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Abune Teklehaimanot remembered

Abune Teklehaimanot became the Patriarch of Ethiopia on this date, August 31, 1976. Ethiopian Review posts this article in remembrance of this great Ethiopian religious father.

By Dershaye Menberu

Abune Teklehaimanot’s name until he became patriarch was Mekuria WoldeMichael. He was born on September 18, 1917, in a small village called Wotebet located in Amanuel District of Debre Markos Town in Gojam Province. His father’s name was WoldeMichael Wondimu and his mother’s Zewditu Kassa.

When Mekuria came of age, he joined the Orthodox Church school in the area run by Merigeta (which means “mentor”) Begenaw Wassie. There he learned the Amharic alphabets, to read the Psalms, and to write. He also studied the church music called Wazema. When he had finished studying under this mentor, he went to Gojam’s Bichena District to a church village called Yerez Saint Michael and joined the school led by Memhir (“teacher”) LisaneWork and studied Qine.

When he was sixteen years old he left for Sidamo Province and settled in Wolayta District at Sodo (Southern Ethiopia). There he met a virtuous hermit monk called Desta at the Wolayta Sodo Debre Menkirat TekleHaimanot monastery. Before Mekuria’s arrival, this monk had prophesied to the monks that a great hermit would soon come to the monastery.

At this time Mekuria changed his name to Melaku because he did not want to be discovered by his relatives, who might try to bring him back to his village. At the monastery, he started to help Hermit Desta by bringing him water and dry food to keep him alive.

When his mentor died he replaced him in the monastery and continued his mentor’s work. He was responsible for teaching the people and building schools in the area. The Wolayta people loved and respected him as a father and they obeyed him. He led a life of purity and never begged for a living. He raised money to build many churches and schools in the area. The people’s contributions were the main source of income for these churches and schools.

When the Derg regime took over the government of Ethiopia, Aba Melaku was denied the necessary income to run the institutions because the laws had changed. So he went to Addis Ababa to get money and tabots (duplicates of the Ark of the Covenant) from Patriarch Tewoflos at the Ethiopian Orthodox Church headquarters to supply the most recent churches he had built. He was given two out of five tabots he requested and was told to return later for the other three.

Aba Melaku arrived in Addis Ababa on the day of his appointment to see Patriarch Tewoflos but, little did he know, the patriarch had been forced to leave his position and was under arrest. The main office had established a committee to find a replacement. Aba Melaku went into the office of the president of this nomination committee and gave him the traditional greeting of respect. As director and chairman of the board of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church office, Dr. Kinfe Regib, who was earnestly seeking a hermit monk as a nominee for the election of the next patriarch, was very happy to see Aba Melaku walk into his office as if driven by God. Dr. Kinfe Regib asked him the cause of his visit. When Aba Melaku told him that he had an appointment with Aba Tewoflos, he was told that Aba Tewoflos was away for a while and would meet with him at a later date. In the meantime, Dr. Kinfe Regib asked if he was willing to answer a few questions about himself, his job, and his responsibilities. Aba Melaku agreed and gave him the details he wanted.

Aba Melaku told the chairman that he had built sixty-four churches and twenty-four schools–all this without any salary from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church central administration office. When asked where he was born, he answered: “For a monk, is there any particular place? Any spot of Ethiopia where I live is my country.” He refused to identify his birthplace out of principle. Dr. Kinfe Regib, amazed by the divine providence that had brought him there, took notes on him and put them in an envelope. He then asked Aba Melaku to take the envelope to the main nomination committee secretariat office outside the office where they were meeting. So Aba Melaku obediently took the envelope and delivered it to the secretariat office but he had no clue what was going on at the time. The person in charge took the letter and opened it. Seeing the contents of the mysterious letter, he looked the monk over very carefully and then allowed him to leave.

The next morning Aba Melaku returned to the main office hoping to meet with the patriarch only to discover that he was no longer in charge and had been detained by the government. Shocked, he immediately returned to Wolayta. Soon after that, short profiles of two bishops and three monks, Aba Melaku included, were published and distributed in Addis Ababa. Everybody who read the short biography of Abba Melaku was touched by his personality. Soon everyone knew his name and was talking about him.

