Nebab #67 Ascension of the Virgin Mary
NEBAB #67
The Orthodox Tewahedo Magazine
ASCENSION OF THE VIRGIN MARY
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America
1. Died (fell asleep)2. Was assumed (taken up) by the angels to Paradise3. Was brought back and buried4. Was resurrected from the dead by her Beloved Son5. Finally ascended into Heaven
On this day, was the assumption of the body of our pure Lady St. Mary, the Mother of God. While she was keeping vigil, praying in the Holy Sepulchre, and waiting for the happy minute of her liberation from the bonds of the flesh, the Holy Spirit informed her of her forthcoming departure from this vain world. When the time drew near, the disciples and the virgins of the Mt. of Olives (Zeiton) came and the Lady was lying on her bed. Our Lord, surrounded by thousands and thousands of angels, came to Her. He consoled her, and announced her with the everlasting joy which was prepared for Her. She was happy, and she stretched out her hands, blessed the Disciples, and the Virgins. Then, she delivered up her pure soul in the hand of her Son and God, Jesus Christ, Who ascended her to the higher habitations. As of the pure body, they shrouded it and carried it to Gethsemane.
On their way, some of the Jews blocked the way in the face of the disciples to prevent the burial. One of them seized the coffin. His hands were separated from his body, and remained hanging until he believed and repented for his mischievous deed. With the prayers of the holy disciples, his hands were reattached to his body as they had been before.
St. Thomas was absent at the time of St. Mary's departure, but he came after the burial. On his way back to Jerusalem, St. Thomas saw angels carrying St. Mary's pure body and ascending with it to heaven, and one of the angels said to him, "Hurry and kiss the pure body of St. Mary." When he arrived to the disciples, they informed him about St. Mary's departure. He told them, "I will not believe, unless I see her body, as you all know how I did doubt the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ before." They took him to the tomb, to uncover the body but they did not find it, and they were perplexed and amazed. St. Thomas told them how he saw the pure body ascending to heaven, carried by angels.
The Holy Spirit then told them, "The Lord did not Will to leave Her Holy body on earth." The Lord had promised his pure apostles that they would see her in flesh another time. They were waiting for the fulfillment of this truthful promise, until the sixteenth day of the month of Misra, when the promise of seeing her was fulfilled. They saw her sitting on the right hand of her Son and her Lord, surrounded by the angelic Host, as David prophesied and said, "At your right hand stands the queen." (Psalm 45:9) St. Mary's life on earth was sixty years. She spent twelve years of them in the temple, thirty years in the house of the righteous St. Joseph, and fourteen years in the care of St. John the Evangelist, as the Lord commanded her saying, "Woman behold your Son," and to St. John, "Behold your Mother."
May Her intercession be with us. Amen.
This Marian emphasis was further emphasized by Emperor Zera Yaicob known also for his particular devotion to St Mary For instance, among other developments, He introduced the Miracles of St Mary within worship celebrations in which the Church still celebrates today.
It can be understood that the Church's veneration of St Mary is not simply a static or historical reference but a dynamic reality. The Church's elevation of St Mary within its liturgical
celebrations is fundamentally a response to, and proclamation of, the mystery
of the Incarnation of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Her role in the
Church's worship reflects the significance of her participation in God's saving
plan and, consequently, the reality of God becoming man for the salvation of
humanity.
In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen
The Miracles of St Mary take place during and after St Mary's life
The themes of the miracles include healings, protection from danger, resurrection, care, birth of children, miraculous journeys, provision for daily needs ( food and clothing), monastic life
The origins of these stories were collected in Egypt growing in pilularity during the 12th and 13th century. They are even known in the Catholic west, namely France, Italy, Spain and Germany
The stories were composed primarily in French and Latin along with various European vernacular, expanding in great manuscripts such as in florilegia which are manuscripts for sermons. One collection of miracles in Arabic never make their way to Ethiopia which is "Agapuos Landos of Crete's" collection of 68 miracles
By the end of the 14th century, the Miracles of St Mary were translated into Ge'ez and Ethiopia making their way into Ethiopia and called "Tamre Maryam"
Two early manuscripts can be dated to the reign of Emperor Dawit II (reign 1379-1413) and are the earliest manuscripts
The earliest miracle stories that became the foundation upon which the rest of this genre is built are 8. These stories are: The rich man who threw bread to a beggar in the name of Virgin Mary, the sinful cannibal of Qener, the sinful deacon whom his enemies could not kill until he had confessed himself to a priest, the pilgrim pilgrim Santiago who satan persuaded to mutilate himself after falling into sexual sin, the priest who could only say the mass of the Virgin Mary, the widow who prayed to the Virgin Mary and saved her only son from death by hanging, the young man who used to bring roses to the icon of the Virgin Mary, the Virgin appears to an official who kidnapped a young woman who had made a vow of virginity (the last of the 8 was not illustrated)
The manuscripts produced during the reign of Emperor Dawit II raised the total number of miracles in Ethiopic to 83 which made up the core of the tradition for the next 100 years
Th miracles rose to prominence when Emperor Dawit II son, Emperor Zera Yaicob (reign 1434-1468) further emphasized the importance of St Mary in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Miracles of St Mary became part of the Sunday liturgy and of the Marian feast celebrations
This expanded role results in the need for more miracles to be written and translated
During the reign of Emperor Zera Yaicob over 50 new stories enter the Ethiopic Miracles of St Mary tradition many of which are set in monasteries. Emperor Zera Yaicob also commissioned a number of miracles of St Mary manuscripts to be sent throughout the country.
