Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus (Ge'ez: አቡነ ገብረ መንፈስ ቅዱስ), whose name means "the salve of the Holy Spirit," is a highly venerated saint in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. He is also familiarly called Abo.
The fifth day of every month in the Ethiopian calendar is dedicated to this saint.
Early Life and Divine Intervention
Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus was born on Tahisas 29 in 829 E.C. (December 29th). According to his Gadl (Hagiography), his date of birth and conception coincided with the day of JESUS CHRIST. His father’s name was Simeon, and his mother’s name was ‘Aklesya, who were both righteous before GOD.
Simeon and Aklesya were childless for 30 years. They prayed consistently during that time for God to give them a son. Later, God heard their prayer and gave them this blessed child, and they named him Gebre Menfes Qidus.
According to legend, Eklesia came from the tribe of Benjamin of ancient Israel. Forty days after his birth, the baptism of Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus was celebrated with a banquet attended by the Roman emperor.
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He developed traits common to all prodigious children. By the age of two, tradition reports that he was already wise.
His holy life began on the third year of his birth, God commanded Angel Gabriel, “Go to the house of Simeon, and take the child from the breast of his mother, and bring him into the desert where there are many monks, and lay him down in their courtyard and instruct the monks to take the child from the courtyard to the sanctuary.”
Due to this divine order, the monks raised him according to the Church’s rules, teaching all the scriptures and other religious doctrines. When it was time he got ordained by bishop Abba Abraham and he dwelt in the Egyptian desert.
On the third day of his birth, the child rose up, and came down from his mother’s breast, and he stood up and bowed three times to the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT, and who also said, “Glory be to the FATHER, Glory be to the SON, Glory be to the HOLY SPIRIT, Who has brought me out of the darkness into the light.”
Life in the Desert and Journey to Ethiopia
Abune Gebre Menfes Qidus came from the city of Nehisa, in Egypt and lived there for 300 years in the desert. For a time Gebre remained in the desert performing miracles, while people from remote countries visited him.
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Then a second time God sent Gabriel to take Gebre deeper into the desert, and to have him live amongst 60 lions and 60 leopards. While there, Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus developed thick white hair covering all his body like a coat.
Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus set out for a journey into the Holy Land. He visited all the holy places, including Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Nazareth and the river Jordan. God incited him to go to Gabaon, where the devil assaulted him with wild beasts. Attacked by a serpent, Gebre won the battle, and the serpent was petrified by him.
When Abune Gebre Menfes Qidus was 300 years of age, the Lord ordered him to go to Ethiopia to preach to the people there. He travelled there on a winged chariot, accompanied by his leopards and lions.
He then moved to Ethiopia via Axum in 1129 E.C. during the reign of Qidus Harbey (also called Gebre Mariam) and expanded evangelistic activities in north and central Ethiopia. Then, he went to the next reigning King Lalibela, said to be in 1168 E.C., to discuss church issues.
King Lalibela was excited and bowed to the saint many times and requested of him to stay with him. But the saint did not accept the king’s request, instead he promised the king saying, “I will live in mount Ziquala and I will not depart from your country.”
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He is one of the most renowned Saints in Ethiopia along with St. Tekle Haymanot in evangelistic activities and is known as the founder of Zequala monastery.
Some texts say that, before establishing his monastery, Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus was tempted by demons and devils for a period of hundred years, after which time the Lord exempted the Ethiopians from sin.
Gebre left Zuqualla to wander to Kabd in order to stare at the heavens for seven months without blinking. The devil, in the shape of a raven, came to pick out his eyes. But Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus was cured by the archangels Gabriel and Michael, who brought him back to Zuqualla.
He lived in mount Ziquala for 265 years with no clothing and drinking no water and eating no food, exceeding many prophets and saints, and unlike a man upon earth, but likened to the angels.
Some manuscripts recount a visit to heaven, where Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus was kissed by the Holy Trinity.
While he was still on his way back from heaven, three other saints arrived in Kabd to visit him - Samuel of Waldebba, Anbas of Hazalo, and Benyam of lower Begemder who were all accompanied by lions. As soon as the lions and leopards of Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus noticed their fellow creatures, though, they devoured them. Nothing was left of them when he eventually arrived on the scene.
The saint did not eat the bread of earth, or drink water, or wear raiment and he never prepared anything for his body, but he lived naked in the desert. However, he was arrayed by his beard and the hair of his head that covered his whole body like a thatch and swept the ground.
During his combat, Satan came to him in the form of a black raven, pecked at his eyes, and dug out his eyeballs. Consequently, the saint remained blind for ninety-eight years, till the angles (Michael and Gabriel) healed his eyes through their breathing.
He lived 100 years in solitude in Lake Ziquala, praying for Ethiopia and the world as well. He lived in the desert escorted by 60 lions and 60 tigers that served him.
Mount Zuqualla, the location of the monastery founded by Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus
One day, the three saints (Abba Samuel of Waldebba, Abba Anbes of the land of Hazalo and Abba Benyam of the upper land of Egypt) came to the land of Kabd, carried on their lions, to ask and see Abune Gebre Menfes Qidus ’s celebrity. When they reached there they couldn’t get him and they stayed there for seven days in search of him. Then a certain lion came to the three saints and devoured their lions. Then, the saints felt bitterly sad, and their sorrow was revealed unto our father, Abune Gebre Menfes Qidus.
Death and Commemoration
Three times a year Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus returned to the Holy Land to receive Holy Communion: on Christmas Day, on the day of Jesus’ baptism, and on Good Friday. There he spoke Hebrew but also all the languages of the world, a characteristic associated with the story of the tower of Babel.
The saint lived 300 years in Egypt and 262 in Ethiopia with a total life span of 562 years on earth and died on Megabit 5 /March 13.
His departure is commemorated on Megabit 5/March 13.
The Ethiopian church commemorates the feast of the saint on the 5th date of every Ethiopian month, of which Megabit 5 /March 13 is the day of the death of the saint), and Tikmit 5 /October 15 is the great annual feast of the saint.
The reason for his commemoration on the 5th date of every Ethiopian month is: The entry of the saint from Egypt to Ethiopia; the day on which he went out from the lake where he received the covenant from God; the day on which he raised the dead lions; the first mass of his church built in his name was also celebrated on this day.
Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus is usually depicted of an old saint with a halo around his head with his long beard as his clothing, and some Ethiopian Lions on his left, and some hyenas or leopards on his left, and a Dove near his face which is believed to be the Holy Spirit, with some depictions representing a black crow as when the devil tried to interrupt him from staring at and praying to the heavens by drinking his tears.
Listen to today's Synaxarium | Resting of Abune Gebre Menfes Qidus
Key Dates in the Life of Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus
| Event | Date (Ethiopian Calendar) | Date (Gregorian Calendar) |
|---|---|---|
| Birth | Tahisas 29 | December 29, 829 E.C. |
| Arrival in Ethiopia | N/A | 1129 E.C. |
| Death | Megabit 5 | March 13 |
| Annual Feast Day | Tikmit 5 | October 15 |