On the day of the election, Aba Melaku was elected patriarch by a very high number of voters. Up until that day, he had followed his routine lifestyle of praying, fasting, serving the church, and teaching his followers. Suddenly, he was ordered by the governor of Wolayta to go to Addis Ababa and report to the main church headquarters. He left immediately not knowing what the rush was about.

Upon his arrival, without even having a change of clothes and or any shoes on his feet, he was taken to the Menbere Tsebaot Kidist Selassie Cathedral, where all the bishops and thousands of Ethiopians were waiting for him. He wore a brown hand-sewn khaki robe over a wide pair of trousers and over that he had a folded bed-sheet as a shemma (shawl) and on top he had a hand-treated goat skin. This was his habit since he had become a hermit. When he arrived, everyone honored him with respectful applause and great shouts of joy known as elelta (“elelelelelel” is a shout of joy that Ethiopian women make when they are overjoyed), and Hotta (“hohohohohohoho” is a shout of joy for Ethiopian men). After a short introductory speech by Dr. Kinfe Regib, it was announced that Aba Melaku WoldeMichael had been elected patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church. Shocked, Aba Melaku’s eyes filled with tears and he cried. He made a short speech on the election and said: “How can this be? What strength do I have to fulfill the responsibility? However, if it is the will of the God of Daniel, who took him out of the pit of lions, what else can I do?”

This took place in July and August of 1976, and until the final day of celebration, Aba Melaku spent his time in prayer with others praying for him as well in St. Mary Church. They tried to persuade him to change his clothes and wear shoes but he refused.

On August 31, 1976, Abba Melaku was inaugurated as the third Ethiopian Partiarch of the Ethiopian Tewahdo Orthodox Church, taking the name TekleHaimanot.

The occasion was celebrated with prayer and special sermons at the Chair of the Almighty Holy Trinity Church in Addis Ababa.

Aba Melaku took his place of authority, and for some time continued to receive guests sitting on the Patriarch’s Chair in his common clothes. Later on, his hermit monk friends persuaded him to change his habit out of respect for the Orthodox Church. He finally agreed to wear a cotton cloth dyed yellow with a proper shemma over it and a pair of sandals.

Patriarch TekleHaimanot was very well accepted by the Derg regime and was allowed to visit Europe in sandals. He visited Greece, Poland, Austria, Germany, Rome, and Jerusalem. He ate only bread and drank only tea the whole time of his visit. The church people of Europe were amazed at his personality and considered his piety unique. As a result, it is said that the archbishop of Poland, out of respect for Patriarch TekleHaimanot, personally drove him around in a car during his visit to that country, instead of using a driver, in order to witness his piety and partake in his blessings.

The Ethiopian head of state, Mengistu HaileMariam, used these visits by the Patriarch as a political strategy to show the West that he was not against religion and had appointed to this important position a person who represented the workers. He also wanted to change international opinion who viewed him as a ruthless tyrant for removing and killing Patriarch Tewoflos when he came to power.

As Patriarch Tekle Haimanot was assumed to be have little administrative skills, one of his assistant officers tried to misappropriate church money that was supposed to go to the government. When the Patriarch opposed him, he began to defame him by saying that he was too old, did not know anything about administration, and should be replaced. The Patriarch informed Mengistu HaileMariam of this individual’s unscrupulous behavior and gave him an ultimatum, saying that if this man was not removed from office in three days, no one would prevent him from returning to his monastery. Mengistu immediately removed the officer.

The Derg regime’s high government officials, being anti-church communists, asked the Patriarch’s permission to convert several old churches located around the government offices in Addis Ababa into museums. He answered, “these churches are not my personal property for me to give permission, that they belong to all Ethiopian Christians. I will have to discuss the matter with church members and let you know.” This was a smart answer that the officials did not expect from him. Mengistu was aware that this monk is not an easy person to deal with and at the same time knew that if he pushed him harder, he would initiate a clash between the Derg regime and the Christian nation, so he dropped the idea. Thus, as it turned out, the Patriarch was not a person to be pushed bossed around like a puppet. Rather, he proved an able leader of the church for twelve years before he died in 1988.

