www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Debteras ??? & other Ethiopian rites

Cross and Commandment doors? Man, you surround yourself totally in Christian symbolism; if you weren't married I would have consider you to be a bahatawi you know one of the hermits.

Purple and gold are representative of Tewahedo?

Well, as you know the parents of the Holy Virgin promised that if God gave them a child they would give that child to the House of God; so they did (and Mary's entrance into the House of God [Baata] is celebrated by our Church) and St. Mary grew up in the temple according to the custom dedicated for the virgins of Israel. While she was living in the Temple she would spin purple and gold together. Just as on a royal cloak, the Gold (Divine) and the Silk (human) compliment and enhance each other, just as the two Natures of Christ they are different but United, and united without separation or confusion. The fiber of the silk does not prevent the gold from shining and the shining of the gold does not glare out the beauty of the purple; that is their oneness and the oneness doesn't imply anything else. In this way the Incarnation of our Lord was expressed by the activity of our Lady before He was born.

You guys I think have that big fancy woven basket thing with tassels and a banya [onion dome thing].

he, he, he, he, he;

That, my dear, is a traditional kitchen table, and yes you can have one in your house. Nowadays its pulled out to eat on during holidays. You lay one flat piece on injera (traditional staple, made from teff wheat; looks like a cross between a huge pancake and a tortilla [and tastes like neither]) on top of it and then put the food on the injera.

The smaller version is used to hold bread. The only way the latter ever gains any hint of religious significance is during our gatherings at someone's house for a Saints holiday and the bread for that purpose is served in it.

On the Tabot, all I can say is that as a humble layman who knows his place I have never been sneaking around in the Holy of Holies so I can't really say what one looks like uncovered.

Alex,

Again on Tabots, yes every Church has to have one to be a Church but some Churches have more than one. God's Name is on one side and the Name of the Saint that the Church is dedicated to is carved on the other side.

dear Aklie & Alex [names kind of sound alike...both know a lot about the Tewahedo...coincidence? or THE SAME GUY!!!??]

maybe I'm confused [yet again], but I'm sure I saw, in a book on Eucharistic Liturgies of Eastern Churches, a photo of Ethiopian clergy dressed in vestments putting on a large-ish ornate basket - kind of circular and various levels, on their head [presumably for a procession, maybe an offertory procession]. Does any of this ring a bell or have aliens come to visit [again]?

herb.

Ok, Ok, THAT thing! I get it now, Sorry. The very small one right? I mean you can hold it in one hand if you needed to right? That is the Flesh of the Lord being carried to be served to the Laity. It is transported on the Head (as is the Tabot on the occasions it comes out) at the end of the Divine Liturgy.

Me and Alex the same guy? So what are you saying, all Orientals look alike? I wouldn't mind being Alex though, so long as I didn't have to be a politician. But the names are different: Alexander is the conquering tyrant and Akliele-Semaet means "crown of a martyr,' I leave it as Aklie to be easier on you all.

Isn't it marvelous that Oriental and Byzantine Catholics can share their Traditions while others of the dame traditions cannot. It truely makes the universality of our Church illumiated.

Dmitri

Dear Aklieli,

Alexander the Great may have been a conquering . . . hero, but the name "Alexander" means "helper of humanity."

What a fascinating story about the purple and gold! I have a liturgical umbrella in that - also an Ethiopian priest's mitre - don't ask me how I got it.

Do all priests wear such? Only certain priests?

Is there a skull-cap worn by Ethiopian Christians to Church?

Alex

Alex,

I will make sure to tell Fr. Mesele that if he ever runs out of Church supplies to stop at your house to fill up.

The ones who receive skull caps are Monks after they have undergone their final rites to become a monk.

The dress of the Priest can be very diverse and it depends on what the particular service they are conducting (e.g. are they just teaching a class or are they conducting the Divine Liturgy). In a nutshell, the Priests wear white clothes and either a white (and sometimes not white) cap kufiya or a white turban. They wear a Black shawl or a cloak over this. During the Divine Liturgy they wear a long robe.

Bishops and above dress essentially the way Coptic Bishops dress.

Aklie, are the liturgical colors not prescribed? I was at a Keddase recently and the priest indicated that like the Copts their primary liturgical color for vestments was white.

Also we are going to make injeera in a week or so (when I get the teff). Please pray all goes well.

One last question...in the Byzantine tradition when greeting the priest we say "Glory to Jesus Christ" or some other greeting depending on the season and hold out our hands crosswise right over left for a blessing. Do the Ethiopians kiss the cross the priest holds? What is the protocol for greeting the priest? Thanks for your time in responding to "inquiring minds"

Dear Diak,

My Ethiopian Orthodox pastor taught me to greet Ethiopian priests by first kissing the hand Cross he carries, pressing it to one's forehead, then kissing the priest's hand and then pressing it to one's forehead.

Alex

Diak,

You address a Priest simply as father. Yes you kiss the Cross that the Priest wholds but you especially want to receive the Blessing of the Processional Cross; you can kiss that one some times during the Liturgy but always after service is over (there is usually a long line of people waiting to kiss it).

As far as the colors yes white is worn during the Liturgy (Qedasse) and when a Bishop or the Patriarch is leading the Liturgy then they replace their usual black Coptic wardrobe and turban with a snow-white one. The Patriarch (the one in Ethiopia) himself has been wearing white clothes in non-officiating capacities lately. This has drawn him criticism from some of the laity.

p.s. good luck with the injera. I have yet to see the teff actually rise in the fermentation process when attempted in America. It always has to be mixed with something else (like wheat) for it to work. We could not figure it out for the longest; even when attempted in places of similar elevation and climate it just doesn't rise on its own like it does in Ethiopia. I wish you the best…