By the beginning of the reign of Emperor Lebna Dengel (reign 1508-1540) the corpus of Emperor Dawit has been more than doubled to nearly 200 stories and with the scribes of Emperor Lebna Dengel, dozens of new stories are incorporated into the tradition
Like Emperor Zera Yaicob, Emperor Lebna Dengel also commissioned many manuscripts to be sent to churches and monasteries throughout Ethiopia
During Lebna Dengel the stories became specific and they assumed a liturgical chant where hymns were sung at the end thus the Miracles of St Mary gained new life
In the 1600s, the Miracles of St Mary to be illustrated in manuscripts
By 1700s 30-32 stories are established as the most commonly painted
These are ever an ever expanding tradition built upon the stories copied by the mid 1500s. Even though there is a set core before the mid 1500s, 5% of manuscripts have a story that is unique and one of a kind. Debra Zamaddo Monastery manuscripts has 78 unique stories translated from Getachew Haile's book "Voices from Zamaddo". Another of times centered on the places that they're found
In the 1980s, William F Macomber, cataloger of Eastern Christian manuscripts at HMMl, produced a handling of 643 miracles.
More recently, Princeton Ethiopian, Eritrean and Egyptian Miracles of St Mary, (PEMM) has identified over 300 miracle stories in addition to Macomber's list
In summary, the miracles of St Mary started with 8 miracles and worked itself up to more than 900. They arrived as a translstion and became a living tradition incorporated into the divine liturgy and modified for liturgical use. More stories are entering as the miracles continue to move beyond translation
Glory be to God Forever, Amen
Now there was a certain
youth in the city of Rômê (Constantinople) who was of noble birth, and his name
was Zechariah; and he was handsome in appearance. And it came to pass that on a
certain day he went into a church to pray, and he saw there a picture of our
holy Lady, the Virgin Mary, which pleased him exceedingly; and his heart burned
as with fire by reason of the ardour of his love for her. And he meditated
within himself and said, "What gift that will be ac ceptable unto her can
I offer unto her?" And forth with he took fifty roses, and made them into
the form of a crown, and he fastened them to the picture over the head [of the
Virgin]. Now when the days of roses had come to an end, he was exceedingly
sorry, because he lacked the wherewithal to make an offering to pre sent unto
her. Then he went into the church and stood up before the picture of our holy
Lady, the Virgin two fold, MARY, and said unto her, "O my beloved Lady,
thou knowest that the days for roses are passed and gone. But I wish to present
unto thee [something] each day, and I will therefore give unto thee fifty
salutations instead of the fifty roses." "So each day he recited the
words, "Hail to thee, O my Lady, rejoice thou with joy, for God is with
thee!" And he continued to recite these salutations each day until he grew
up, when he departed unto another city.
And when he was journeying
through a terrible wildernessnow thieves dwelt therein and used to lie in wait
[for travellers] and he was afraid lest he might fall into their handshe
remembered that he had not re cited the salutation of the angel, and he went
forth into the wilderness to pray. And it came to pass that the captain of the
thieves saw him and followed him, so that he might see what Zechariah was about
to do. And when Zechariah had come into the wilderness he turned his face
towards the East, and he lifted his up eyes to heaven, and knelt down upon his
knees on the ground. Now when he knelt down, the captain of the thieves saw a
lady come down from heaven with great glory, and there were beautiful virgins
with her. And they set a seat for her, and she sat down in front of Zechariah;
and every time he spake a rose came forth from his mouth. And our holy Lady,
the Virgin Mary, rose up and took him to her bosom until she had re ceived
fifty roses from him; now the captain of the thieves counted the roses and he
saw them with his own eyes. And it came to pass that when Zechariah had
finished his prayer, our holy Lady, the Virgin twofold, MARY, laid her hand
upon his head, and having blessed him she went up into heaven with the virgins.
And the captain of the thieves marvelled at what he had seen, and turned away
into the wilderness.
Then Zechariah turned to
continue his journey, and straightway the thieves rose up against him and
seized him. And the captain of the thieves said unto him, "Tell me how
thou didst send away those beautiful women, and what thou hast done with them."
