; i also am proud to be Ethiopian because of the things he taught us. He always refers to the things what our great grand parents do ; in general he is a great man who does a lot for our orthodoxe tewahedo church as well as our country and we all know it very well in our hearts. Memher Egziabeher yasebeh ; houlem be tselotachen enasebehalen. Emebetachen houlachenenem teketelen. Amen.
On Sunday’s (6/20/10) meeting I witnessed Memher Zebene was doing his best to control and direct the discussion to favor him personally. The issue at hand was his promotion. If he was a humble and honest man he should have recused himself from the meeting. It is very cheep to see the church members fight among each other to personally benefit Zebene. He doesn’t have “yilugnta” which is a typical behavior of Ethiopians. Why is memher Zebene is fighting so hard to be Aleka of the church? I am afraid like many of the above postings indicate to hand over The church to the fake Pathriarc, Abune Paulos.
Ye Egziabhere Selam Ye Dignel Milga kehulachen Yehun. I want to say one thing and one thing only, for those who insult Kesis Memher Zebene with or without knowing him well, Please read Ye Yohannes Raiye (Revelation)13. 1-9 that’s what you are doing and following.You think you are insulting Memher Zebene, but you are insulting the word of God and God himself. i want you all to know one thing incase you don’t becuase according to most of your comments most of you act like you are 2 years old in thinking, you still have time to confess your sins before it’s too late and come back or stay in the true Religion that Amalakachen, Fetariyachenena Medhanitachen Eyesus Kirstos made. May God forgive you for all the Devil’s way of saying things that you all said. Amen!
Selam Elias. I have read your two previos articles regarding Memher Zebene and Medhane Alem Ethiopian Orthodox churcu. I am not sure whethet you belong to any faith. I am a strong supporter of the Ethiopian Orthodox church and a member of K.M. Medhane Alem church in Maryland. It is a solid church with devout members and a mission to accomplish. Your bizzare allegations and useless inuendos does nor hamper the effprots of the church. The Ethiopian Orthodox church has enormous challenges from non religious individuals and people like you who do not know their identity. Oue church is managed by solid Ethiopian Orthodox board members and unwavering general members. If problems arise, we solve it by meetings and conferences like what we did last weekend. Your assumptions and wish to divide the congregation by inuendos and putting Memher Zebene as atarget does not work. I am not sure whether your view on Memher Zebene is based on your own weakness, jealousy of his academic and personal achievements or his strong fight against those forces to destroy the Ethiopian Orthodox church. I invite you and your supporters to come to our church, talk to the board and members – any one – and find out where we stand. There is a saying that the camel travels patiently throuh the desert and villages. Dogs bark at its heels but never hurts the camel. It cintinues its journey. Our Ethiopian Orthodox church will move on with Memher Zebene. Elias , Please try to do something productive for a change. Do not indulge yourself with what you do not know.
The law of this land clearly put any non profit organization like church must be governed by periodically elected board members, who should not get paid not even a penny from the church. You can not transplant the law from Ethiopia to Ameica and this has nothing to do with Haimanot. Some of you who adamantly oppose the board because it is unorthodox give me a break. If Zebene is paid for the service he gives, he should not be part of the board members. citing conflict of interest it makes a perfect sence. Thank you Elias, you are doing a fantastic job.Hopefully this will open the eyes of many victms of the Mahebre Kidusans and crook priests.
What would happen to Debre Genet Medhane Alelm Church if Memeher Zebene resigns???
I read some of the comments posted above. Why are members of this church wasting their time about one individual, Memehe Zebene?
