The Lives of the Saints of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church remembers its saints on fixed days of the Ethiopian calendar. This page tells the lives of five saints commemorated on consecutive days in the month of Ginbot, from Ginbot 11 to Ginbot 15 (May 19 to May 23).

SAINT YARED, Priest, Poet and Hymn writer of Ethiopia

SUNDAY

Ginbot 11 – May 19

One of the better known affirmations of the Church Fathers on the subject of Ecclesiastical Music and the performance of it is: “Those who sing well pray twice.” In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church St. Yared is the one who perfected the Liturgical Musical tradition of the Church. He was born around the beginning of the sixth century, circa 505 A.D. The son of devote and affluent Tewahedo Orthodox Christians. St. Yared became known in his own time and even to this day as the furthermost composer of Church music in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

The account of his life of service to the Orthodox Tewahedo Church began on a very sad note. At the age of seven years our Saint suffered the terrible loss of his earthly father (Isaac). His Mother (Christian), being a pious woman, sent him to live with his Uncle, Gedewon, who was a wise and learned man serving at the Cathedral of St. Mary of Zion in the Imperial City of Axum.

Over a period of Twenty-five years St. Yared learned from his Uncle knowledge of Sacred Theology, Church Music and History. After the death of his Uncle, St. Yared took over the great task of his Uncle and became a talented teacher of the Churches Sacred Theology as well as the Sacred Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. As would be expected he was ordained a Deacon; then married and later was ordained to the Priesthood.

In or around the year 500 A.D. St. Yared began to have contacts with the Nine Monks who came from Alexandria to translate the Sacred Scriptures, Liturgical books etc into the spoken language of the Ethiopian people at that time, Ge’ez. The most ancient tradition of the Church is for the Sacred Scriptures and Liturgical books etc, to be in the language of the people. One of the Nine Monastic Fathers, an Abba Pantelewon, remained in Axum. St. Yared acquired a great deal of information from Abba Pantelewon about the Liturgical traditions, customs and way of life of those who lived in the West. From his desire to learn more, St. Yared visited the eastern Roman Imperial Capital of Constantinople twice. There he observed and learned of the Liturgical traditions, customs and way of life of those living in the eastern Capital of the Roman Empire.

From his exposure to the Liturgical and musical traditions of the Churches, St. Yared began to compose the music used for the Ethiopian Church. Of his works (skillfully rooted in the Old and New Testaments) the music all speaks of the Creation, Prophecies and the life of Christ (His Advent, Incarnation, Nativity, Baptism, Saving acts, Crucifixion, Death, Resurrection, Ascension and His Second Coming) while also reflecting the national heritage and ideals of the Ethiopia and its people.

During the reign of Emperor Gabre Masqal (A.D. 550-64), Saint Yared compiled the famous Mazgeba Deggua (Hymn of Sorrow). It includes three main stages: 1. “Ge’ez,” the first stage of song; 2. “Uzil,” the second stage, to be sung together with the first; and 3. ’Ararai,” a sorrowful, plaintive song. The original Mazgeba Deggua composition is believed to have been written by St. Yared himself, and can be found today in one of the oldest Monasteries of Ethiopia, which located on Lake Tana, the Tana Krikos Monastery, were for two years the Saint lived. After this period he went to Gaient and built the Church of Saint Mary at Zur Amba. It is said that the Emperor, Abba Aragawi, and St. Yared, while going to the hill on which they built the Church, had difficulty finding their way until a guide from God came to them and said to Abba Aragawi, “Zur Abba Mengale Misraq,…” which means “Abba, turn to the east; you will find the way to the hill.” The place is now called Zur Amba because of this miracle, for through the grace of God, they were able to find the right way and to build the Church there. At this particular place Saint Yared taught Zimmare and Mewasit for three years. Since then Zur Amba has become the seat of the principal of the Zimmare and Mewasit faculty. After three years in Gaeint, Saint Yared came back to Axum and Medebaytabir, where he composed the fourteen Anaphoras. He then went to Telenit, and there he c’om posed the Merraf, which is the Psalm of David. Afterward he traveled to Wagara and Agew, teaching and performing his duties.