And Zechariah said unto him, "I am a sinful man, but I know nothing
whatsoever of any beautiful women. But I used to offer as a gift each day to
our holy Lady, the Virgin MARY, the Godbearer, fifty salutations, saying,
Rejoice, O thou who art full of grace, for God is with thee."" Then
the captain of the thieves made known unto Zechariah everything [which he had
seen], and he said, "From this day I will turn to repentance, and I will
serve the Lady of us all, the holy woman, the Virgin twofold, MARY, all the
days of my life "; and thus also spoke all the thieves. And they sent
Zechariah away on his journey, and he departed in peace. And afterwards the
thieves repented and became monks, and they served our holy Lady, the Virgin
twofold, MARY, all the days of their life. The young man Zechariah instead of
fifty roses Presented words of praise when he made an offering unto thee. As
thou didst deliver him in olden time from slaughter by thieves in the
wilderness, Even so deliver thou me, O my Lady, and save me from condemnation,
when neither gold nor white pearls [can do so].
" What is the name of the first Church in the Name of the Virgin Saint Mary-?"
When the disciples, headed by Paul and Barnabus, preached to the Corinthians the words of the Lord of Glory, many of them accepted the Christian faith and confessed their belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. The believers used to meet together for worship in the house of a disciple called Aristarkhus. Because the house was too small, not all the people were able to hear the Holy Liturgy and partake of the Holy Communion. This matter worsened in the eyes of Paul and Barnabus. They wrote to the brethren in Antioch and informed them that the Gentiles who accepted the faith increased in number and there was no room for them to partake in the prayers
When the letter reached the Apostles, they agreed not to take any action themselves but to leave the matter to the Lord who would advise them, since it was He who sent them to preach to the Gentiles; whether He willed that churches be built in His name or not, His will be done. The Apostles stood up to pray after and whilst fasting, trusting that God would never leave them but would listen to their supplication and lead them to what should be done. Then they sent letters to Paul and Barnabas on the 12th of Baouna and informed them that they decided to fast with purity of heart for seven days, together with all the faithful. At the end of the seven days, a cloud carried the pure Apostles to the house of Aristarkhus where they met all the brethren. Together they conversed on the power and greatness of God the Omnipotent and how the Faith had spread into all the world. Whilst they were talking, the Lord Jesus Christ, glory be to Him, appeared to them on a cherubim chariot and at His right the Virgin Saint Mary, and angels and archangels praising and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”
The disciples worshipped the Lord, praised Him and glorified His Holy name. Then they offered due homage to the Virgin Saint Mary and all the angels. All the disciples delegated John to speak on their behalf. So John with all humility talked to the Lord and asked His help. The Lord replied, “It is good to ask, John. I am with you to direct you regarding building many churches in every place for the faithful to offer on their altars accepted oblations, and venerate the name of My mother, Mary. Come with Me, and I will show you a place where you can build a church in the name of My mother and I will lay down the foundation with My own hands.” They went, headed by God, till they reached a town called Philippi, close to Corinth. The Lord showed them from the eastern side, a vast space and said to them, “Here, a House for God is to be built.” Then after going around its four corners, they brought Him a stone, and He said to them, “Let this be the cornerstone.” With the help of the Lord, they started to work and when the people of the city heard that that was the Lord’s will, they helped the disciples to complete the building. They brought the necessary materials in no time and the church was built at the best level. It was founded on 15 alabaster pillars and the Lord Himself supplied them with the altar vessels. That was completed on 20th Baouna. Then the Lord commanded that the people be told that the consecration of the church would be on the following day on which they were not to engage in any other work but consecrate it as a spiritual day in the name of the Virgin Saint Mary.
Immediately, Saint Paul the Apostle went and declared the matter in Corinth and Philippi, returned and gathered with the Apostles for prayers all night in the new church until the morning when all the faithful came and filled the whole place. The Apostles stood to teach the people the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God, His crucifixion, His redemption to mankind and His resurrection. They taught them the commandments of the holy Gospel, stressing that if they kept the commandments, they would inherit eternal life. Suddenly, a heavenly light shone around them and the Lord Jesus Christ, His mother the Virgin Saint Mary and angels appeared and stood amidst the congregation. The apostles hurried towards the Saviour and worshipped Him. The Lord blessed them and the congregation, and said to them, “Prepare the consecration utensils of this church because this day is a great day in which My Good Father is pleased to have altars on earth for worship.” Then the disciples brought the water for consecration. The Lord blessed it and sprayed it on the fences of the church, on every part of the church and its utensils, and consecrated them in the name of the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Saint Mary. Then He ascended to heaven. Immediately, the Apostles celebrated a Holy Liturgy after which all the congregation partook of the Holy Communion and returned home in peace glorifying the Lord, rejoicing for their salvation from the bitter slavery.
Miracle of Mary: https://pemm.princeton.edu/en-us/stories/210
https://inlibris.com/item/bn64220/?srsltid=AfmBOoqB6nWuJOKpuSEaIcsr3EVIoj8JTT1fk8GC4R3SZ15NAkGNO0K2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItRaUuy4yIo
https://www.copticchurch.net/synaxarium/12_16.html#1
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