መምህር ዘበነ ውደ አሜሪካን ሲመጣ አንገቱን የደፋ ሰው ነበር:: የ ትምህርት አሰጣጡም ግሩም ነበር አሁንም ነው ;; ሆኖም እየቆየ ሲሀድ ባህሪው እየተለወጠ , እየተለወጠ መጣ:: አዛወንቶች መናቅ ቀሳውሰት ማዋረድ ብዙ ጊዜ መላከ ገነትን በህዝብ መሃል ማዋረድ ዋናው ተግባሩ ነበር:: በዚህ ጉዳይ ማነም የገሰጸው ሰው ያለ አይመሰለኝም:: አበው አዛወንት እና ታላላቅ እናቶች መከበር እንዳለባቸው ቤተ ክርስቲያናችን ታዛለች:: አንድ የበተ ክርስቲያን አባላት ሰብሰባ ላይ “በ ጾም ጊዜ ሰበሰባ እና ምርጯ አይደረገም ” ብሎ መምሀር ዘበነ ሰብሰባወን ሊያሰበትን ሲሞክር አቶ ሰሎሞን በቀለ ” የምንተዳደረው በመሪላንድ ህግ መሰረት በተጻፈ መተዳዳሪያ ደንብ ኑው ::ሰለሆነም በ ጾሙ ምክንያት መተላለፍ አይኖርበትም” ሲሉ መምህር ዘበነ ” ታዲያ የመሪላንድ ህግ ወስጥ ዛሬ ካልተሰበሰባችሁ የሚል አለ?” ብሎ በጩኸት ሲያሳፍራቸው ዝም ብለውት ሰብሰባው ተበተነ:: ታዲያ ያለፈው እሁድ የ ሰኔ ጾም መሆኑን መምሀር ዘበነ እያወቀ ለምን የቤተ ክርስቲያኑዋን እና ምእመናኑን ለዚህ ፈተና ዳረገ? ምናልባት የሚፈልገው ሰልጣን ከ ሰአት ጋር የተያያዘ ዪሆን? ባለፈው እሁድ ሰብሰባ ላይ አንዲት እናት ቢቃወሙት መምህር ዘበነ “አንቺ ደሞ ሰራ ሰለሚበዛበሽ አተመጭም ነጠላ ለብሰሽ መምጣት ነዋ ” ብሎ ቅስማቸውን ሊሰብር ሞከረ:: እጝህ ሲት ሊወልዱት የሚበቁ ናችው:: መምህር ዘበነ አንደበተ ረቱ ,ደፋር እና የፈለገውን ለማግጘት የሚጥር ሰው ነው:: ግን ማን ላይ ቆመህ እንዲሉ እሱም ሆነ ደጋፊዎቹ መድሃኒ አለምን ዪፍሩ:: ሰው አይመለክ እግዚአብሒር እንጅ:: ከ ላይ አንድ ሰው እንደ ጠቀሰው 1/ ቀሲስ ሰብሰቤ 2/ መምህር ነህሚያ 3/አባ ፍሊጶስ 4/ ሊቀ ዲያቆናት ገታሁን ከመምህር ዘበነ ጋር ባለ መስማማት የለቀቁ የ መድሃኒአለም አገልጋዮች ናቸው:: ታዲያ የትጝው ቂስ ና ዲያቆን ነው ፈርሞ አለቃየ ዪሁን የማይለው ሰራውን ለማዳን? አዲስ አበባ ሀዶ ሲዳር አባ ጳውሎስ የመገጘታቸውን ጉዳይ ዲያቆን አይምሮ እና ለሎችም ላለመጋበዛቸው መሰክር ነን ላሉት 24/7 ከ መምህር ዘበነ ጋር ነበርን ለማለት ኑው?
I was there too
What transpired last Sunday and what is being fabricated on this page are different like night and day. Was there some hot and at times unruly discussion? Absolutely! Did the board chair at times lose control of the discussion? Yes several times? Did Memhir Zebene take the floor and calm down the group? This is also an undeniable fact. Even those people who are bent on defaming and accusing Memhir Zebene of all kinds of unfounded accusations will not deny this fact.
What happened Sunday was a heated and at times emotional exchange of ideas among people, who deep in their heart have the best interest of their church. Some hurtful and offending remarks were made; people were called names and so forth. Our church has a long history and like any institution with a long history, there were some unpleasant events in our long journey. Nobody wants a repeat of the unpleasant epoch in our long history. What happened Sunday was a discussion among family members who worship their creator together and break bread together. Like in any other large family, misunderstandings happen, family members get offended, some feel left out and others believe their way is the only way. What family members don’t do is take their squabbles to the air waves and let others who don’t share in the pains and history of the family set the stage for aggravating the otherwise minor issues.
At the end of the day cool heads will prevail. Debre Genet Medhane Alem family members will sort out their problems and will continue to worship their creator together in a church that has pioneered and set the trend for the myriad of churches in the Washington DC metropolitan area. If nothing else, we owe this to our beloved Father Melake Genet Lisanne Work Woubu who always stood with us through thick and thin.
May the Lord guide us in the right path
I have seen alot of witness but all of them saying things which is out of the sunday meetihg agenda.Please once in your life time be honest do not blame for every thing happen in the church M Zebene. We members have to solve our problem. God is the witness .
Guys memeher Zebene is always with truth and he is fighting for the truth. For some truth is so bitter and hard to swallow. I was in the meething and what I am reading from those who claims that they were there too is totaly different from the reality. It looks they are posting what they feel should happen but the meething closed peacfully and may be thats why they are shouting with “Bere wolde” on this site. Mr. Elias please don’t taken by words that you get from those guys as it paint black your website rather try find out the truth and clear your name. As you all know “Linega sile yechelemal”.