St. Yared begins his works with the words, “Halleluiah to the Father, Halleluiah to the Son, Halleluiah to the Holy Spirit.” His divine composition is from the Old and New Testaments and from the works of the Church Fathers: Saint Athanasius, Saint John Chrysostom, and Saint Cyril. His work is intricately done, with words suitable for prayers and for the glorification of Almighty God.

Though he visited the eastern Roman Capital City of Constantinople, his work is uniquely Ethiopian, bearing no resemblance to Western or Greek notation. It consists of Ge’ez syllabic characters and projects the tradition and culture of the Ethiopian people.

St. Yared’s hymns are divided into four parts characterizing the four seasons of the year: “Messow” (Fall), “Hagie” (Summer), “Tseday” (Spring) and “Kiramt” (Winter) and were planned to bring a greater sense of reality in the praise of the people. The different sounds of his chants indicate the joy or sorrow and brave determination of the Christian Ethiopian.

Finally, as a holy man, Saint Yared died in one of the Monasteries of the northeast, on this date in 571, according to the Ethiopian calendar. Gabre Masqal also died between A.D. 570-80 and was buried at Enda Kaleb, near his father.

St. Yared’s sacred works were continued by his students Sawiros, Sandros, and Beldados. Following the method and philosophy of the saint, these three men were able to preserve for generations to come the glorious works of a beloved Saint of the Ethiopian Orthodox church.

According to the Book of Yared, the following students are responsible, as disciples, for the continuation of the great work of the noble saint: Yared, Sawiros, Sandros, Beldados, Keffa, Gabru, Abba Gera, and Abba Georgis, who was the teacher of Lisane Eferat, the Debtera of Bethlehem, in Begemdir Province.

Lisane Eferat wrote a book of Deggua with notation (1434-68 A.D.) during the reign of Emperor Zera Yacob. Between the time of the reign of Emperor Lebna Dengel and Sersa Dengel, it was very difficult to find any ecclesiastical books throughout the country (because of the unfortunate destruction by the Islamic invader Ahmed Gran) of canonical and historical properties of the Ethiopian Christian Churches. Through God’s grace, however, one book of Deggua similar to the one written by Lisane Eferat was found ad Sede Gagne Georgis, near Bethlehem. This finding made Bethlehem the seat of the principal for the faculty of Zema, Deggua, Meeraf and Tsome Deggua. This was done by the imperial orders of Emperor Sersa Dengel in A. D. 1553 (Ethiopian calendar).

After Lisane Eferat, the list of disciples continues with ZekaleAb, Ichege kale Awadi, Hinsa Haimanot, tetemqe Madhim Wolde Melekot, Sersa Mariam, Kinfe Michael, Gabre Egziabher, and Gabre Madhin.

In later years other works of Saint Yared were found all over the country. Original manuscripts were found in Wollo Province at Debre Nagodgad Church, Atronsa Mariam, and Tedbaba Mariam in Tigre Province at Abba Gerima Monastery, in Shoa Province at Debre Libanos Monastery, and in Gojam Province at Mertula Mariam.

It is said that the notation of the Deggua was rearranged by two well-known scholars, Azzaze Gerra and Azzaze Raguel, who were appointed to serve as debteras at the Church of Tadbaba Mariam during the reign of Emperor Galawdewos in (1540-1559).

Except for certain Monasteries where the Rule of the Monks is a silent discipline, the works of Saint Yared can be heard throughout all the land of Ethiopia to this very day.

SAINT YOHANNES CHRYSOSTOM, Archbishop of Constantinople, Defender of the Orthodox Christian Faith

MONDAY

Ginbot 12 – May 20

On this Twelfth day of the month of Ginbot (Ethiopian calendar) the Twentieth of May (Western calendar), the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church commemorates the honorable Saint Abba Yohannes (John) Chrysostom.

