Tewahido Bible Study: Recent Episodes
The Ephesus School
A critical examination of the sacred scriptures, as they are read-aloud by a dedicated student of Aksum, Alexandria, and Antioch—and member of the Ephesus School Network.
The Fifth Sunday of the Great Fast, Lent in the EOTC, is called Mount of Olives. Pascha is a stone’s throw away. Keep fighting. The lectionary assigns the Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 24 to be read aloud before the great gathering (Psalm 39/40:9). I was called upon, by my former and beloved archdiocese of the great city of Los Angeles dba Southern California Orthodox Tewahdo Youth (SCOTY), to share a reflection on these words (debarim) of the Lord (yahweh).
Praytell they edify.
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OTYG invited me back to wish their great gathering a Merry Christmas. I decided to do so with the Gospel According to Matthew.
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Mihret Melaku, an Ethiopian Orthodox deacon who went viral defending the apostolic teaching on the eucharist and on baptism, is on a book launch tour for his second book Defending the Ancient Faith: An Orthodox Response to the Knechtle Debate. The first stop was our hometown of Los Angeles. The second stop was Washington D.C. This is a snippet of the third stop in Seattle. The next stop is scheduled for this weekend in Dallas. And after that, Godwilling, Adees Abeba, Ethiopia.
h/t OTYG Seattle.
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Raymond Silverman, Professor Emeritus of History of Art, Afroamerican, and African Studies at University of Michigan, joins me on the latest Philosophy of Art and Science to discuss the Afroasiatic art of Aksum.
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This is an audio recording of my homily from the throne of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church’s bishop of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. I delivered this homily during communion, and the cameraman rightly took the camera away from the mystery of qwrban (qurban; sacrifice; communion), whilst keeping the audio recording on. I spliced the meaningless video away here for a smoother listen.
I mostly just read aloud chapters six and seven of the Acts of the Apostles, which I just sent you in written form in my last post. Enjoy.
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Raymond Silverman, Professor Emeritus of History of Art, Professor Emeritus of Afroamerican and African Studies, asked me to share this beautiful video with you on the creation of brana (manuscripts) in contemporary Ethiopia. As the subtitle says, it is an ancient art, but one not lost to the ash heap of history, rather it is a living, breathing art in no less a city than the namesake of this blog! Aksum.
There are also some good folks doing this work in the capital city Adees Abeba. I have one manuscript of my own, a family heirloom psalter of a couple hundred (if not a few hundred) years, that was willed to me by my paternal grandmother in 2019. If I learn qum tsihuf (standing writing; the traditional method of transcription) it would be my honor to one day recreate it by hand. In the mean time, I better digitize it for you dear reader and watcher.
Keep me and the parchment makers in your holy prayers.
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My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? (1-4)
-the faith (the trust we were entrusted with from the Lord of Glory) has no room for partiality, favoritism, differentiation by class (i.e. Beyonce, politicians, micro-celebrities)
-treat each human with dignity and respect, especially when they can offer you nothing in return
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? (5-7)
-rich people use the court system to impose their will the way texas holdem players blind out opponents with low capital
If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. (8-13)
-the King’s law is to love your neighbor as yourself; this is not a command to love yourself, as the spirit of this age teaches, rather it assumes you already love yourself since you clothe yourself, feed yourself, bathe yourself, come to church, and use the bathroom in the bathroom rather than your pants
-love God by loving strangers and your enemies (pay your enemy to read you Scripture; offer to wash their car)
-adultery and murder are not just instantiated in deed, but in speech and in thought; stay alert
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (14-17)
-The so-called ‘Old’ Perspective and ‘New’ Perspective debate shows the Early Church interpreters to be right and Martin Luther and his spiritual children to be wrong; trust God, actions follow
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (18-end)
-demons are spiritual beings, they have doctrine and fasting (St. Moses the Ethiopian mentions fasting, scripture just speaks of their certainty of the spiritual realm)
-The common example of Abraham (Gen. 15:1-6) descendants like stars in sky; And the extreme example of Rahab (Joshua 2; 6:17-25), she of the oldest profession
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blessed are you,
that beholds the depths,
and sits upon the bodiless throne guardians.
And blessed are you, dear reader, when I am on Summer Vacation, and have time to deluge your email box with content. This is an English homily I delivered earlier today. I also did a terse Ge’ez to English poem translation for my friends who just got married. I also recently did a guest spot (in mostly Amharic) on Melkamsew Abebe’s channel. Been busy.
Stay blessed.
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I explain, in English, a Ge’ez poem crafted for the bridegroom and bride by our mutual Ge’ez and liturgy teacher.
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Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not abandon my soul in the place of the dead, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Acts of the Apostles 2:22-27 KJV
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Nathaniel “Nate” Marshall aka The Blue Scholar joins me on the latest Philosophy of Art and Science to discuss “work, theology, prayer, and the ordering of the material world as it orders our interior world.” He’s an “apologist for manual labor.”
You can read him here and xeet at him here.
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I was invited by His Beatitude Archbishop Theophilus of Northern CA, Nevada, and Arizona to visit and preach at his newly established St. John the Baptist and St. Arsema monastery in the wilderness of San Miguel, CA; along the historic El Camino Real, which I studied in 4th grade.
I reference:
Gen 16; Ezekiel 20; Psalm 135 (136); 1 John 4
When I read a verse or two, or three, of any given chapter, you can safely assume that you are being invited to eat the whole chapter, at minimum, and the whole book, at maximum, thus being sucked into scripture. Trust the medley of metaphors.
I also mention:
St. Isaac the Syrian, St. John Saba the Spiritual Elder, and Aba Pambo of the Desert Fathers.
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Highlights:
-Mar Mari Emmanuel is a bishop of the East Syriac rite. Within this tradition you have at least the Assyrian Church of the East (who stand alone since the 2nd ecumenical council) and the Chaldeans who were grafted to the Catholic Church. Their West Syriac brethren that are in our Afroasiatic communion are under His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, and there are Maronites grafted to the Catholic Church.
-mar is an East Syriac title meaning lord; mor is the West Syriac expression of the same title. we use it in the tewahdo tradition in reference to mar yishaq (St. Isaac the Syrian); one of the three monks whose works we have preserved in metshafe menekwesat (the book of monks). My rum (Eastern Roman; Greek Orthodox) Syrian friend, who runs a bomb Eastern Mediterranean restaurant in the Inland Empire, jokingly calls me Mar Elias. My first name is difficult for him to remember, but he knows a million Eliases.
-Not just linguistically, within the Semitic language family, but also genetically, Assyrians are one of the closest population groups to habesha within the West Asian cluster
-May this evil be turned to good; into a witness and confession of Christ throughout the world. May God grant Mar Mari Emmanuel strength and many, many years!
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Blaise Webster joins me on the latest episode of the Philosophy of Art and Science. He is a student of Old Greek, formal and informal Arabic, and Biblical Hebrew. And like me, he is a member of the Ephesus School Network, where he podcasts on Spotify and elsewhere. He also writes on Medium.
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This is my guest spot, originally published October 15, 2021 on Jonathan Pageau’s The Symbolic World Youtube channel.
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Originally published on my Youtube channel 03.09.2022. This was our second collaboration. Our first was my guest spot (60k views as of 04.06.24 on his show), from 10.15.2021. Jonathan Pageau is an Orthodox Christian, carver, writer, and public speaker.
