NEBAB #9: The Fast of the Apostles (ጾመ ሐዋርያት/Tsome Hawariyat)
NEBAB #9
The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine
THE FAST OF THE APOSTLES (ጾመ ሐዋርያት/TSOME HAWARIYAT)
The Spiritual Education Unit
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America
The Fast of the Apostles: Tsome Hawariyat
In this issue:
1. Pentecost or Paraclitos?
2. More fasting?
3. Faith and works
4. “Ask Abba/Kes”
5. A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam
6. Children’s corner
7.ይበል ግዕዝ
8. Orthodox Q&A
Bible Commentary
Acts 2:2
Why did the Holy Spirit appear in the ways that He did? Let us look today at the significance of the rushing mighty wind. Wind is many things- it is reqiq, without a body. It is an invisible power that moves through all things. It cannot be observed directly, but can only be felt on one’s hand, seen in the smoke, heard in the trees, etc. In like manner, the Holy Spirit is seen when He makes the prophets prophesy, the saints raise the dead, and the righteous capable of living godly lives. Wind also carries me’aza, the sweet aroma to us without us having to go to the flowers. The Aroma is Jesus Christ, whom the saints, though born after His ascension, see and experience through the power of the Holy Spirit. May the Wind carry this sweet Aroma to us that we may be like them.
May we hear the word of life!
Pentecost or ጰራቅሊጦስ?
On Sunday we celebrated the feast of the descent of the Holy Spirit- which you may have heard called both Pentecost and ጰራቅሊጦስ (Peraqlitos). These are two completely different words with different meanings, so why are they seemingly used interchangeably?
Both words come from Greek: Pentecost comes from pentēkostḗ, meaning 50th- referring of course to the 50th day after Passover. Peraqlitos (in English, Paraclete) comes from paráklētos, literally means “called to help”, or Helper/Comforter, and is a name for the Holy Spirit. In English we tend to use the word Pentecost, from Acts 2:1, referring to the time, while in Ge’ez, we use the word Peraqlitos, referring to the significance of the observance (see also Lent vs The Great Fast).
Whichever name we use, let us keep in mind the significance of the Holy Spirit!
More fasting?
The faithful of the EOTC have often heard the question from those outside the church- “you’re fasting again?” Indeed beloved reader, we are, and let us take a closer look at our fasting that it should not be for us an arbitrary dietary change, but a spiritual commemoration.
Firstly, the fast of the apostles. This fast of anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks immediately follows be’ale peraqlitos, and ends with the feast day of St Peter and St Paul on Hamle 5 (July 12). Why do we observe this fast? The Church teaches us that before the apostles began their mission, they immediately fasted. As our Lord fasted 40 days in the wilderness after the Holy Trinity was revealed at His baptism by St John the Baptist, so the apostles fasted 40 days in the wilderness after receiving the gifts of Holy Spirit.
The reason for these fasts
They had learned time and time again that they could achieve nothing without God, and that includes His example- for this reason they began their ministry after they had fasted.
Two days after the start of the fast of the apostles, we also resume another fast, tsome dihnet or the fasting of salvation. This is the name of the fast of Wednesdays and Fridays which we observe throughout the year except during the Holy 50 days. The fast commemorates that our Lord was condemned on Wednesday and killed on Friday, and ends during the week of our Lord’s suffering. It resumes the first Wednesday after Pentecost, and runs concurrently with the other fasts during the year.
Lord accept from us our fasting and prayer!
Faith and works:
Fasting with purpose
The apostles (but also the disciples and holy women) kept this fast because they were preparing to begin their apostolic ministry- so why do we keep it? What purpose can we achieve from our fasting that we may emulate our fathers and mothers?
+ Personal goals- We all have personal spiritual goals. We may have worked on them during Lent and then fallen off after Easter, and for those who have, now is the time to return to them in fasting and prayer.
+ Community service- Our society should know when the EOTC is fasting by the abundance of our social work. Programs for the poor, homeless and disabled are our Christian duty, especially during this fast
Ask Abba/Kes
"Is it wrong to say that the Virgin Mary received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost?"
The Holy Virgin Mary acquired the Holy Spirit from the beginning. She was already filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as there was nothing that she lacked. This is what it means when we say that the Holy Spirit overshadowed her.
She often appears in icons of the descent of the Holy Spirit- but this is because the apostles were celebrating the liturgy on that day and she was the tabot.
BIBLE QUIZ!
Which of the following countries was not mentioned in Acts 2?