St. John was born in Antioch in 349 A.D. Different scholars have described his mother Anthusa as having been Pagan. Other say that she was a Christian. The Saint’s father was a high ranking military Officer of the Roman Army. Sadly St. John’s father died soon after his birth and he was raised by his mother. As a result of his mother’s influential connections in the city, St. John began his education under the pagan teacher Libanius. From Libanius John acquired the skills for a career in rhetoric, as well as a love of the Greek language and literature. As he grew older, however, he became more deeply committed to Christianity and went on to study theology under Diodore of Tarsus, founder of the re-constituted School of Antioch. According to the Christian historian Sozomen, Libanius was supposed to have said on his deathbed that John would have been his successor “if the Christians had not taken him from us”.

In 368 at the age of 19 years, St. John received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism-Chrismation. He was also ordained as a Reader (one of the minor orders of the Church). After the death of his mother, he took all his possessions and gave all of his inheritance to the poor and the needy. He then left Antioch for the desert hermits. There he lived with extreme asceticism and became a hermit in about 375 A.D. St. John spent the next two years continually standing, scarcely sleeping, and committing the text of the Holy Bible to memory. As a consequence of these practices, his stomach and kidneys were permanently damaged and poor health forced him to return to Antioch.

The grace of The Lord marked him out among his fellow hermits as a Shepherd. While recovering from poor health in Antioch, he was ordained a Deacon in 381 by St. Abba Meletius, the Archbishop of Antioch. St. John Chrysostom wrote many homilies and interpreted many books of the Scriptures while he was a Deacon to the amazement of the Clergy and faithful. In 386, the new Archbishop of Antioch, Flavian I ordained him as a Priest.

Over the course of twelve years, his straightforward understanding of the Scriptures meant that the themes of his talks were practical, explaining the Bible’s application to everyday life. Such straightforward preaching helped Chrysostom to garner popular support. He emphasized charitable giving and was concerned with the spiritual and temporal needs of the poor. He also spoke out against abuse of wealth and personal property.

One incident that happened during his service in Antioch illustrates the influence of his sermons. When St. John arrived in Antioch, the Archbishop of the city had to intervene with Emperor Theodosius I on behalf of citizens who had gone on a rampage mutilating statues of the Emperor and his family. During the weeks of Holy Lent in 397, St. John preached twenty-one sermons in which he entreated the people to see the error of their ways. These made a lasting impression on the general population of the city: many pagans converted to Christianity as a result of the sermons. As a result, the Emperor Theodosius’ vengeance was not as severe as it might have been.

When Nectarius, Archbishop of Constantinople fell asleep in The Lord, (398 A.D.), the Emperor summoned St. Abba John and appointed him the next Archbishop. He tried to refuse his appointment, but finally gave into the desire of the Imperial Court. As Archbishop he conducted himself in an apostolic manner. He continued teaching, preaching and interpreting the books of the Scriptures, both old and new. He boldly admonished the sinners and the wealthy, regardless of their authority or wealth.

Queen Eudoxia, the wife of Emperor had a lust for worldly goods. She took a garden which belonged to a poor widow by force. This widow complained to the Saint, who went to the Queen and admonished her and asked her to return the garden to its owner. When the Empress Eudoxia did not obey him, he prevented her from entering the Church and partaking of the Holy Communion. She became exceedingly angry and gathered a Council of Bishops whom St. John had previously excommunicated for their evil deeds and their mismanagement. They sentenced the Saint to be exiled. He was exiled to the Island of Thrace, but this exile did not last more than one night. The people were enraged and they gathered around the Royal Palace demanding the return of their Shepherd. While the people were sorrowful because of their righteous shepherd, a severe earthquake took place and almost destroyed the city, terrifying everyone. The people thought that this was a sign of The Lord’s anger, caused by the exile of the Saint. As for Queen Eudoxia, she was disturbed, her soul was troubled and she went in haste to her husband and asked him to bring back the Saint from exile. Once the light of the shepherd shone on his flock, their sorrow changed to joy and their wailing was replaced by the songs of joy and happiness.