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መዝሙር ፵ወ፬
ጐሥዐ ፡ ልብየ ፡ ቃለ ፡ ሠናየ ፡ አነ ፡ አየድዕ ፡ ግብርየ ፡ ለንጉሥ ፤ ከመ ፡ ቀለመ ፡ ጸሓፊ ፡ ዘጠበጠበ ፡ ይጽሕፍ ፡ ልሳንየ ። ይሤኒ ፡ ላሕዩ ፡ እምውሉደ ፡ እጓለ ፡ እመሕያው ፡ ተክዕወ ፡ ሞገስ ፡ እምከናፍሪከ ፤ በእንተዝ ፡ ባረከከ ፡ እግዚአብሔር ፡ ለዓለም ። ቅንት ፡ ሰይፈከ ፡ ኀይል ፡ ውስተ ፡ ሐቌከ ፤ በሥንከ ፡ ወበላሕይከ ። አርትዕ ፡ ተሠራሕ ፡ ወንገሥ ፡ በእንተ ፡ ጽድቅ ፡ ወርትዕ ፡ ወየዋሃት ፤ ወይመርሐከ ፡ ስብሐተ ፡ የማንከ ። አሕጻከ ፡ ስሑል ፡ ኀያል ፡ አሕዛብ ፡ ይወድቁ ፡ ታሕቴከ ፤ ውስተ ፡ ልቦሙ ፡ ለጸላእተ ፡ ንጉሥ ። ወንበርከ ፡ እግዚኦ ፡ ለዓለመ ፡ ዓለም ፤ በትረ ፡ ጽድቅ ፡ በትረ ፡ መንግሥትከ ። አፍቀርከ ፡ ጽድቀ ፡ ወዐመፃ ፡ ጸላእከ ፡ በእንተዝ ፡ ቀብአከ ፡ እግዚአብሔር ፡ አምላክከ ፤ ቅብአ ፡ ትፍሥሕት ፡ እምእለ ፡ ከማከ ። ከርቤ ፡ ወቀንአተ ፡ ወሰሊኆት ፡ እምነ ፡ አልባሲከ ፤ እምክቡዳነ ፡ አቅርንት ፡ ዘእምኔሆሙ ፡ አስተፈሥሓከ ፡ አዋልደ ፡ ነገሥት ፡ ለክብርከ ፤ ወትቀውም ፡ ንግሥት ፡ በየማንከ ፡በአልባሰ ፡ ወርቅ ፡ ዑጽፍት ፡ ወሑብርት ። ስምዒ ፡ ወለትየ ፡ ወርእዪ ፡ ወአፅምዒ ፡ እዝነኪ ፤ ወርስዒ ፡ ሕዝበኪ ፡ ወቤተ ፡ አቡኪ ። እስመ ፡ ፈተወ ፡ ንጉሥ ፡ ሥነኪ ፤ እስመ ፡ ውእቱ ፡ እግዚእኪ ። ወይሰግዳ ፡ ሎቱ ፡ አዋልደ ፡ ጠሮስ ፡ በአምኃ ፡ወለገጽኪ ፡ ይትመሀለሉ ፡ ኵሎሙ ፡ አሕዛብ ፡ ብዑላነ ፡ ምድር ። ኵሉ ፡ ክብራ ፡ ለወለተ ፡ ንጉሥ ፡ ሐሴቦን ፤ በዘአዝፋረ ፡ ወርቅ ፡ ዑጽፍት ፡ ወሑብርት ። ወይወስዱ ፡ ለንጉሥ ፡ ደናግለ ፡ ድኅሬሃ ፤ ወቢጻሂ ፡ ይወስዱ ፡ ለከ ። ወይወስድዎን ፡ በትፍሥሕት ፡ ወበሐሤት ፤ ወያበውእዎን ፡ ውስተ ፡ ጽርሕ ፡ ንጉሥ ። ህየንተ ፡ አበዊኪ ፡ ተወልዱ ፡ ለኪ ፡ ደቂቅ ፤ ወትሠይምዮሙ ፡ መላእክተ ፡ ለኵሉ ፡ ምድር ። ወይዘከሩ ፡ ስመኪ ፡ በኵሉ ፡ ትውልደ ፡ ትውልድ ፤ በእንተዝ ፡ ይገንዩ ፡ ለከ ፡ አሕዛብ ፡ እግዚኦ ፡ ለዓለም ፡ ወለዓለመ ፡ ዓለም ።
My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the things which I have made touching the king: my tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Thou art fairer than the children of men: grace is poured into thy lips: therefore God hath blessed thee for ever. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the king's enemies; whereby the people fall under thee. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad. Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's house; So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour. The king's daughter is all glorious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: they shall enter into the king's palace. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever. (Psalm 45, according to the Masoretes)
I have been obsessively watching this particular video, and the several other fine cuts and precious gems on the channel of Dcn. daweet girma; accompanied here by his fellow-laborer in Jaredian hymns Dcn. mihret melaku, who wrote our featured article on the etiquette and order of tsome dgwa, and their choirmaster the aptly named (perhaps a little too aptly) Prof. yaréd. They say, melak sim yaweTal, messengers (angels) select names. But sometimes, in the traditional schools of the EOTC, name changes happen to suit and fit the character of the person, and especially to baptize the at-times very gangster given names of some otherwise Orthodox christians.
In this video, you can watch and hear an entire psalm of daweed sung in a semitic tongue, dovetailed by at least two different traditions (teklé and gwenderine) of walking-stick choreography. During this season this historic St. Michael’s parish (where Malcolm X and MLK Jr. once walked) in Boston, MA, halfway through the Great Fast, has done ten full psalms in this manner. Were they in the homeland, and at a fully-armed and operational parish, they would do this with one hundred psalms…
Reminds me of the New Jerusalem, the Zion which is above.
This particular psalm is germane to our tradition, because it has been altered and edited to address our Lady the Holy Virgin Mary, instead of the Most High God, in the Anaphora of Mary. This is a controversial step. And should cause us to at least pause, ponder, and reflect. I remain functional in thinking and doing. Maybe it’s the right move. Maybe it’s not. But in our ‘yes and’ culture of Orthodoxy, we have the edited version in the Anaphora of Mary, and the original version in a misbak (psalm chanted during the eucharistic liturgy), and here chanted from the noneucharistic Jaredian book miiraf (resting place).
Glory to God, for all things.
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Editorial Note:
English Teaching roughly 15:00-45:00. Preceded by Amharic prayer and Amharic spiritual singing, and an English poem.
This is a guest spot from this time during the Great Fast seven years ago, in collaboration with United Orthodox Tewahdo Youth. They were an idealistic bunch of young people, whom from everything I can tell, were an offshoot of mahibere qidusanin the English language. I have now seen several official gibee gubaé (premises conferences) popping up on college campuses across the U.S. as they did for the first time decades ago in Ethiopia.
I have mixed feelings. On the one hand they are almost all highly educated (in the secular sense) and excellent in their chosen professions, and give generously to projects in the name of God (Psalm 69:9; John 2:17). Training varies wildly member-to-member, but they sponsor many church scholars. They raise money for up-keeping of monasteries. And they reach across sundry verbal and nonverbal language barriers.
What is the end goal? And what is the structure? The message I have found to be one of neotraditionalism or neoconservatism (not the foreign policy position). There is a beauty in bringing about modest church attire homogeneity, but this should always be matched by internal struggle against sin. The milieu of these organizations is both the nascent autocephaly granted us gradually in 1929, 1950, and 1959, and the political chaos ushered in by the Marxist-Leninst derg regime followed by the TPLF regime which substituted class communism for race communism, and just when we thought we had respite with the reunification of the holy synod in 2018, the oromuma regime began doing more of the same.
Attempts to shake Egyptian Coptic control were made from time to time, but it was not until 1929 that a compromise was effected: an Egyptian monk was again appointed abuna, but four Ethiopian bishops were also consecrated as his auxiliaries. A native Ethiopian abuna, Basil, was finally appointed in 1950, and in 1959 an autonomous Ethiopian patriarchate was established
In this context, the most Orthodox behavior of obedience to a bishop was forgotten or intentionally neglected. These organizations pop up here and there with different names, and rarely are connected with a bishop. What does scripture say?