Shortly before he died, the Patriarch went back to Wolayta to start construction on a church building that an outside donor agency wanted to erect. When he arrived, he gave his blessing and set a foundation stone in place. After the ceremony was over, he was ushered to a nice, comfortable residence that had been prepared where he could rest, but he refused to go in. Instead, he wanted to go back to his old hut. He went into the hut and rested. A short while later, he felt a sharp pain and collapsed into unconsciousness. He was brought back to Addis Ababa by helicopter and hospitalized. Shortly thereafter he died at the age of 71. He was buried at the Holy Trinity Church in Addis Ababa.

23 thoughts on “Abune Teklehaimanot remembered

  1. This is one of the most touching articles I have read in the loop. Thank you, Sir, for your kind consideration of this humble but great Ethiopian Orthodox Church leader. I knew him from my childhood in Gedam Sefer, Wolayita Soddo. My uncle, the late Berhanu Bikka was the director of the many schools the late Patriarch had built in Wolayita. Indeed he was a man of God who spoke the truth, advocated for peace, worked passionately for justice in the milieux of socio-political and economic chaos and wrought reconiliation amid animosities and factions of all sorts and at all levels of the society. Although he is dead and gone his life and testimony shines in some of us who are blessed to have known him. Many of my genre have been positively influenced by him and his contemporary, Germamay Neway, the governor of Wolayita. I left the country about four years after his ordination and do not know much about his patriarchate but I can imagine how atheistis and communists might have interfered with his administration. I do however, know he was sent by God as a “sheep among wolves”. My precious memories of him are as fresh as ever. May his victorious life be remembered, not his death! Praises be to God.

  2. may God bless our Ethiopian NEBIAT who stood strong from over whelming add throughout the centuries and continue to do so today.

    but Ethiopia is in danger from this falls Prophet Woyane ABA DIABLOS…..

  3. Thank you very much Elias. It was a very interesting article. But i have heared different story about his death. How did he died. I also want u to share u amazing story. Around Debre Zeit St Rufael church, there was an insane lady called Birhane ebidua ( Birhane the sane). She always was naked .The bad spirit who possed her makes her to tear the cloth she wear and be nudy. Many Christians who came to the church used to give her cloth. but she immediately remove the cloth and prefer to be naked. But Patriarch Tekle Haymanot saw her while he was on his way to this church to celebrate the annual feast of Saint Rufael. He stopped and gave her one of his yellow dress. For the last ten years , Birhane was seen with that cloth. She never dare to tear that cloth .It was removed from her when she passed away.

  4. It was in 1980s , i was a child. This patriarche, Tekelehaymanot was walking on foot. He was going to celebrate the churchs annual feast .
    I was around 13 years old. I ran and touched his dress. My aim was to kiss his cross. he smiled and gave me his blessing. I bowed and kissed his feet.
    My mom who was in distance saw all these and was very much happy. She told me that because he blessed me, my flesh wont persih for ever. She was also kissing his car . All the family felt very blessed for kissing his car and his cross. Indeed we were blessed. I still do remeber his spiritual charisma.

    many years latter, the new patrarche paulos was appointed. But i saw amazing scenes. Everyone was turing his face against him. Kids were throwing stone on his car. no one was happy to kiss his cross and give his respect. when ever he comes, there is chaos and anger. and above all he was given nick name called Aba Diabilos!!!!