This state of affairs did not last long. There was a large square beside the Church Hagia Sophia – Holy Wisdom, where a large silver statue of Queen Eudoxia was erected. On the day of its dedication, some common people danced madly, played profligate games, until they were immersed in immorality and sin. Because of St. John’s zeal to curb the spread of immorality, he repudiated the people in his sermons, courageously showing his disapproval of their behavior. His enemies took advantage of his zeal and accused him before the Queen, of having said that “Herodia had risen up and danced and asked for the head of John the Baptist on a plate.” This cruel accusation gave the Queen a good reason to sentence him again into exile. She instructed the soldiers who were in charge of guarding him not give him any means of comfort during his travel. Thus, they moved him from one place to another hastily, until they came to a city called Pitiunt (in present day Georgia) where he fell asleep in The Lord. His last words are said to have been, “δ?ξα τ? θε? π?ντων ?νεκεν” (Glory be to God for all things).

During the reign of Theodosius II, the body of St. John was returned to Constantinople, where it was placed in the Church of the Apostles. His disciple, Saint Proclus, Archbishop of Constantinople (434-447), during services in the Church of Hagia Sophia, preached a sermon praising his teacher. He said, “O John, your life was filled with sorrow, but your death was glorious. Your grave is blessed and reward is great, by the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ O graced one, having conquered the bounds of time and place! Love has conquered space, unforgetting memory has annihilated the limits, and place does not hinder the miracles of the saint.”

SAINT ARSENIUS THE ROMAN, Monk – Deacon, One of the Great Desert Fathers

TUESDAY

Ginbot 13 – May 21

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church on this Thirteenth day of the month of Ginbot (Ethiopian calendar) the Twenty-first of May (Western calendar) celebrates the memory of one of the Great Desert Fathers, St. Abba Arsenius the Roman.

St. Arsenius was born at Rome around the year 350 A.D., to Christian parents who being of the nobility of Rome, were righteous and honorable people. St. Arsenius’ father was not only a Magistrate of the Imperial Court; he also was a Senator of Rome. The Saints parents made certain of his education, especially his religious education and sent him to the teachers of the Church; he was educated and raised in the fear of God. St. Arsenius was eager to read the Sacred Scriptures and the writings of the Fathers. When reached his teenage years he was found worthy by the Church and was ordained as a Deacon and then raised to the post of Arch-Deacon of the Church at Rome by the Patriarch, Pope Damasus I.

After the death of his parents, St. Arsenius and his sister Afrositty gave all their inherited wealth to the poor and lived in their ancestral home as if in a Monastery – Convent. Abba Arsenius was a disciple of the Church historian Rophenius, who chronicled (wrote about) the life of the Desert Fathers, their Monastic life. St. Arsenius desired to meet these men and women of God and learn from them.

In 382 A.D., the Roman Christian Emperor Theodosius the Great was seeking someone who he might entrust the education of his children to. The Patriarch – Pope of Rome, St. Abba Damasus recommended Abba Arsenius, whom he described as “a man of Senatorial rank, learned in both Sacred and worldly knowledge.” The Emperor sent an envoy to Abba Arsenius with the request the he present himself at the Imperial Court at the recommendation of Pope Damasus. The Saint accordingly went to Constantinople in 383 A.D. and was appointed to the post as Educator by the Emperor Theodosius who, coming once to see Arcadius and Honorius at their studies, found them sitting while their teacher, Abba Arsenius talked to them standing: at once the Emperor requested that the Saint sit and ordered his two children to listen to him standing.

After ten years at the Imperial Court, St. Abba Arsenius seemed to clearly hear the voice of God through the Gospel, “For what does it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (St. Matthew 16:26). He left Constantinople and come by sea to Alexandria and there went into the wilderness. When he first presented himself to St. Abba Macarius the Great, the Abbot of the Monks of Scete, he recommended him to the care of St. Abba Yohannes the Short, to try his vocation as a Monk. In the evening, when the rest of the Monks sat down to take their meal, St. Abba Yohannes the Short left Abba Arsenius standing in the middle without inviting him. Such a reception was a severe trial to one who had lived at the Imperial Court; but it was followed by another much rougher, for St. Abba Yohannes the Short took a loaf of bread and threw it on the ground before him, biding him with an air of indifference to eat it if he would. St. Abba Arsenius cheerfully sat on the ground and eat the bread. St. Yohannes the Short was so satisfied with his behavior that he required no further trials for his admission to the Monastery, saying: “This man will make a Monk.”