“So Samuel said: Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22).
And the early church fathers?
See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is administered either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Universal Church. It is not lawful without the bishop either to baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve of, that is also pleasing to God, so that everything that is done may be secure and valid.
The Epistle of St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans
As soon as his beatitude Archbishop Theophilus of Northern CA, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico seized this organization, under the auspices of the holy synod of the EOTC, inexplicably, they withered away. A few name changes and similar organizations have arisen since, and I hope they are aligned with their respective archbishops and archdioceses.
As for the archdiocese of Southern CA, we are highly organized, and in direct submission and obedience to his beatitude Archbishop Barnabas; who learned under the same teacher whom mahibere qidusan acknowledges as their spiritual founder, Archbishop Gregory, of blessed memory, of Lake ziway monastery. In his book sima tewahdo (tewahdo testimony) Archbishop Barnabas says everything he has learned is from Archbishop Gregory and the Messenger of Light admasu jemberé.
Anyhoo, God can use anyone anywhere at anytime. Even a literal jackass (Numbers 22). Really. Take my joking seriously. And so when called upon to share the evangelion of Christ the King, I do not shy away for sectarian reasons. God forbid. I do my duty. And so I did, seven years ago, across perceived enemy territory within the church.
I was tasked with addressing the story of the Paralytic, whose Sunday coincided, or were provided, this year in the Greek Rite and the ge’ez Rite. Have a blessed week of metsagw3/metsagwi.
And again he entered into Comfortville after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. (Mark 2:1-12 KJV)
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P.S.
I am scheduled to teach at ኆኅተ ሰማይ መጥመቀ መለኮት ቅዱስ ዮሐንስ ወቅድስት አርሴማ የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ አንድነት ገዳም በካሊፎርኒያ the Gateway to Heaven Saint John the Baptizer of Divinity and Saint Hripsime Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Monastery in San Miguel, California on April 20th, 2024. Godwilling, I will see you there.
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This was originally published on May 8, 2023 on Derek Cummins’ A Dose of Theosis Youtube channel. He is a former Protestant Pastor interested in cradle stories and convert journeys to Catholicism and Orthodoxy (Greek and Afroasiatic). He pleasantly surprised me with a particular interest in the Afroasiatic.
For those of you who are new here:
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I don’t usually post this frequently, but you are blessed by me being on Spring Break, and having the time to bring you these gems hidden on the internet that I know how to find quickly and redistribute to you here, with my colored commentary.
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In Orthodox Prayer Routine I address ‘theosis’ and ‘deification’. TL;DR the goal in life is not to become a Nietzschean übermensch (superman), or platonically metamorphosize into Jonathan Storm, but to become a biblically restored edenic אדם (adam; groundling) of the עפר (3far/afar; dust) of the אדמה (adamah; ground).
These are the verses theosoids wrest unto their own destruction:
Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
2 Peter 1:1-4 NKJV
the interpretation:
2 Peter builds off of Jude and canonizes Paul. 1-2 need no explanation as we have already encountered them many times before. “Glory and excellence”, I hope this is clear. Again, looking ahead, toward the glory. “partakers of the divine nature”, people make a big deal about that, regarding theosis, but this doesn’t make sense. Remember, the vision of God, blessed are the pure hearts, because they will see God. See means, to be in His presence, facing his countenance, and not His ire. In other words, you go to him, in a situation, beyond the judgement, that you have succeeded. It is like when you say, “I want to make an appointment to see someone.” Meaning, being in his presence. But not His thronal presence of judgement, but His thronal presence of fellowship at the table. And the word here which is partakers is again, friends, κοινωνία (koinonia). A word, in a certain literature, when it has a connotation, you cannot force it in a different direction. In other words, we would be sitting in the divine council, in the divine room.
-Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary: The New Testament Audio
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This was originally published March 20, 2024 on Subdeacon Daniel Kakish’s aptly named The Lion’s Den Youtube channel. This was my first appearance there, but he has been a guest on my channel before. In fact, it was even before Philosophy of Art and Science was a thing, and my only podcast was Tewahido Bible Study.
In this guest spot on The Lion’s Den, I commend Subdcn. Daniel for defending Afroasiatic Orthodox Christianity in the extremely online debate circuit, but even more for hosting an irl bible study that also examines Syriac Patristics (i.e. Mor Efrem, Jacob of Serugh) which lure-in technically Catholic Maronites and Chaldeans who are interested in studying their fathers. In that vein, since they are also our fathers in the ge’ez rite, Subdcn. Daniel and I read aloud Wednesday’s portion of the widasé maryam (Marian Praise) attributed to Mor Efrem, and I ask him to verify whether or not it is at least in the style or school of Efrem.
Photo taken by Dr. Candace Lukasik, Assistant Professor of Religion at Mississippi State University, “Joyful Palm Sunday from Alqosh, Nineveh”
And whereas St. yaréd the Aksumite may be well-deservedly the most famous father of the tewahdo tradition, there is a new wave of prominence, here and at-hand, for another father par excellence, aba geeyorgees (Fr. George) of segla.
Augustine Dickinson, Doctoral Student at Universität Hamburg (a giant in the field of Classical Ethiopic and Ethiopian Studies writ large) in Germany, runs a melk (rhyming poetry that can be chanted) gathering and analyzing account on Meta (formerly Facebook). From there, Sub Dcn. Daniel and I discuss a poem about aba geeyorgees.
From an unreleased vault, Subdcn. Daniel and I look at Dcn. Mehari Zemelak Worku, Phd. candidate’s forthcoming (at the end of the semester for the university, and perhaps a couple years for the general public) dissertation, 15th Century Ethiopian Orthodox Ecclesiology in Giyorgis of Sägla’s Mäṣhafä Mǝsṭir'; specifically ch. 2’s narrative of the saint. In the coming year, Godwilling, the Pacific Northwest will be blessed with dcn. meharee and I’s further collaboration irl for ge’ez, Amharic, scripture, and patristics.
Subdcn. Daniel and I discuss Prof. Habtemichael Kidane’s Old Testament Lessons in the Säʿatat of Giyorgis Säglawi. An article of considerable length that looks at the specific Liturgy of Hours, or Breviary, of aba geeyorgees, while acknowledging there are others (including one dcn. meharee and I have been working on since 2021, for which there will be Godwilling a few forthcoming publications). Prof. Habtemichael also looks at the tsome digwa, which our brother dcn. mihret recently covered here on ARB.
There is a newly made Aba Giorgis Film Instagram account, for a forthcoming film, that seems active, and a less active Meta account. Produced by Theophoros (God-bearing) Pictures (and negodguad “thunder” production), directed by my mogshé (nametwin) Henok Ayele, shot by Abeyo Nibret, and written by Samuél Gutta, Frézer Fréw, and Dagim Sisay.
God is glorified through his holy ones and saints.
P.S.
in conversation with Future Cancelled Knowledge, I have compiled this list of languages with a word for nametwin.
Please add to our list:
Amharic - mogshé/mokshé
tigriña - mokhsee
Brazilian Portuguese - xará (shara)
Russian - tiozka
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Originally published on March 6, 2024 Anno Domini at Michael Lofton’s Reason & Theology channel on Youtube. This was our second conversation together on his channel. We mainly textually analyze the EOTC’s Anaphora of the Apostles, plus my ‘lived experience’ thereof.
My first appearance on his channel was on February 10, 2022 A.D., and was more general in nature.