የታዋቂው ኢትዮጵያን ሪቪው ቢያንስ በሳምንት አንድ ቀን ሳልጎበኝ አልቀርም። ሆንም ለስራ ጉዳይ ወደ አገር ቤት ሄጄ ስለነበረና ወያኔ ኢትዮጵያን ሪቪውን ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ እንዳይነበብ ስለሚያግደው የማንበብ ዕድል ያገኘሁት ዛሬ ገና ነው። ከላይ አቶ ኤሊያስ ያሰፈረውንና አስተያየት ሰጭዎች የጻፏቸውን ስመለከት እኔም የምለው አለኝ ብዬ ከዚህ በታች ያለውን አስተያየቴን ለማስተላለፍ ወሰንኩኝ። መምህር ዘበነ ለማ በማንኛውም መስፈርት ቢለካ አንደበተ ርቱዕ፣ ተዘጋጅቶ የሚቀርብና የመፅሃፍ ቅዱስን ትምህርት በቤተክርስቲያን ብቻ ሳይወሰን በተለያዩ ጉባዓዎች አቀላጥፎ የምያስተምር ወንድማችን ነው። ለዚህም አገልግሎቱ ከፍተኛ አድናቂውና ደጋፊው ነኝ። ሆኖም ነፍሰ ገዳዩ አባ ገብረመድህን (አቡነ ጳውሎስ) መሰናከያ የሆኑበት ይመስለኛል። አባ ገብረመድህን በኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተክርስቲያን (ኢ.ኦ.ቤ.ክ) ላይ በነፍጥ አንጋቾች ከተቀመጡ ወዲህ የሚያደርጉትን በደልና ግፍ እንዲሁም በወያኔ የዘረኝ አምባገነን ጸረ ኢትዮጵያ መንግስት የሚፈጸሙትን የሰበዊ መብት ጥሰቶችን፣ ጭፍጨፋዎችን፣ እስሮችንና ሌሎችንም ሰቆቃዎችን መምህር ዘበነ እየሰማ እንዳልሰማ፤ እየተመለከት እንዳልተመለከተ ማየቱ በጣም ሲያበሳጨኝ ቆይቷል። ለምን እውነቱ እንደማይመሰክር ይገርመኛል። ምናልባት ኢትዮጵያ እንዳይገባ ይከለክሉኛል ብሎ ከሆነ በጣም ትልቅ ጥፋት እየፈጸመ እንደሆነ ምነው የሚመክረው ሰው ጠፋ? እኔ አሁንም የምለው በተለይም አንገቱን የደፋውንና በከፍተና ስቃይ ላይ የሚገኝውን የኢትይጵያን ህዝብ ብሶቱን ቢያስተጋባለት፣ መርዶውን ቢያረዳለት፣ለቅሶውን ቢያለቅስለት፣የተደበቀውን አደባባይ ቢያወጣለት የወንጌል ትምህርቱ ህይወት ያለው ይሆንለት ነበር። አሁን ግን ትምህርቱ ከእውነታው ጋር ባለመታረቁ ትምህርቱን ያልተሟላ አስመስሎበታል። መምህር ዘበነ ከተራበው ጋር መራብ፣ ከተሰደደው ጋር መሰደድ፣ከተቸገረው ጋር መቸገር የመሰለ ሃዋርያዊነት እኮ የትም የለምና እባክህ ከወንጌሉ ትምህርት ጋር የኛንም ቁስላችንና ስቃያችንን አስተጋባልን። ለምሳሌ ያህል አንድ በቀላሉ ልታደርገው የምትችለው “የሰማዕታት መታሰቢያ” ብለህ በወያኔ በግፍ በተለይ በ1997 ዓም ምርጫ ሳቢያ በመላው ኢትዮጵያ በአጋዚ ጦር እንደ ቅጠል ለረገፉት ወገኖቻችንና ሌሎችም የመታሰቢያ ጸሎትና ዝግጅት በየዓመቱ ብታደርግ እንዲሁም ህጋዊውንና በግፍ የተሰደዱትን ፓትርያርካችንን ብጹዕ አቡነ መርቆሪወስን ብትቀበል የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ በወርቃማ ቀለም ታሪክህን እንደሚጽፍልህ ሳይታለም የተፈታ ነው።
God is one, so is the Church!