St. Abba Arsenius at first used thoughtlessly to do certain things which he had done in the world, which seemed inappropriate to his new companions, for instance, to sit cross-legged. The Senior Monks were unwilling through the respect they bore him to tell him of this in public, so one agreed with another that he should put himself in that posture and then be rebuked for his immodesty. Abba Arsenius saw that the reproof was meant for him, and corrected his manner.

Being asked one day why he, being so well educated, sought the instruction and advice of a certain Monk who was an utter stranger to all literature, he replied, “I am not unacquainted with the learning of the Greeks and the Romans; but I have not yet learned the alphabet of the science of the Saints, whereof this seemingly ignorant Egyptian is master”. Evagrius of Pontus who, after he had distinguished himself at Constantinople by his learning, had retired into the desert of Nitria in 385 A.D., expressed surprise that many learned men made no progress in virtue, whilst many who could not read nor who did not even know the letters of the alphabet, arrived at a high degree of contemplation. Abba Arsenius answered, “We make no progress because we dwell in that exterior learning which puffs up the mind; but these illiterate have a true sense of their own weakness, blindness, and insufficiency; and by that very thing they are qualified to labor successfully in the pursuit of virtue”. St. Abba Arsenius often passed the whole night in watching and prayer, and on Saturdays it was his custom to go to prayers turning his back to the evening sun, and continue with his hands lifted up to Heaven till the sun shone on his face the next morning.

One day one of the Emperor’s Officers brought him the Last Will of a Senator, a relative of the Saint, who was lately dead, and had left him as his sole heir. The Saint took the will and would have torn it to pieces, but the Officer begged him not to, saying such an accident would get him in trouble. Abba Arsenius, however, refused the estate, saying “I died eleven years ago and cannot be his heir”.

St. Abba Arsenius employed himself in making mats of palm-tree leaves; and he never changed the water in which he moistened the leaves, but only poured in fresh water upon it as it wasted. When some asked him why he did not cast away the filthy water, he answered, “I ought to be punished by this smell for the self-indulgence with which I formerly used perfumes”. He lived in the most utter poverty, so that in an illness, having need for a small sum to procure him some little necessities, he was obliged to beg for it.

Due to his desire for quiet and solitude, St. Yohannes the Short allowed St. Abba Arsenius to live alone in a hidden cave in the desert 32 miles away. He would seldom see strangers who came to visit him, but Abba Theophilus, Patriarch - Pope of Alexandria, came one day in company with others to visit him, and begged he would speak on some subject for the good of their souls. The Saint asked them whether they were disposed to comply with his directions; and being answered in the affirmative, he replied, “I entreat you then that, whenever you are informed of Arsenius’ abode, you would leave him to himself and spare yourselves the trouble of coming after him”. He never visited his brethren, contenting himself with meeting them at spiritual conferences. The Abbot Mark asked him one day why he so much shunned their company. The Saint answered, “God knows how dearly I love you all; but I find I cannot be both with God and with men at the same time; nor can I think of leaving God to converse with men”. This disposition, however, did not hinder him from giving spiritual instruction to his brethren, and several of his sayings are recorded. He said often, “I have always something to repent for after having talked, but have never been sorry for having been silent”.

Nothing is so much spoken of about Abba Arsenius as his gift of tears, weeping both over his own shortcomings and those of the world, particularly the feebleness of his former students Arcadius and the foolishness of Honorius, the sons of the late Emperor Theodosius the Great.

Saint Abba Arsenius was tall and handsome but stooped a little in his old age; he had graceful carriage and a certain shining beauty and air of both majesty and meekness; his hair was all white, and his beard reached down to his girdle, but the tears which he shed continually had worn away his eye-lashes. He lived in the same austere manner till the age of about ninety-five; he spent forty years in the desert of Scete, till a raid of barbarians compelled him to forsake this abode, around the year 434. He then retired to the rock of Troe, over against Memphis, and ten years after to the island of Canopus, near Alexandria; but not being able to bear the neighborhood of that city, he returned to Troe, where he died.