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I thought it would be demonstrative to show you an atypical Sunday at Virgin Mary’s EOTC in South Central L.A., and a typical Sunday. The former has given us so much content already, and this second high-quality video from our brother in Christ nahu’senay will be our last from the atypical Sunday.
Here Dcn. zéna bluy hadees recites the Magnificat, according to the Greek Rite. In our ge’ez Rite, this prayer is one of the many compiled within a collection known as tselot ze’zewtr (ge’ez) / ye’zewtr tselot (Amharic)(prayers for always; daily prayers). It is found in the Gospel According to St. Luke, Chapter 1 Verses 46-55:
And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty has done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He has showed strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He has filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
It is often committed to heart in ge’ez. If you can do this fully, do so. If you cannot, do it in part. If you cannot, do it in English, or whatever language of yours is strongest. Here’s the ge’ez:
ታዐብዮ ነፍስየ ለእግዚአብሔር ወትትሐሠይ መንፈስየ በአምላኪየ ወመድኃኒየ እስመ ርእየ ሕማማ ለአመቱ ናሁ እምይእዜሰ ያስተበፅዑኒ ኵሉ ትውልድ እስመ ገብረ ሊተ ኃይለ ዐቢያተ ወቅዱስ ስሙ ወሣህሉኒ ለትውልደ ትውልድ ለእለ ይፈርህዎ ወገብረ ኃይለ በመዝራዕቱ ወዘረዎሙ ለእለ ያዐብዩ ኅሊና ልቦሙ ወነሠቶሙ ለኃያላን እመናብርቲሆሙ አዕበዮሙ ለትሑታን ወአጽገቦሙ እምበረከቱ ለርኁባን ወፈነዎሙ ዕራቆሙ ለብዑላን ወተወክፎ ለእስራኤል ቍልዔሁ ወተዘከረ ሣህሎ ዘይቤሎሙ ለአበዊነ ለአብርሃም ወለዘርዑ እስከ ለዓለም።
On a typical Sunday, like this past Christian Sabbath, Dcn. daweetingida’werqpreached in English before the great congregation, including a mixed-assembly of adults and youth, Jonathan Simmons, Esq. taught a swarm of high school and college age students in a room adjacent to but outside the sanctuary, and his beatitude abune bernabas did his thing counseling visitors whilst standing outside after the eucharistic liturgy.
Dcn. daweet told us about the Prophet Ezekiel being told to eat the scroll of the instruction of yahweh and doing so (chapter 3), and of the dry bones (chapter 37) being told likewise with slightly different language, but still doing so. Jonathan shared with us the Acts of the Apostles chapters 1 & 2, after summarizing the culmination of the Gospel According to St. John, which his class had recently completed reading aloud. The ascension, or going up into the sky, of Jesus Christ, the fiery homily of repentance from St. Peter at the third hour (9a.m.; btw we still speak this way in Amharic), and the hierarchical communal living of the apostles and their disciples make an appearance.
After my wife sang a typical spiritual song for our bishop, in ge’ez, he interpreted it for those of us present. It is rooted in the Gospel According to St. John Chapter 17 Verse 11 (LEB), “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given to me, so that they may be one, just as we are.” Like Luke’s, ““Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”, and Genesis’ “be fruitful and multiply, swarm on the earth and multiply in it”, these are intercessory prayers, and a command, that are spoken once but last forever and ever.
This teaching reminded me of a teaching by Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi. Fr. Paul constantly stresses the importance of functionality in scripture, and switching the focus from the temporary to the eternal. Here is 2 Kings 18:1-6 LEB
It happened in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah became king. He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Abi, the daughter of Zechariah. He did right in the eyes of Yahweh according to all that David his ancestor had done. He removed the high places, and he smashed the stone pillars; he cut down the poles of Asherah worship and demolished the bronze serpent which Moses had made, for up to those days the Israelites were offering incense to it and called it Nehushtan. He trusted in Yahweh the God of Israel; there was no one like him, before or after, among all the kings of Judah. He held on to Yahweh; he did not depart from following him, and he kept his commands that Yahweh had commanded Moses.
The nehash, in biblical Hebrew, is a snake. The month closest to August in the Western Calendar is called, in ge’ez, nehasé, which means bronze. This is not a mistake. The nehushtan, in biblical Hebrew, is a bronze snake on a stick. In Genesis, snake bad. In Numbers snake bad, then snake good. In Kings, snake bad. In John, snake good again.
What gives? What does this mean? What is our snake? Think of our icons, priestly vestments, and even the bishop’s staff! abune bernabas quickly directed the glory back to God, when the song was sung in the bishop’s honor. But how many bishops would do likewise? Everything blessed can be cursed, and vice-versa. Everything mundane and profane can become holy, and vice-versa.
Be functional. Redound glory upon and to God, in every time and in every space, now and ever, unto ages of ages…
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A clip of my wife and I honoring Aba Thomas Finley (amongst other tingz, our pre-marital counselor). I sent you all the live footage from the Church camera the other day. This high quality footage is from our brother in Christ nahu’senay (ge’ez for: behold how good/beautiful; a way of referring to Psalm 132 (133)). I will connect you if you seek his services.
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
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I am joined on the latest Philosophy of Art and Science by Noah Kumin, Editor of the Mars Review of Books. The best place to find his writing, and that of his counter-elite, is of course on Mars (aka urbit). But, in the mean time, you can find them on Earth too (Digital Mars & Print Mars). Technology, culture, politics, and more.
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The chattering class and intellengtsia are convinced of the death of longform video the way Friedrich Nietzsche was convinced of the death of God. Both are dead wrong. Long live longform! I am not against shortform, in fact, it is a part and parcel of my business model. But I would be fibbing if I didn’t say that I saw as much beauty in the longform as I do in the Fibonacci Sequence.
I encourage those of my dear readers and watchers who are most daring to hear and/or watch this entire video (from Virgin Mary’s Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Cathedral in South Central Los Angeles, California). But I am occasionally reasonable, and will lower my expectations for most of you, and simplify matters so that you can selectively watch and rewatch at your leisure. 7 hrs is no joke.
What do we got here?
-the first 48 mins are the Jaredian mezmur (not to be confused with the modern spiritual songs that imitate its name)
-from 48 mins - 1:25:00 you have a baptismal rite followed by a funerary rite, the circle of life
-the eucharistic liturgy begins at 1:25:00, and technically does not close till the end of the video but functionally closes at 4:10:00. I really recommend you hear this liturgy because it is unique in that in honor of Aba Thomas Finley we kept the chanted portions in Ge’ez, but converted all of the regular Amharic readings into English. It would be misleading to call it an English liturgy, but it’s far more English than you’re accustomed to hearing, and what’s more, in the past (since 2013) it was relegated to once a month on Saturday’s but here it is on a Sunday before the great congregation (300-500 laity)
-from 4:10:00 - 5:09:00 the regular choir and the youth choir sing spiritual songs, then after a brief parish council message, Professor haylé (a recently arrived to America married priest of bahir dar with traditional learning in the schools of poetry and chanting) sings a solo modern spiritual song accompanied by his own krar playing, followed by the special needs choir
-5:09:00 - 5:14:00 Dcn. zéna bluy hadees(and here) honors Aba Thomas with words and singing a hymn he taught us all (the lyrics of the Magnificat, Luke 1:46,47)
-5:14:00 - 5:21:00 I honor Aba Thomas with words, and my wife Choir Singer Mary Magdalene sings him a hymn wishing him lifespan and healthspan, to live long and to live well.