Members of the Orthodox Tewahido Church of Marylanders must look to the true preacher, counselor, healer, and savior of the world, Jesus Christ, the head of our Ethiopian orthodox Tewahido Church everywhere, rather than to look to the advocate of division within the Church in order to proclaim himself as the only legitimate leader of the divided Church.
Division within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church in the diaspora or at home helps no one else but the devil that has tried to destroy the original Church from its inception by misleading Judah Iscariot to betray Jesus Christ to his enemies and thereby killing Jesus Christ and destroying the new-born Church in Jerusalem and burying it with the Lord Jesus Christ. However, when Jesus rose from the grave, he also gave rise to his Church to shine allover the world, and which has been shining since then.
As Judah Iscariot became one of the agents of the devil to destroy the original Church, it seems, as I hear from different reliable sources, that Memhir Zebene, the fiery and vain preacher of our time in our Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church history, has become one of the agents of the devil that tempted Jesus Christ in the desert and “took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said, to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (Matthew 4:8-10)
The Tempter is now tempting Memhir Zebene by showing him the splendor, the glamour, the wealth, the power, and the pleasure of this evanescent world if he (Memhir Zebene) could split the Churches and create division, chaos, and uncertainty in the minds of the faithful and finally abandon the Church.
First, this young, immature, and inexperienced preacher was tempted by selfish pride when he arranged one of the most expensive wedding parties at Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; his lavish wedding party was attended by government high officials and by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church – the notorious Patriarch, Aba Paulos. And such extravagant wedding of a simple preacher raises several questions such as how and where he got the money and why he didn’t share some of the money with some of the Ethiopian homeless children in Addis Ababa and even here in Washington, D.C.
Therefore, the devil, the great Tempter, has brought to this vain preacher two simple temptations:
1. To spend a huge amount of money on his wedding party and to invite Aba Diabilos to bless his wedding
2. To split the Churches in Maryland, and to create conflict between the members of these gracious Churches, and finally to be the only legitimate leader of these two Churches.
And in all these two temptations, Memhir Zebene has miserably failed to defeat the devil: when the devil tempted him to spend that much money on his wedding, he should have simply said to him: “I don’t want to spend on my wedding the money I got from the faithful. I want to share some of it with the poor who have nothing to it.” When the devil tempted him to split the Medhanialem and the St. Mary Church in D.C., Maryland, he should have said: “I am here to make peace and to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the poor. Go away, Devil from me!” He should have studied very carefully the answers Jesus gave to the devil and how he defeated him for ever and ever.
Has this vain preacher learned what the Scripture says, he would have avoided all the legitimate criticisms against him. This is what the Scripture says: “For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1st John 2:16-17)
To create conflict, chaos, or disorder in the Church is not doing the will of God, “for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.” (1 Corinthians 14:33) If Memhir Zebene wants wealth, fame, and glory, he will get everything he wants but not on the expenses of the faithful of the two Churches – the Medhanialem and the St. Mariam Churches in Maryland; however, he must seek God first instead of wealth; “But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.” (Luke 12:31)
A preacher like Memhir Zebene should take care of his members of his Churches before he looks after his own care or money. St. Paul advices the Hebrews: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)
Another thing a preacher or any one else should remember is that what ever he/she amasses wealth on this earth that wealth is not to be a guarantor of his/her life in heaven; the Holy Bible clearly tells us: “”Do not save riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, save riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are.” (Matthew 6:19-21)
In this case, the young preacher, Memhir Zebene or Zenebe, must learn from the Wisdom of Solomon and ask God this way: “…Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (Proverbs 30:8-9)
Members of the Medhanialem and the St. Mary Churches, be united, never get divided, and follow the word of God who says: “”If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” (Luke 17:3) I hope, this egotistic and self-conceited preacher, Memhir Zeneb, will listen to your Christ-centered advices, if not, tell him to leave you alone!
Memhir Zebene, remember, “A good name is better than fine perfume….” (Ecclesiastes 7:1) What I hear about you is not pleasing to my ears. It seems you are purposely displeasing God by creating divisions among the people of God. The 90-year-old Eli once said: “No, my sons; it is not a good report that I hear spreading among the Lord’s people. If a man sins against another man, God may mediate for him; but if a man sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” (1st Samuel 2:24-25) When you divide the Church for your own self-gratification, then you are telling the Church that you are not one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. The true disciples of Jesus Church left everything behind and followed Jesus, but you are not following Jesus because you are following the wealth of this world. Didn’t Jesus say: “”Only the man who says goodbye to all his possessions can be my disciple.”? (Luke 14:33) Be one of the disciples of Jesus Christ by following the Lord and by keeping the faithful together!
