The history of Debre Bisrat St. Gabriel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (AKA Dagmawi Kulbi Debre Bisrat St Gabriel and Abuna Teklehaimanot Church) is a testimony of God’s blessing of those who put their trust in him and show determination and perseverance to serve him.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) is one of the only Christian dominations in sub-Saharan Africa which predates European colonization. Christianity began in Ethiopia after a eunuch had been baptized by Saint Phillip.
Even further back, Christians are aware of Simon of Cyrene, the Ethiopian man who carried Christ’s cross to Calvary. Ethiopia remained largely pagan, with some Judaism until the fourth century, when Christianity became the official religion of what was then called the Aksumite Empire.
In the year 328, when Frumentius was consecrated in Alexandra and became the first Bishop of the Ethiopian Church. He then converted Ethiopian King Ezana to Christianity, and it quickly became the favored religion of the country. King Ezana removed the symbols of the sun and moon from Ethiopian coins and replaced them with the sign of the cross, making Ethiopia the very first country in the world to place a cross on its currency.
Coin of King Ezana with the cross symbol
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In 479 AD, Nine Saints came to Ethiopia from the Byzantine Empire. These saints translated sacred text into the Ethiopian language Ge`ez and introduced the people to Christianity and monastic life. Ethiopia is now considered the center of Christianity in Africa.
It started with a small group of about 30 individuals and their spiritual father, followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), who gathered in the basement of a fellowship hall inside St. John the Wonder Worker, a Russian Orthodox Church in the Grand Park neighborhood of the city of Atlanta, in the month of January, 2003. They gathered to worship God, and pray to God so that He can provide them with a place of their own where they can worship HIM in the tradition of their forefathers, the tradition of EOTC.
God answered their prayer within a short period of time, and they were blessed with a small chapel at Christ Our Savior Episcopal Church on North Highland road in Atlanta, GA. Here, they gathered every Sunday morning to worship God, sing and praise his name, pray and partake Holy Communion in the tradition of the EOTC. The church was blessed and consecrated by the late Abune Yesehaq, who was the Archbishop of the Western Hemisphere for the EOTC at the time.
There after, the church grew rapidly members and the chapel became too small to accommodate the growing number of its congregation. To meet this challenge, the church members started looking for a place with a larger space. Between 2003 and 2009, the church relocated to two sites, namely Viola Auditorium at Morris Brown College, Atlanta GA, and at 4611 Greed Circle, Stone Mountain, GA in order to meet its space needs.
During all these times, members of the church continued to pray to their Heavenly Father so that they can get a permanent place for their church. And this prayer was answered in February 2009, when the church acquired its current home at 3518 Clarkston Industrial Boulevard in Clarkston, GA. The church continues to grow and to provide religious and spiritual services to its congregation and their families in the tradition of EOTC; and by the Grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirt, continues to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all, regardless of their identity.
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Beliefs and Core Values
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church holds deep-rooted beliefs that guide its practices and teachings. Key tenets include:
- Belief in one God the Father almighty, maker of heaven, earth and all things visible and invisible.
- Belief in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of the Father, who was with Him before the creation of the world.
- Belief in the Holy Spirit, the life-giving God, who proceeded from the Father.
- Belief in one holy, universal, apostolic church.
- Belief in one baptism for the remission of sins, and wait for the resurrection from the dead and the life to come, world without end. Amen.
Members of the church often express personal prayers for forgiveness and guidance, seeking to live a life of righteousness and praise to God.
Some examples of such prayers include:
God, my good and loving Lord, I acknowledge all the sins which I have committed every day in my life, whether in thought, word or deed. I ask for forgiveness from the depths of my heart for offending You and others and repent of my old ways. Help me by Your grace to change, to sin no more and to walk in the way of righteousness and to praise and glorify Your Name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
O Lord my God, I confess that I have sinned against You in thought, word and deed. I have also omitted to do what Your holy law requires of me. But now with repentance and contrition I turn again to Your love and mercy. I entreat You to forgive me all my transgressions and to cleanse me from all my sins. Lord, fill my heart with the light of Your truth. Strengthen my will by Your grace. Teach me both to desire and to do only what pleases You. Amen.
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Key Figures
Several individuals have played pivotal roles in the Bisrate Gebriel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church:
- Megabe Hadis Yilma Chernet - Chairman
- Ato Samuel Belete - Vice Chairman
Teri, a faithful member of Bisrate Gebriel EOTC in Newark, New Jersey, has also been instrumental in raising awareness and appreciation for the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
Annual Festivals and Holidays
Yearly holidays in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church are celebrated by taking out the Ark of the Covenant from the Holy of Holies and carrying it on the head of a priest and going around the Church three times in procession (oudet) to the accompaniment of songs and hymns fitting each particular occasion. The celebration is wound up after a sermon is given. This happens when the church service is conducted in the morning.