  5. በጣም የሚገርም ታርክ ነው፡፡ እስኪ የእስላሙንም ጻፈው፡፡ 10 ሚሊዮን የሚሆን የእስላም ሕዝብ በኢትዮጵያ ስለአለ ስለእነሱም አንድ ነገር ጻፍ፡፡

  6. ፍርድ ቤቱ በ‹‹የሐውልቱ ሥር ቁማርተኞች›› ደራሲ ላይ ተጨማሪ የምርመራ ጊዜ ፈቀደ

    (ደጀ ሰላም፤ ኦገስት 29/2001፤ ነሐሴ 23/2002 ዓ.ም):- በ‹‹የሐውልቱ ሥር ቁማርተኞች›› መጽሐፍ ምክንያት በወ/ሮ እጅጋየሁ በየነ፣ ሊቀ ማእምራን ፋንታሁን ሙጬ እና በጋሻው ደሳለኝ (the famed Mezmur writer) የስም ማጥፋት ወንጀል ክስ በቀረበበት ሊቀ ትጉሃን ዘሪሁን ሙላቱ ላይ ፖሊስ ለፍርድ ቤቱ ባቀረበው ተጨማሪ የምርመራ ጊዜ ሳቢያ ጉዳዩ ለነሐሴ 25 ቀን 2002 ዓ.ም ተቀጠረ፡፡ የአዲስ አበባ ከተማ አስተዳደር የመጀመሪያ ደረጃ ፍርድ ቤት አራዳ ምድብ ችሎት እጁ ታስሮበት ከነበረው ካቴና ተፈትቶ የቀረበው ዘሪሁን ሙላቱ በበኩሉ፣ ‹‹ስለ መጽሐፉ አንዳችም የማውቀው ነገር የለም፤ ከቤተሰቦቼም ይሁን ከሌሎች ጓደኞቼ ጋራ እንዳልገናኝ ተከልክያለሁ፤ በአ.አ.ዩ የፒ.ኤች.ዲ ተማሪ ነኝ፤ ከእኔ በቀር ረዳት የሌላት ታማሚ እናት አለችኝ፤›› በማለት የዋስትና መብቱ እንዲከበርለት ያቀረበው ጥያቄ ዳኛው ፖሊስ ምርመራውን በሚገባ አጣርቶ እንዲቀርብ አንድ ተጨማሪ ቀጠሮ ልስጥ በማለታቸው ተቀባይነት ሳያገኝ ቀርቷል፡፡

    በችሎቱ መጀመርያ ላይ ዳኛው ምርመራው ከምን እንደ ደረሰ ሲጠይቁ የምርመራ መዝገቡን የያዙት ፖሊስ ‹‹የሐውልቱ ሥር ቁማርተኞች›› መጽሐፍን እና ከአዲስ አበባ ሀገረ ስብከት ጽ/ቤት እንደ ተጻፈ የሚያሳይ እና የከሳሾችን ዝርዝር የያዘ ደብዳቤ ለዳኛው አቅርበዋል፤ ዳኛውም በቅድሚያ ቆጣ ብለው ጊዜ ቀጠሮ የሰጡት የተጠርጣሪው መታሰር ለምርመራ ይጠቅማል ብለው በማሰብ መሆኑን አስገንዝበው ፖሊስ ስለምን እንዲህ ያሉ ደብዳቤዎችን በዚህ መልኩ እንደሚያቀርብ ጠይቀዋል፤ ፖሊስም ደብዳቤው በከሳሽ ወገኖች(እነወ/ሮ እጅጋየሁ) የቀረበ እና ከጉዳዩ ጋራ በተያያዘ አንድ ተጨማሪ ሰው በቁጥጥር ሥር ለማዋል እንደሚፈልግ፣ ተጠርጣሪው የዋስ መብቱ ተከብሮለት ቢወጣ ወይም አሁን ባለበት ሁኔታ ከሰው ጋራ እንዲገናኝ ቢፈቀድለት ምርመራው ስለሚደናቀፍ እስከ ቀጣዩ ቀጠሮ ድረስ ሲጠበቅበት በነበረው አኳኋን በማረፊያ ቤት ለብቻው ተገልሎ እንዲቆይለት ፍ/ቤቱን ጠይቋል፡፡