Pamphylia Libya Iberia
A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam
There was a certain priest whose duty it was to recite the daily prayers of Mary the Virgin, and he knew no other office. The congregation complained about him to the bishop, saying, “This priest can only recite one office, namely that of Mary.” The bishop said to the priest, “Be patient until you can make yourself strong.” This priest was sad and wept because of his love for Our Lady Mary, [but he remained and] dwelled in the court of the bishop.
Now the bishop was a God-fearing man and a lover of prayer, and he kept vigil in sackcloth. The sackcloth was underneath his apparel, so that others might not know that it was there. The bishop did not know how to cut or sew a sackcloth. He laid it out in front of him, and he wondered what he could possibly do with it. He said, “If I give it to [any] man, then he will know about my vigil, and my fast will be in vain.” And he wept. Because of the bishop’s spiritual excellence, Our Lady Mary came to him, took up the piece of sackcloth, and cut and sewed it for him. She said to him, “Take it, it will be good for you.” Straightaway he <worshipped> bowed to her, and she disappeared from him. Then she went out and found the priest with a sorrowful heart and a bowed head. She said, “What is [the cause of] your sorrow?” Now the priest did not know that she was Our Lady, and he said to her, “Leave me alone; I am in trouble.” She said, “Tell me, so that I may give you relief.”
He said, “Listen to me, my dear lady: I know no other office except that of the Virgin Mary. The congregation complained about me to the bishop, and he told me, ‘You must not minister.’ And because of this I am sad for the sake of my love for Mary.” Mary said, “Go and tell the bishop to set you free and give you leave to celebrate the Offering.” The priest said, “He will not listen to me; he will not accept my words.”
She said, “Tell the bishop these words: ‘Set the priest free and let him minister.’ So says the woman who cut your sackcloth and sewed up its ragged parts.” The priest went to the bishop, knelt before him, and said, “A great lady, whom you perhaps know, has sent me.” He then told the bishop all that Our Lady Mary had said to him.
When the bishop heard the priest’s words, he rose and kissed his head. He then made him sit down and said, “You will not recite any other Office except that of Mary. Your lodging shall be here with me. Eat what I eat and drink what I drink. As for these people who complained about you, they shall be put to shame.”
All those who saw marveled, and those who heard prayed to Our Lady Mary.
O Holy Virgin Maryam, pray for us!
LIJOCH! The Children's Corner
MEMORY VERSE: “Then the disciples of John came to him saying, ”Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast ?” (Matthew 9 : 15)
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Across
4. Replaced Judas
5. The rock
10. Baptised the Ethiopian Eunuch
11. Brother of Peter
13. _ the Lesser, likely author of the book of James
15. James and John’s father
16. Christ’s betrayer
Down
The disciple that Jesus loved, author of Revelation
Chosen by Christ after his death
Apostle of royal blood 1st name Nathanael
6. Also called Thaddeus
7. _ the doubting apostle, Greek name Didymus
8. Disciple named in this book of the Bible
9. Son of God
12. Brother of John- fisherman
14. _ the Zealot
ይበል:ግዕዝ (yibel Ge’ez)
Let's reclaim our forefathers’ language
Today let us learn another preposition- from (እም).
Like በ, which means ‘of/in’, እም is attached to the front of a word to indicate that one thing comes from another.
ኃይል እምዓርያም
Hayl imaryam
means Power from on high
መጽአ ቃል እምደመና
mets’a qal im demena
There came a word from the cloud
Ge’ez words of the day
አንሥአ (ansi’a) ~ ትንሣኤ (tinsae) ~ ተንሥአ (tensi’a)
to rise resurrection rose/risen
ORTHODOX Q&A
Wasn’t this fast longer last year?
The fast of the apostles is the last event on the calendar affected by the moving feast of the Resurrection. Since it always ends on the same date, but starts the day after Pentecost, its length changes from year to year.
I got baptised in the Roman Catholic church when I was a child, do I have to get baptised again?
If you believe in the Roman Catholic baptism, you should serve where you were baptised. We believe in one baptism, so we cannot baptise anyone ‘again’. Anyone can receive baptism in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but it is necessary to renounce anything you did before and declare ‘that was not truly baptism’.
Send us your questions at: seu.eotccarla@gmail.com
References
Pentecost/ Peraqlitos: etymonline.com
A Miracle of the Holy Virgin Maryam: pemm.princeton.edu/en-us/stories/145
CONTACT US:
Archdiocese headquarters: Medhane Alem (Saviour of the World), Old Golden Grove Rd. Arouca, Trinidad and Tobago.
Tel. 868-642-4230.
e-mail: eotc.arch.carla@gmail.com
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