5:21:00 - 5:23:00 Protodeacon alem honors Aba Thomas with words
5:23:00 - 5:26:00 a longtime Sunday School student (now in college) Loza honors Aba Thomas with words
5:26:00 - 5:28:00 an older FBA convert and Sunday School assistant teacher habte’silasé honors Aba Thomas with words
5:28:00 - 5:48:00 as qése gebez yonas (whose timely Jonah / Ninevite Fast has once again begun)continues to MC, the parish council, under the auspices of his beatitude Archbishop bernabas, give gifts to honor aba Thomas
5:48:00 - 6:00:00 the youth choir return for an encore
6:00:00 - 6:03:00 Aba Thomas’ biological son The Very Reverend Fr. Nicholas Finley of Nativity (lideta) of the Virgin Mary OCA in Madison, Illinois honors his father with words
6:03:00 - 6:09:00 Professor haylé returns with an ad hoc Ge’ez poem in honor of aba Thomas, whom this is only his second time seeing
6:09:00 - 6:12:00 Choirmaster aba bernabas (nametwin of our archibishop), who has been living and serving with aba Thomas for about a year, shares words to honor him
6:12:00 - 6:20:00 our parish administrator the Messenger of Zion aba laike’maryam shares words to honor aba Thomas whom he has known and served alongside for 17 years
6:20:00 - 6:22:00 a parishioner gives a testimony
6:22:00 - 6:27:00 Archbishop bernabas honors aba Thomas with words
6:27:00 - 6:33:00 Choirmaster aba bernabas leads us in a traditional hymn in honor of the annual covenant of mercy feast of our lady the Holy Virgin Mary
6:33:00 - end the eucharistic liturgy closes
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(video cred to mahibere qidusan; singing cred to Professor lisane’werq mola)
ፆም ትፌውስ ቍስለ ነፍስ : ወታጸምም ኵሎ ዘሥጋ ፍትወታ
tsom tféws qwsle nefs we’tatsemim kwlo ze’siga fitweta
fasting heals the wounds of the soul (breath of life), and silences all of the flesh’s desiderata
Roman Catholics are amidst Lent, and for us Afroasiatic Orthodox, The Great Fast is coming. And the terse warmup Fast of Nineveh is even closer. This forthcoming Monday-Wednesday. In remembrance of the penitent Ninevites, may their memory be eternal, let us read or reread Jonah (whose larger context is the Scroll of the Twelve Minor Prophets). Especially, aloud. It’s only four chapters. Like Ruth. I will provide you with Chapter 3. The rest is homework.
And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
(emphasis added)
“Do your best, and forget the rest.”
-Tony Horton, P90X (beachbody.com)
Fasting is very personal, like personal training, and very individualized and tailor-made like your order at Chipotle or your suit/dress for a wedding. But there is a corporate or communal call from the Church to do so during a certain period of the calendar. You are not alone. Talk with your local priest. But please, please keep your eyes on your own plate. He should give you the best medicine of scripture, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving for your personal growth within the community of the Living God.
If nothing else, try this:
every night during the fast, after having abstained from food from midnight to noon, facing the East bow-down and get back up, read one Psalm (whether you finish it or not does not matter), say the Lord’s prayer, and find a vagrant to feed or clothe, or head over to Give Well or write to The Macedonians Humanitarian Association.
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I am joined on the latest Philosophy of Art and Science by Paul, an Orthodox Christian who made his way home to the Church from scientific materialism and Daoism. With God, all things are possible. Glory to him for all tingz.
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Dr. Richard writes here
He is the President of the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology, has studied the law and political science at the graduate level, and recently debated Curtis Yarvin in Glendale, CA.
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የእግዚአብሔር : ልጆች : ተብለን : ልንጠራ : አብ : እንዴት : ያለውን : ፍቅር : እንደ : ሰጠን : እዩ : እንዲሁም : ነን። ስለዚህ : ምክንያት : ዓለም : እርሱን : ስላላወቀው : እኛን : አያውቀንም።
ye’igzeeabhér lijoch teblen linTera ab indét yalewn fqr inde seTen iyu indeehum nen:: silezeeh mknyat alem irsun slalaweqew iñan ayawqenm::
See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called children of God, and we are! Because of this the world does not know us: because it did not know him.
(1 John 3:1 LEB)
Taking the biblical verse above as a starting point, this modern amharic spiritual song was made. The chorus:
እንድንጠራ : ልጆቹ : ተብለን : አብ : አንድያ : ልጁን : ጨክኖ : ሰጠን : የሚጠብቀን : መልካሙ : እረኛ : ከቃል : በላይ : ነው : እግዚአብሔር : ለኛ
indnTera lijochu teblen ab andya lijun CHekno seTen ye’meeTebqen melkamu ireña ke’qal belay new igzeeabhér leña
so that we could be called his children, God the father decisively gave us his only son, our good shepherd, the Lord who protects us, is above words, for us.
If you are learning Amharic, or want to help someone learn Amharic, have them hear the chorus a few times, then have them sing-along, and eventually they should be able to sing it on their own. Break down the Amharic transliteration into the Latin alphabet and try to match their understanding with each word to see what it is doing. The grammar is different, and so the words will be arranged in a different manner, not 1-to-1.
This cover was sung by the incomparable Phd. candidate Dcn. meharee ze'melak werqu (professionally Mehari Worku), one of my mentors and big brothers (no not that Big Brother) in Christ. The event was the last, or penultimate?, North American gathering of Sunday School (Bible and choir) bondservants under the auspices of the EOTC holy synod in exile, prior to reunification. It’s where him and I first met in the flesh. Before that, to me, he was just a mysterious commenter on the first iteration of my Tewahido Bible Study, hiding behind a strange political martyr avi on Facebook.
I had an Ethiopian catechumen of the EOTC (I believe from Protestantism) recently reach out about his appearances in my projects. And so I might as well share with you all as well. meharee is prolific. He studies the Horn of Africa and the Near East in: Ge’ez, Amharic, Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic, Coptic, Greek, German, English, and French. And he dabbles in Tigriña and Afan Oromo.
In POAAS 63 he tells us about Aba George of gasCHA and the infamous Council of Chalcedon (which Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi calls, “the saddest moment in Church History”, The Rise of Scripture).
In POAAS 76, he tells us about the bnay qyama "Children of the Covenant" (or resurrection). And about Egyptian, Roman, and Syrian celibacy movements that sow the seeds which later formalize into monastic movements.
In POAAS 84, he eulogizes the late great ge’ez professor par excellence gétachew haylé.
He has a recently published fresh translation of Ethiopian philosophy: The Hatata Inquiries: Two Texts of Seventeenth-Century African Philosophy from Ethiopia about Reason, the Creator, and Our Ethical Responsibilities.
He is the majority contributor to the translations of the Miracles of Mary Project at Princeton.
An article in The Alexandria School Journal: An Orthodox Academic Journal.
An article here on Gregory the Great and his Pastoral Rule.
An article here on monasticism (discussed in POAAS 76), Before Egypt and Rome there was Syria.
An article here on human existence.
An Amharic audio piece introducing St. Augustine of Hippo.
An Amharic audio series translating the interpretation of the prayer of faith (Nicene-Constantinopolitan creed) by St. Augustine. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.
A forthcoming translation of the Ge’ez (Classical Ethiopic) diatessaron (with me).
And a forthcoming dissertation on Aba George (mentioned above), at the Catholic University of America.
Remember him in and I in your holy prayers!
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I am joined by Phd. student, at Princeton, John Ladouceur on the latest episode of the Philosophy of Art and Science to talk about why men in general, and him and I in particular, think so frequently about the Roman Empire... and of course Aksum!
Here’s John writing at the Lamp.
Here’s a leader in his field at the NY Review of Books.
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I'm joined on the latest Philosophy of Art and Science by Joshua Alfaro to talk about ge'ez papers and talks he sat in on at the most recent Society of Biblical Literature gathering. He is a scholar in his own right of the Old Greek Hebrew Bible, and its daughter translations (ge’ez, Syriac, Armenian, Latin etc.).