Egziabher Medhanialemin ke netaqiwoch yitebeq
አባላት ሳያወቁ በጀርባ ፐቲሽን እያዞሩ በ ግሩፕ መሰለፍ እግዚአብሒር አይወደውም:: ዘበነም ቤተክረስቲያናችንን አትበትን::
Thank you so much Elias for giving this important issue the coverage of your #1 Ethiopian website. Keep up the good work!!!
What a load of rubbish! I have been following Memher Zebene’s teaching for sometime and not once, honest to GOD, have I heard any of the allegations the writer and some commentators accuse him off. Memher Zebene concentrates on teaching the Bible and has accomplished to draw the young generation to church. The writer clearly is very biased and making false allegations for which he cannot provide any substantial proof. Please refrain from printing rumors because it seriously compromises the reputation of your website. Thank you.
Thank you Ethiopian Review! Thank you Elias! I consider this as a Home Run. Beware Ledeta Mariam Church in Virginia! Aba Gebremedhin has been warranted if Aba Phillipos becomes a bishop that he would take ledeta Mariam Church. No Joke! Reliable source from Bete Khenet. Expose all these dirty plans like Elias.
Elias, One of the victims of Zebene’s Cult has been spotted on Comment # 43. Let us all pray!
ከላይ በቁጥር 41 አስተያየት የሰጡት አገሬ በአጭሩ ያሰፈሩት “…አባላት ሳያወቁ በጀርባ ፔቲሽን እያዞሩ
በግሩፕ መሰለፍ…” የሚለው የዕሁዱ ስብሰባ አስኳል ነበር ማለት ይቻላል። እነ ገብርሬ እንደለመዱት የፖለቱካ ድርዽት አሰራር petition ሳያዞሩ ጠቅላላውን አባላት ወደጎን ሳያደርጉ በስብሰባው ላይ አጀንዳ አስይዘው በግልጽ በጉዳዪ ላይ ብንወያይበትና መፍትሄ ቢሰጠው ይህ ሁሉ ችግር አይደርሰም ነበር። በነገራችን ላይ ገብርዬ የመላው አማራ ህዝብ ድርዽትን በማፍረስ በግምባር ቀደምትነት ስሙ ከሚጠራ ሰዎች አንዱ መሆኑ መዘንጋት የለበትም። እዚህ ላይ ሳይጠቀስ መታለፍ የሌለበት “ከአሁን በፊት በጾም ስብሰባ መደረግ የለበትም” በማለት ሲያስተጋባ የነበረው አቶ ተድላ ጾመ ሀዋርያት (ሰኔ ጾም) መሆኑ ተዘንግቶት ይሆን? በስብሰባ አዳራሽ መገኝቱ ሲያስገርም ጭራሽ ለዘበና ታማኝነቱን ለማሳየትና ገብርዬን ለማስደሰት በሚመስል ሁኔታ “ተሰደብን” እያለ ሲያጓራ ለተመለከተው ሰው እንኳን የወንጌል ትምህርት ለብዙ ዓመት የተማረ ሽማግሌ መሆኑ ቀርቶ ለድብድብ የተሰማራ ወንጀለኛ ይመስል ነበር። በዚህም ተግባሩ ብዙዎቻችንን አሸማቆናል አሳዝኖናልም። እንደዚያ የሚያስደነፋ አንዳችም ምክንያት አልነበረውም።
Please Elias leave our church alone. We all know that you protestants have a grudge on Memihir Zebene since he outed your pastor who preached that he gave a bible to Ethiopian priests who never had a chance to read one. A big time lie. Did you guys know in our church one cannot be a priest without knowing the bible? you will never bring our church down to fulfill the interst of non Ethiopian protestants. I personally have heard too many protestants hating on him way before all of this so called problem.
mr elias your are always spreading fals information you don’t have any clues about the medhanealem church. stop lying and the be a better reporter. you are the most desgrace person no one will visit your lies anymore.
What ever happens time will tell,where they are going with this back door deal.I wonder what Colo.Asfaw will say if he was alive?
My hat is off to Mr. Elias, who I rarely agree with, for bringing Memher Zebenes Zealot quest for power, fame and fortune to to the public. It is total mystry to me why Memher Zebene relentlesly sought the position of Chief Priest at Medhanealem church while infact his own presthood itself is in question and no affirmation of that at all. Most imprtantly, priesthood is a Higher calling and in that SPRITUAL LEADERSHI requires exceptionally Higher calling. His quest for power is contrary to the teachings of Christ who he is trying to teach and emulate. Why seek power?