    ዳኛው በፖሊስ የቀረበላቸውን ‹መጽሐፍ› ይዘው፣ ‹‹ይህ መጽሐፍ ከአንተ እጅ ነው የተያዘው?›› በማለት ተጠርጣሪውን ጠይቀዋል፤ ዘሪሁንም ‹‹አይደለም›› በማለት በአጭሩ መለሰ፡፡ ፖሊስም መጽሐፉ በግል ተበዳዩዋ ወ/ሮ እጅጋየሁ ከመንገድ እንደተገዛ፣ ‹መጽሐፉ› ከመውጣቱ በፊት ተጠርጣሪው ረቂቁን ለግል ተበዳዩዋ ልኮላቸው እንደ ነበር አስረድቷል፡፡ ዳኛውም ዘሪሁንን፣ ‹‹አንተ ስለዚህ መጽሐፍ የምታውቀው አለ?›› በማለት ሲጠይቁት፣ ‹‹አንዳችም የማውቀው ነገር የለም፤›› በማለት ይመልሳል፡፡ ዳኛውም እንደገና፣ ‹‹ታዲያ ፖሊስ ዝም ብሎ ይይዝሃል እንዴ?›› በማለት ‹‹ፖሊስ ጉዳዩን በሚገባ እንዲያጣራ አንድ ተጨማሪ ቀጠሮ እሰጣለሁ›› በማለት ይናገራሉ፡፡ ዘሪሁንም ቤቱ አላግባብ እንደተሠበረ እና ንብረቱ እንደ ተዘረፈ፣ ከቤተሰቦቹ እንዳይገናኝ መታገዱን፣ በአ.አ.ዩ የድኅረ ምረቃ ትምህርቱን በመከታተል ላይ መሆኑን፣ ቋሚ አድራሻ እና ሥራ እንዳለው፣ እርሱ ብቻ የሚረዳቸው ታማሚ እናት ያሉት መሆኑን በመዘርዘር የዋስትና መብቱ እንዲከበርለት ጠይቋል፡፡ አያይዞም በፍርድ ቤቱ ቅጥር ግቢ ውስጥ አንድ ግለሰብ በሽጉጥ ያስፈራራው መሆኑን ለፍርድ ቤቱ ተናግሯል፡፡ ዳኛውም፣ ‹‹በሕግ ጥላ ሥር ሆነህ ስለ ፒ.ኤች.ዲ ማሰብ አዳጋች ነው፤ ክሱ ዋስትና ባያስከለክልህም ‹የሐውልቱ ሥር ቁማርተኞች› ብለህ የሰዎችን ምስል በጨዋታ ካርታ ውስጥ አድርገህ ማውጣት ወንጀል ነው፡፡ ከሃይማኖት ጉዳይ ጋራ የተያያዘ ነገር ሲሆን ደግሞ አደገኛ ይሆናል፡፡ ይህ ድርጊት ትክክለኛ ነው ብለህ ታምናለህ?›› ሲሉ ዘሪሁን፣ ‹‹ጸሐፊው ስለ ጻፈው ነገር መረጃ ካለው እና በስሙ ካወጣ ይችላል›› ብሎ ይመልሳል፡፡ ‹‹መረጃው ትክክል ካልሆነስ?›› ተብሎ ሲጠየቅ ‹‹ጸሐፊው ይጠየቅበታል፤ እኔ ግን አልመረመርም አላልኩም፤ ጉዳዩ ከእኔ ጋራ ተያያዥነት ስለሌለው የዋስትና መብት ይፈቀድልኝ ነው ጥያቄዬ›› ብሎ ይመልሳል፡፡

    ዳኛውም ዋስትና ሕገ መንግሥታዊ መብት እንደ ሆነ፣ የቀረበውም ክስ የተጠርጣሪውን የዋስትና መብት የማያስከለክል መሆኑን ጠቅሰዋል፡፡ ተጠርጣሪው በፍርድ ቤቱ ቅጥር ግቢ ውስጥ ‹‹በሽጉጥ አስፈራራኝ›› ያለውን ሰው መክሰስ እንደሚችል፣ ይሁንና ፖሊስ ተከሳሹ የምርመራ ሂደቱን የሚያበላሽ መረጃ ያወጣል ብሎ ካመነ ተጠርጣሪውን በማረፊያ ቤት ለብቻ ማቆየቱ በሕግ የተፈቀደ እንደ ሆነ፣ ስሙ ለችሎቱ በቀረበው ደብዳቤ የተጠቀሰው ሌላው ተፈላጊም በቁጥጥር ሥር እስከሚውል ድረስ ዳኛው እስከ ነሐሴ 25 ቀን 2002 ዓ.ም ያለውን ተጨማሪ ጊዜ ፈቅደው ፖሊስ ምርመራውን አጠናቅቆ እንዲቀርብ በማሳሰብ የዕለቱን ውሎ አጠናቀዋል፡፡ –ደጀ ሰላም