The project at Tel Aviv University led by Dr. Dalit Rom-Shiloni to preserve the oral traditions of Beta Israel: Rescue Mission: Pioneering TAU Program Preserves Ethiopian Jewish Heritage
Joshua’s friend Dr. John Anthony Dunne has written Esther and Her Elusive God: How a Secular Story Functions as Scriptureto discuss the film and novel adaptations of the Scroll of Esther.
Aksum Herald is backed by readers like you. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Free subscribers help expand reach by liking and sharing posts. Paid subscribers keep the incandescent lights on for the price of a cup of coffee a month. በእንተ ስማ ለማርያም for the sake of Mary’s name…
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Dcn. aleme'silasé is a frequent flyer of the Philosophy of Art and Science. He works as an aerospace engineer with a focus on embedded spacecraft flight software, particularly supporting earth science related instruments already in flight. He has recently published a book (an extension of his M.A. thesis from Agora University) surveying the Aksumite School of Biblical Exegesis (arguably an extension of the Antiochene School of Biblical Exegesis), including those critical editions that have been made available in English.
The Letter That Kills: Variant Readings of Genesis 37:3 in the Andmta Corpus (currently out of print but will be back soon).
Aksum Herald is backed by readers like you. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Free subscribers help expand reach by liking and sharing posts. Paid subscribers keep the incandescent lights on for the price of a cup of coffee a month. በእንተ ስማ ለማርያም for the sake of Mary’s name…
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Illuminati Congo aka Yahn the Baptist joins me on the latest Philosophy of Art & Science to discuss his craft of music, esoteric disciplines, his latest album Psalms, and crypto currencies.
Aksum Herald is backed by readers like you. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Free subscribers help expand reach by liking and sharing posts. Paid subscribers keep the incandescent lights on for the price of a cup of coffee a month. በእንተ ስማ ለማርያም for the sake of Mary’s name…
P.S.
"Illuminated by faith the breath of life has visions of God, yea, and, as far as it may, beholds God: and ranges along the bounds of the universe, and before the end of this world, already gazes upon the judgment"
-St. Cyril of Jerusalem
For those thrown off by the term Illuminati. We address the functionality of terms in the conversation above.
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Charles Haywood returns to the Philosophy of Art & Science to talk about Holy John Goldenmouth's On Wealth and Poverty, Yves-Marie Stranger's A Gallop in Ethiopia: Wax, Gold & the Abyssinian Pony, a couple of biographies of Generalissimo Francisco Franco of Spain, and fissures on the Left and Right over Israel/Palestine.
Aksum Herald is backed by readers like you. Please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Free subscribers help expand reach by liking and sharing posts. Paid subscribers keep the incandescent lights on for the price of a cup of coffee a month. በእንተ ስማ ለማርያም for the sake of Mary’s name…
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Be aware that sometimes I upload content directly to aksum.substack.com without an email notification, in order to make sure you are never pestered by these rather blessed twice and thrice over.
In my last post, which was my conversation with Sam deep-diving into guragé culture, en passant, I mention the adeesgé clan of northern shewa that my paternal grandmother was a member of. The amhara do not have many clans, but this is one of them, and it is bursting-at-the-seems with aristocrats (ras beetweded tesema nadew, ras beetweded mekwenin indalkachew, lij indalkachew mekwenin, ras mesfin sileshee, ras desta damTew, ras liul’seged aTnaf’seged etc.), even though my direct ancestors from this clan were clergy more than anything else. One day I may begin translating the clan’s book into english.
meshesha biru, son of dejazmach biru qaseem, who fell asleep with the lord a couple of weeks ago, was also a member. He is survived by his wife, three children, and one grandchild. I grew up going to church casually (once a month) with two of his children.
Here I am baptizing his grandson last fall.
May god rest the soul of the light of the cross in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And send his comforting and reassuring spirit to all grieving and sorrowful family and friends.
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circa 2015 A.D.
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read the article, and be able to click links, here:
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For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen. (Romans 11:36 KJV)
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a recitation, without added teaching, of the longest psalm
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I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. (Romans 10:20 KJV)
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Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. (Romans 9:14 KJV)
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Tsome Filseta is one of the seven mandatory fasts that the EOTC calls her faithful to fast. Whether they fast it or not, and how they do so, the Lord knows. Filseta is also known as the children’s fast, because she is only sixteen days in length, which is long to a beginner but short to a hardened veteran who fasts for fifty-five days at a time. Also, since it is in August, children are usually out of school and able to attend the liturgy and receive communion on a daily basis.
My father’s father was a deacon of Ashewa Michael in Diré Dawa, Ethiopia (one of the cosmopolitan gems utterly debased by communism’s collapse of the society) in his youth before he retired to be an entrepreneur and later hand of the governor of the Welo province. I have been told (he fell asleep with the Lord before I was born) that toward the end of his life the only fast he still practiced rigorously was Filseta. Were he amongst the breathing, I would refrain from listing his pieties aloud in order to keep pride from creeping, crawling, and crouching at his door. Nevertheless, he breathes not, and yet he lives. He honored Filseta by eating qolo (roasted grains) alone and sleeping on the hardwood floors of his abode rather than in his comfortable bed for the duration of the fast. Of course he accompanied the food restrictions with additional prayers, which were already apart of his daily routine. I haven’t heard any stories of almsgiving that he did, but perhaps that is for the better. Certainly, fasting and prayer are lonely without almsgiving, and all three should be done as secretly as is humanly possible, and most importantly without any expectations of imminent earthly gain.
I was born with sundry moles and even a distinguishing blue nevus. My mother, who is a believer, but more inwardly than outwardly, would reassure me when as a young warthog I felt shame about these birth marks amidst my mocking and scoffing peers. She would tell me, modernist though she was, that each of these moles and even the blue nevus were places where the Virgin Mary had kissed me. As a child I immediately believed her; just as when cartoons about storks bringing babies prompted me to raise questions and she answered, without hesitation, God, and I immediately believed. As a teenager and adolescent I disbelieved. And yet, again, as an adult, I believed and believe. She had me baptized at a parish of the Virgin Mary, and 25 years later I received holy orders into the diaconate by the laying on of hands of an apostolic bishop at the same parish, and the period of the Virgin’s fast has been a moment of great reflection and great changes throughout a decade of my adult life. This cycle of the church calendar is no different. As much as things change, things stay the same. There is nothing new under the sun.
All of these words are meant to guide you to your own dedication and devotion to the Virgin. Read from her anaphora, widasé (praise), melki (an ode to her likeness), yiwédswa (they praise her), anqetse birhan (gate of life) etc. Forgive a sinner. Feed a hungry person. Clothe a naked one. The nude are so by choice. Not so, the naked.She has helped me, helps me, and will help me. This I know for the bible tells me so. Behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. Fast this fast. Even if you are late. Fast this fast.
And let the melodies of my friend Master of Tongues Dcn. Birhanu Nigatu guide you in singing a spiritual song serenading her to serenade our Lord before His awesome throne.
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I wish that I were anathema from the Anointed One, instead of my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh (Romans 9:3)
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Fr. Marc Boulos joins me to talk about is earliest memory of Scripture and how he helps promulgate it today with multiple individuals and organizations including but not limited to: Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, Dr. Richard Benton, The Ephesus School, and The Orthodox Center for The Advancement of Biblical Studies.
http://www.marcboulos.com/
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neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38,39 KJV)
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For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. (Romans 8:15 KJV)
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I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 7:25 KJV)
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Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (Romans 6:3 KJV)
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But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (Romans 5:20 KJV)
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How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. (Romans 4:10 KJV)
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Where is boasting then? It is excluded. (Romans 3:27 KJV)
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And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? (Romans 2:3 KJV)
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Dcn. Mihret joins me so that you can get a reprieve from my voice alone. We talk about the motif of the third week of the Great Fast.