The days on which feasts and holidays fall are calculated by a set of rules as laid down in a book called “Bahre Hasab”. Regularly recurring holidays are declared on the first day of the Ethiopian New Year which is also known as St. John the Baptist’s Feast Day. Ethiopian New Year falls on Meskerem 1st (September 11th) except in a leap year when it fall on September 12th. The beginning of the New Year is believed to be the beginning of the bating of the flood of destruction and the covenant God made with Noah that they shall come in cyclic succession.
Here are some of the major feast days observed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church:
| Holiday Name | Date (Ethiopian Calendar) | Date (Gregorian Calendar) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Annunciation (Bisrate Gebriel) | Tahisas 22 | December 31 | Celebrates the announcement by the Saint Archangel Gabriel to the Holy Virgin Mariyam that Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos would become incarnate. |
| Genna (Christmas) | Tahisas 29 E.C. | January 7 | The annual festival of Our Lord and Saviour Eyesus Christos’s birth. |
| Timket (Epiphany) | Tire 11th E.C | January 19 | The annual festival of Our Lord and Saviour Eyesus Christos’s baptism in the river Jordan by John the Baptist. |
| Lidete Simeon | Yekatit 8th E.C. | February 15 | The feast to commemorate the presentation of Our Lord in the temple 40 days after his birth. |
| Meskel (Finding of the True Cross) | Meskerem 17th | September 27th | Commemorates the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena. |
| Hosanna (Palm Sunday) | Varies | Varies | Celebrates Jesus Christ's entry into Jerusalem. |
| Fasika (Easter) | Varies | Varies | Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. |
| Ereg (Ascension Day) | Varies | Varies | Celebrates the ascension of Jesus Christ to Heaven. |
| Paracletos (Pentecost) | Varies | Varies | Celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles. |
Other significant holidays include:
- Hedar Tsion: Commemorates the Ark of the Covenant reaching Ethiopia.
- Nehase 7: Tsinseta LeMariam - Annunciation of the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mariam.
These festivals are integral to the spiritual life of the church, filled with prayers, hymns, and communal celebrations.
Exploring the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church | Ancient Faith, Living Tradition: S 1 | Episode 1
The Meskel Festival
The Meskel holiday is celebrated on Meskerem 17th (27th of September) and Megabit 10 (19th of March). The word Meskel means, Cross, and the feast commemorates the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena.
Meskel Festival celebration in Ethiopia
The story in brief is that after the crucifixion of the Lord, the sick were healed by touching it and rubbing their bodies against the Cross. Attracted by these miracles, many became Christians. Seeing this, the Jews threw the Cross into a rubbish disposal pit and after a long time this place grew into a hill.
In the 4th century, Queen Helena, made a trip to Jerusalem to find the Cross. Following the advice of an old man named Kiriakos, she gathered wood, piled it, put incense on it and burned it. She then dug and found out the Cross.
On Mekerem 16 (September 26th), in the cities, villages and the surrounding areas, people bring torches of twigs called ‘Chibo’ and wood to ‘Meskel Square’, to form the ‘Demara’ (bundles of branches of wood and twigs). The priests perform prayers in front of the Demera and sing,” Meskel has illuminated, and it decorated the sky with stars circle the Demera followed by a huge procession which circles it singing, “Iyoha Abebaye Meskerem Tebaye.” People at home also light ‘chibbos’ and make merry. Since prayers have been said over the demera, people make a sign of the cross on their forehead with the ashes and spray it over their cattle.
In New York and New Jersey, members of the Ethiopian community gather for what is expected to be the largest ever Meskel (Demera) festival in the area. The day-long colorful festival, which culminates with the lighting of a bonfire (Demera) before sunset commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by Empress Helena (Eleni) in the fourth century.
Bisrate Gebriel: The Annunciation
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebration of the Annunciation is known by the name ‘Bisrate Gebriel.’ Annunciation is the feast of happiness and hope for the whole world, because the coming of Our Lord and Savior Eyesus Kristos is not just for a group of believers, but for the entire humanity.
It is on the Feast of the Annunciation, that Ethiopian Orthodox Christians commemorate both the divine initiative of God, whereby He took on flesh from the Holy Virgin Mariyam for our salvation, and the human response, whereby Holy Virgin Mariyam freely accepted the vocation offered to her.
Holy Virgin Mariyam became the Mother of God, it is not just because God chose her but also because she herself chose to accepted His will and plan. By choosing to follow the will of God she received great honor from God.
The Annunciation
The prayer of our Holy Mother, Her intercession and blessings be with us.
The Church Today
Bisrate Gebriel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church continues to thrive, providing spiritual guidance and community support. In Newark, New Jersey, Bisrate Gebriel Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church embraced this space as its new spiritual home. Preserving such a large and historic structure is a significant undertaking.