  7. Elias,

    Thank you so much for posting this article. Our dear patriarch Abune Tekle Haimanot was indeed a great leader of the Orhtodox Tewahido Bete-Kristiyan. There are many untold stories about him too.

    By the way …
    “# Berero says:

    God bless you for posting this and the source should indicate the link to Dictionary of African Christian Biography instead of showing an article written by Dirshaye Menberu.

    http://www.dacb.org/stories/ethiopia/tekle_haimanot.html

    August 31st, 2010 at 8:21 AM

    Please re-check the very source you mentioned. It says ‘Dr. Dirshaye Menberu’ is the author of this article.

  8. This is a truly blessed man that worked for the soul. Plastering Tagay Gebremedihn the TPLF cadre as an Ethiopian patriarch is a laughable joke no one can accept and be settled for. If the TPLF regime wants to erect Gebremedhin’s statue in Tigray as one of the best fighter or religious leader can be accepted, however erecting a thief and an imposter priest statue all over Ethiopia cannot be accepted. As soon as we have the chance we will remove the statues and lay them on the ground for TPLF regime can come collect it and perhaps ship it to Mekele.

  9. I cannot believe somebody remembered Berhane ebdua’s story. It was a well known story in Debrezeit. Indeed, Abune Teklehaimanot was a well respected and loved patriarch.

  10. Thanks Elias, for helping us remember the outstanding, incredible human being, the holy father Abune Teklehaimanot. Abune Teklehaimanot was a real Christian that loved and helped poor people and served God truthfully. My gratitude goes to him for being an example of what it means to be a real Christian.

  11. እግዚአብሔር እንደዚህ ያለ አባት ዳግም ሰጥቶ ቤተክርስቲያንን አንድ አድርጎ የኢትዮጵያን ሕዝብ ደስ እንዲያሰኝልን ለኛም አንድነትን እንዲሰጠን የጳጉሜን ወር በጾም በጸሎት ሆነን እንለምነው ?