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worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen Romans 1:25 KJV
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Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keeps the words of the prophecy of this scroll. Rev. 22:7
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And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. (Rev. 21:23 KJV)
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Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power (Rev. 20:6 KJV).
Check out Ezekiel 38 & 39.
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Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9 KJV)
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Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird (Rev. 18:2 KJV)
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Over a few years, I translated, sang, and compiled two to three score spiritual songs, predominately of the chebchebo and mahiléte ginbo variety at Tewahido. Recently, I have stressed the importance of and my preference for the eucharistic liturgy and the liturgy of the hours. Nevertheless, I firmly believe there is a place for these types of songs, and so from time-to-time I have worked with talented singers raised in our tradition. A few parishes in Seattle, one in Atlanta, and some in the Bay Area have all used my translations or edits to them.
I encourage this! This here is from one of the disciples of the Chief of Tongues Dcn. Birhanu in Seattle. It blends genres and tongues as a chebchebo of a line from the liturgy of hours, rendered in Ge’ez, Amharic, and English. Enjoy. And spread the good news.
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This is a recording of me reading aloud the three prayers of the covenant, according to the Ge’ez Rite, in English. They are supposed to be prayed at three different parts of the day, but are often lumped together for simplification. Many monasteries pray these prayers everyday. Every parish prays this on the occasion of the liturgy and/or during the mystery of matrimony (Ephesians 5:32).
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These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. (Rev. 17:14 KJVO
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And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. (Rev. 16:20 KJV)
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Here is a rough sample of matrimonial prayers according to the ge’ez rite. There are several errors in the print that cause me to stumble, and some I take my liberties with, but overall I am thankful to the good folks who put this effort in to translate something for us. Any oaths should be removed. Oaths are against the Orthodox Church, and more importantly, the holy scriptures which God gave us through her (his bride).
Enjoy. And prepare for your big day.
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Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. (Rev. 15:4 KJV)
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Dcn. Mehari interprets, into Amharic, St. Augustine’s interpretation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. This is part three. If you haven’t heard parts one and two, go back and listen to them.
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And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. (Rev. 14:1 KJV)
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Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. (Rev. 13:18 KJV)
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Dcn. Mehari interprets, into Amharic, St. Augustine’s interpretation of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. This is part two. If you haven’t heard part one, go back and listen to that.
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And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels (Rev. 12:7 KJV)
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We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. (Revelation 11:17 KJV)
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And I took the little scroll out of the messenger's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. Rev 10:10
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Prof. Mehari returns to recite and read aloud for us his interpretation into Amharic of Holy Augustine’s interpretation of the Prayer of Religion (the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed). This is a prayer assembled by Christian leaders in the first few centuries of Christianity, at two convened councils in the Greek-speaking cities of Nicea and Constantinople (Present-day Iznik and Istanbul in the Turkish nation-state).
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And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: (Rev 9:20 KJV)
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Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound! (Revelation 8:13 KJV)
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And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev. 7: 14 KJV)
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How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? Rev 6:10 KJV
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for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation Rev 5:9
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Re: the Prayer of Religion (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed) by Holy Augustine.
Interpretation into Amharic by: Prof. Mehari Zemelak Worku (መሐሪ ፡ ዘመልዐክ ፡ ወርቁ)
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Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come (Rev 4:8 KJV)
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For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. (Revelation 3:17 NRSV)
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To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Revelation 2:17 KJV)
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Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
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Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with his holy myriads,to execute judgment on all (Jude 14,15 RSV)
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they hired against you Balaam the son of Be′or from Pethor of Mesopota′mia, to curse you (Deut. 23:4 RSV)
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For which cause both thou and all thy company are gathered together against the Lord
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When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” (Genesis 4:12 NKJV)
Special guest Jonathan Simmons, my first-cousin and brother, joins the program to discuss the story of the Possessor and the Fleeting Breath.
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wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars for whom the nether gloom of darkness has been reserved for ever. (Jude 1-13 RSV)
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This is an episode inspired by Prof. Matthew J. Thomas' recent appearance on The Way podcast by Fr. Dustin Lyon. We rehash some of their discussion on justification, or being declared righteous by God, that he has been researching for years and is the subject of his book Paul's 'Works of the Law' in the Perspective of Second Century Reception
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830855262/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
Here are a couple of other writings he mentioned for further reading.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/origen-on-pauls-authorship-of-hebrews/EE7CB61DBFC2EF4C7667E1B3B03D8654/share/b868b47edf6105709404e1482edd4463bbac1a65
http://evangelicaltextualcriticism.blogspot.com/2019/09/origen-did-think-paul-wrote-hebrews.html
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but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not (3 John 8 ASV)
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Look to yourselves, that you may not lose what you[a] have worked for, but may win a full reward. (2 John 1:8 RSV)
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Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21 NRSV)
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In February 2020, prior to the pandemic, our normal english liturgy was graced by a new brother in Christ who is half Guatemalteco and half Ethiopian. So that the good news could be maximally shared, I spent a few minutes in my broken Spanish feeding his kinfolk. There’s nothing like hearing the good news in your own tongue. See the acts of the apostles, when paul begins speaking in the hebrew (aramaic?) tongue.
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Fr. Dustin Lyon joins the Tewahido Bible Study to discuss his ministry as a Greek Orthodox priest. His podcast the Way is now six episodes along the path, and is a member of the Ephesus School Network.
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If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? (1 John 4 KJV)
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Nurse and Editor Andrea Bakas joins the Tewahido Bible Study to talk about twenty years of seriously seeking scripture.
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Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. (1 John 3:15 KJV)
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Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world
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A Light in the Darkness: Bible Study for Children and Teens introduction alongside author Bethany Saros. This is an OCABS Press publication.
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For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night (Psalm 90:4 KJV)
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“The dog turns back to its own vomit,”
and,
“The sow is washed only to wallow in the mud.”
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be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns (2 Pet 1:19 NRSV)
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Throughout the universe they will glorify the name of yhwh
I encouraged my friend Qalkeedan (Kalkidan) Amare to sing scripture. Many hymns and spiritual songs are written. Some are fine, some are error-prone. To weed out the wheat from the chaff, I told her we could sing scripture and form hymns and spiritual songs from scripture. I had her and another friend flip through and play with Matthew 5 & 23, and Galatians. On her own, she played with Isaiah 55-59.
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and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away (1 Peter 5:4 NKJV)
This is the concluding chapter to the first scroll of the Apostle Peter. He exhorts the presbyters of Rome (which he calls Babylon) to function as shepherds, and he gives you a sneak-peak into how these scrolls were written (dictation). Amanuensis is a good word to know.
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the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God
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It's better to suffer for good conduct (if God so wills it) than for bad (1 Pet 3:17 Kingdom NT)
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An introduction to my brotha Rmani Crawford; who was instrumental in my spiritual growth during my undergraduate and graduate studies. We examine the story of Obadiah (the slave of yhwh) within the Scroll of the Twelve (Minor Prophets).
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Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps (1 Pet 2: 21)
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Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy (1 Pet 1:8 RSV)
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This is an Amharic interview with Memhir Gebresilasé and Dcn. Zéna Biluy from 2016, with an English introduction by me.
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"the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts" (James 5:4 RSV)
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This is one of the seventy lost episodes of the original podcast. This interview took place in July of 2017. Thank God we're back in business three years later. The Scroll of Jacob series should be complete by this forthcoming Monday May 18, 2020.
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The relevant Greek term is periasmos. Examine it in your Greek dictionary of choice. Also look at Genesis 3; Job 1; Matthew 6; Mark 14; 1 Corinthians 10; 1 Timothy 6; James (Jacob) 1; and 2 Peter 2.
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A conversation with Dcn. Dawit who was on the old show back in July 2017. Hear how he is and where his biblical studies have brought him three years later.
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you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me (Exodus 20:5 RSV)
For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. (Deuteronomy 4:24 RSV)
“Thus says the Lord of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. (Zechariah 8:2 RSV)
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We learn about the journey of faith of a Syriac subdeacon on the path to priesthood, and the role of the sacred scriptures therein. Mar Ephrem and his biblical commentaries are mentioned a few times. You are encouraged to read them alongside your scriptural studies.
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KRSONE answers a riddle many have had on their mind for eons. What is the difference betwixt rappers and emcees? Rappers spit rhymes that are mostly illegal, emcees spit rhymes that uplift they people. The Apostle Jacob commands us all to put jealousy, self-ambition, and the entire american rugged individualism corpus aside in place of lifting up our community that intentionally gathers to hear the life-giving word of god.
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Dr. Michael Wingert is a Syriac scholar, Semiticist, Dean of Agora University, and UCLA lecturer. This is his first appearance on the podcast as a guest on the live Tewahido Bible Study with the english-speaking adults of Virgin Mary's EOTC in Los Angeles, CA. Here you will hear a general overview of Syriac biblical exegesis, and some specific quotes and on-going scholarship are presented.
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"For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea..." Joshua 2:10 NKJV
The Apostle Jacob calls us to not discriminate based on status or prestige. He wants us to follow the king's law, namely love. He says faith is only alive when dovetailing works.
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"Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it."
(Col. 2:15 NKJV)
A conversation with Dcn. Mihret regarding the feast of feasts, Pascha. Gruesomeness, contextualization, sadness, lament, triumph, love, and hope are brought up.
P.S.
These conversations and interview episodes will be bonus episodes that will happen infrequently. Regularly expect Monday episodes sequentially going through the sacred scriptures. This forthcoming Monday Godwilling brings us to the Scroll of James (Jacob) Chapter 2.
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This is a Hosanna or Palm Sunday homily in collaboration with the youth of a parish in Seattle, WA.
"His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered..." (John 12:16 RSV)
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"faith is the realization of what is hoped for, the proof of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1 LEB)
Dcn. Mihret and I have served together for years at the Virgin Mary's EOTC in Los Angeles, CA. We usually take turns in delivering homilies to the youth before the entire congregation of the cathedral, after Aba Thomas' communion homily, and prior to us heading to private rooms to teach our other groups in more depth. Keedane Weld Kiflé says በልጅ ፡ አማክኝቶ ፡ ይበሏል ፡ ዐንጕቶ ። (teachings designed for children are also useful for the learned)
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The Scroll of James is more accurately called the Scroll of Jacob aka Israel. As you read and/or hear it, you are invited to reread the story of Jacob son of Isaac son of Abraham in Genesis.
“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” (Genesis 32:28 LEB)
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This is a collaboration with UOTY in Boston, MA. We had an evening prayer service, followed by an examination of the text that the Ge'ez Rite attribute to the hierodeacon Holy Ephrem the Syrian entitled Widasé Maryam or Marian Praise.
"The burning bush which Moses saw in the desert (wilderness), the wood of which was not consumed is a similitude of Mary"
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This is a translation of a portion of the seatat (hours), prayed in the Ge'ez Rite, known as meharene ab (have mercy on us, father). I try to be as faithful to the Ge'ez, at every step, nook, and cranny, whilst still making sense for the contemporary hearer and paying homage to pretty English of the past. Enjoy.
You may read and download this prayer for free at
https://independent.academia.edu/HenokElias
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An Amharic word of life from five years ago (2015), when my Amharic and Ge'ez was a lot less polished but hopefully still understandable. This was shared at a Goblet-Fellowship gathering for the Haimanote Abew (religion of the fathers) choir of Dngl Maryam (Virgin Mary's) EOTC in Los Angeles, CA. My younger sister and I were the hosts, this month.
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A word of life regarding Matthew 6.
"Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them" (RSV). If you take nothing else away from this, simply love each other.
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A word of life applying the Rev. Martin Luther King's words, "If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward," to the Great Fast.
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This is a word of life regarding the fifth Sunday, and week, of the Great Fast, according to the Ge'ez Rite within the Alexandrian Rite. There are two main types of slaves. The one is wicked and slothful. The other is good and faithful. Read(aloud) Matthew 25:14-30 to follow along. You are invited to read all of Matthew 25, and indeed all of the Good News according to Matthew.
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Susanna is unavailable in the Masoretic Text (MT), which is the Hebrew collected centuries after the destruction of the 2nd Temple in 70 AD. It is available in the Old Greek (OG), collected by diasporic Hebrews centuries before Christ. The OG is the Older Testament used by the authors of the Newer Testament. Nevertheless, the OG tells you to read the Hebrew that preceded it and preceded the MT, most of which the MT preserves.
Susanna's story is a story of hope for those who face injustice in the here-and-now. This was shared, digitally and telephonically, with the youth of Mount Calvary Savior of the World EOTC in Nashville, Tennessee.
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An Amharic word of life, prepared for on the fly, accompanying Amharic Evensong/Vespers.
ጻድቃን : እንደ : ሆኑ : በራሳቸው : ለሚታመኑና : ሌሎቹን : ሁሉ : በጣም : ለሚንቁ : ይህን : ምሳሌ : ነገራቸው (Luke 18:9 Haile Silasé Bible)
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A homily based on Matthew Chapter 1 for the little ones of the Virgin Mary's EOTC in Los Angeles, CA.
"you will call his name YHWH Saves, because he will save his people from their sins"
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A homily for the little ones of the Virgin Mary's EOTC in Los Angeles, CA.
"But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, disputed about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a reviling judgment upon him" (Jude 1:9 or simply Jude 9 RSV)
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A homily for the little ones of the Virgin Mary's EOTC in Los Angeles, CA.
"Hear another ምሳሌ(misalé) parable"
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In collaboration with UOTY, this is a word of life regarding Metsagwu (The Paralytic) during the Great Fast.
"Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts" (Mark 2:6 RSV)
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A terse word regarding certain Ge'ez Rite melodies, and salvation. This was recorded whilst I was in the legendary wilderness of North Dakota.
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I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His sanctuary; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. (Revelation 7:14-15 NASB)
The Orthodox Synod of Ethiopians in Exile has sent these verses to feed its flocks of believers dispersed outside of their ancestral lands. As a sheep of one of said flocks, it is my duty to present their thoughts before I present mine.
His eminence, Head of the Archbishops Merqoreywos, says "all Ethiopians must put their differences aside, and cooperate through love and oneness (unity) for the peace, oneness and development of Ethiopia, and to justly lift this tribulation that has reached the Ethiopian peoples."
http://godneighboryou.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-orthodox-response-to-30-martyrs-of.html
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Marcion, Alexander The Great, and our ministry as Ge'ez RIte Christians in North America.
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The Word of God has unmatched authority and power. look for the phrase "and it was so" in Genesis 1, and think of it whenever Jesus Christ speaks in the gospel accounts. The Older Testament is not lesser than the Newer. It is greater than, or equal to it.
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Fully read the story of Jonah, found in the Scroll of the Twelve (minor prophets). It is only four chapters. Look for Christ in this, and in all of the stories of the Older Testament, for the give testimony to him.
"and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17 RSV)
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A brief intro to the Holy Virgin Mary's prayer, found in the gospel of Luke chapter 1 verses 46-56.
"My breath of life magnifies the Lord..."
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