  12. Testament of Levi ሌዊ, the priest tribe.

    “… Therefore, my children, I have learnt that at the end of the ages ye will transgress against the Lord, stretching out hands to wickedness [against Him]; and to all the Gentiles shall ye become a scorn. For our father Israel ያዕቆብ is pure from the transgressions of the chief priests [who shall lay their hands upon the Saviour of the world]. For as the heaven is purer in the Lord’s sight than the earth, so also be ye, the lights of Israel, (purer) than all the Gentiles. But if ye be darkened through transgressions, what, therefore, will all the Gentiles do living in blindness? Yea, ye shall bring a curse upon our race, because the light of the law which was given for to lighten every man this ye desire to destroy by teaching commandments contrary to the ordinances of God. The offerings of the Lord ye shall rob, and from His portion shall ye steal choice portions, eating (them) contemptuously with harlots. And out of covetousness ye shall teach the commandments of the Lord, wedded women shall ye pollute, and the virgins of Jerusalem shall ye defile: and with harlots and adulteresses shall ye be joined, and the daughters of the Gentiles shall ye take to wife, purifying them with an unlawful purification; and your union shall be like unto Sodom and 7 Gomorrah. And ye shall be puffed up because of your priesthood, lifting yourselves up against 8 men, and not only so, but also against the commands of God. For ye shall contemn the holy things with jests and laughter. Therefore the temple, which the Lord shall choose, shall be laid waste through your uncleanness, and ye shall be captives throughout all nations. And ye shall be an abomination unto them, and ye 3 shall receive reproach and everlasting shame from the righteous judgement of God. And all who hate 4 you shall rejoice at your destruction. And if you were not to receive mercy through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers, not one of our seed should be left upon the earth. And now I have learnt that for seventy weeks ye shall go astray, and profane the priesthood, and pollute the sacrifices. And ye shall make void the law, and set at nought the words of the prophets by evil perverseness. And ye shall persecute righteous men, and hate the godly the words of the faithful shall ye abhor. [And a man who reneweth the law in the power of the Most High, ye shall call a deceiver; and at last ye shall rush (upon him) to slay him, not knowing his dignity, taking innocent blood through wickedness upon your heads.] And your holy places shall be laid waste even to the ground because of him. And ye shall have no place that is clean; but ye shall be among the Gentiles a curse and a dispersion until He shall again visit you and in pity shall receive you [through faith and water].
    And whereas ye have heard concerning the seventy weeks, hear also concerning the priesthood. For in each jubilee there shall be a priesthood. And in the first jubilee, the first who is anointed to the priesthood shall be great, and shall speak to God as to a father. And his priesthood shall be perfect with the Lord, [and in the day of his gladness shall he arise for the salvation of the world]. In the second jubilee, he that is anointed shall be conceived in the sorrow of beloved ones; and his priesthood shall be honoured and shall be glorified by all. And the third priest shall be taken hold of by sorrow. And the fourth shall be in pain, because unrighteousness shall gather itself against him exceedingly, and all Israel shall hate each one his neighbour. The fifth shall be taken hold of by darkness Likewise also the sixth and the seventh. And in the seventh shall be such pollution as I cannot express before men, for they shall know it who do these things. Therefore shall they be taken captive and become a prey, and their land and their substance shall be destroyed. And in the fifth week they shall return to their desolate country, and shall renew the house of the 11 Lord. And in the seventh week shall become priests, (who are) idolaters, adulterers, lovers of money, proud, lawless, lascivious, abusers of children and beasts. And after their punishment shall have come from the Lord, the priesthood shall fail. Then shall the Lord raise up a new priest. And to him all the words of the Lord shall be revealed; And he shall execute a righteous judgement upon the earth for a multitude of days. And his star shall arise in heaven as of a king. Lighting up the light of knowledge as the sun the day, And he shall be magnified in the world. He shall shine forth as the sun on the earth, And shall remove all darkness from under heaven, And there shall be peace in all the earth. 5 The heavens shall exult in his days, And the earth shall be glad, And the clouds shall rejoice, [And the knowledge of the Lord shall be poured forth upon the earth, as the water of the seas; And the angels of the glory of the presence of the Lord shall be glad in him. The heavens shall be opened, And From the temple of glory shall come upon him sanctification, With the Father’s voice as from Abraham to Isaac. And the glory of the Most High shall be uttered over him, And the spirit of understanding and sanctification shall rest upon him [in the water]. For he shall give the majesty of the Lord to His sons in truth for evermore; And there shall none succeed him for all generations for ever. And in his priesthood the Gentiles shall be multiplied in knowledge upon the earth, And enlightened through the grace of the Lord: In his priesthood shall sin come to an end, And the lawless shall cease to do evil. [And the just shall rest in him.] And he shall open the gates of paradise, And shall remove the threatening sword against Adam. And he shall give to the saints to eat from the tree of life, And the spirit of holiness shall be on them. And Beliar shall be bound by him, And he shall give power to His children to tread upon the evil spirits. And the Lord shall rejoice in His children, And be well pleased in His beloved ones for ever. Then shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob exult, And I will be glad, And all the saints shall clothe themselves with joy. And now, my children, ye have heard all; choose, therefore, for yourselves either the light or the darkness, either the law of the Lord or the works of Beliar.

  13. God bless his soul and what a story.

    He does not look like the priest who confronted Megistu Hailemariam in a conference in this video that gets posted every now and them by Diaspora’s journal websites. The one in the conference is full body framed and a different face

  14. Thank YOU Elias,

    This is the most touching story. It also nags me why in a country that have people who could could weigh so much for earh and heavenly came to such a dead end having AMEKALA. Very Touching.
    Thank your again Elias
    Atriteh Ewoke

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