His brethren, seeing him weep in his last hours, said to him, “Father, why do you weep? Are you, like others, afraid to die?” The Saint answered, “I am very afraid - nor has this dread ever forsaken me from the time I first came into these deserts”. Notwithstanding his fear, Saint Abba Arsenius died in great peace, full of faith and of that humble confidence which perfect charity inspires, in the year 445 A.D.

SAINT ABBA PACHOMIUS, Father of the Communal Monastic - Cenobitic life

WEDNESDAY

Ginbot 14 – May 22

On this Fourteen day of Ginbot (Ethiopian calendar) the Twenty-second of May (Western calendar) in the year 348 A.D., St. Abba Pachomius, the Father of the spiritual communal Monastic life (Cenobitic life) fell asleep in The Lord.

Abba Pachomius was born in Thebes (Luxor) from pagan parents, who forced him to worship idols. He rejected and mocked this worship, then became a Monk with Abba Palaemon. He lived in submission to him for many years, and he mastered well the ways of the Monastic life.

An Angel of the Lord appeared to him and commanded him to establish a Communal – Cenobitic Monastery. Many monks gathered together to him, and he built for them many Monasteries and established for them a system of manual labor, the times of prayers, and eating. He was the father of them all, with an Abbot in every Monastery. He visited all the Monasteries, from Aswan to Edfu to Donasa to the end of Upper Egypt to the north. He did not permit any one of his sons to become a Priest for the sake of the vainglory of this world, and not to overlook the purpose of their Monastic life of worship by being away from the world. He invited a Priest from outside for each Monastery to officiate the Qiddasie – Holy Eucharist. When Abba Athanasius, Patriarch of Alexandria wanted to ordain him a Priest, he fled from him. St. Athanasius asked his disciples to tell him that he who built his house on the rock that can not be shaken, and fled from the vainglory of the world, is blessed, and his disciples are also blessed.

He desired once to see Hades, and he saw in a night vision the habitation of the sinners and places of torment.

He remained the father of the Cenobites for forty years. When the time of his departure drew near, he called the Monks, strengthened their faith, and appointed someone to take over his place after him, then departed in peace. May his prayers be with us. Amen.

SAINT SIMON THE ZEALOT, Apostle of The Lord – Martyr

THURSDAY

Ginbot 15 – May 23

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church venerates on this Fifteenth day of the month of Ginbot (Ethiopian calendar) the Twenty-third of May (Western calendar) the Holy Apostle and Martyr, Saint Simon the zealot.

The Holy Apostle Simon was born in Cana of Galilee and was one of the Twelve chosen by The Lord Jesus to be His Apostles (St. Matthew 10: 2 – 4). Simon was learned in the Law of the Prophet Moses and in the Books of the Prophets; he had in him “zeal” and was therefore called Zealot.

Because of this we read in the Scripture how when the Apostle St. Philip said unto him, “Behold, we have found Him concerning Whom Moses and the Prophets wrote, Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth,” he would not agree with him but said, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” The Apostle Philip said to him, “Come and see,” and when Simon the Zealot came and met The Lord, Jesus said unto him, “Here is an Israelite in whose heart there is no deceit.” Simon was not one to give support to anyone; he demanded from Jesus a reason for his support, saying unto The Lord, “How do you know me?” The Lord answered and said unto him, “Before Philip called you, when you were sitting under the fig tree I saw you.” Simon knew that in truth The Lord knew the things, which were hidden, and he said unto Him, “My Lord and my God.” Simon knew that Jesus was the Son of God in truth, and that He knew hidden things and was informed about everything. And straightway he bowed before our Redeemer, and was obedient unto Him, and followed him from that day, and became one of the Twelve Apostles.

Simon did not set himself in opposition to Christ, like the leaders of the Jews, who although they saw and heard what was great and stupendous, did not obey and submit to the righteous man.

Having been a witness to The Lord’s Resurrection and Ascension, he also with the other Apostles received the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, on Pentecost. He spoke the languages of all countries, and he knew all the Divine Mysteries of the Christian faith, by the Holy Spirit Who enlightened him.

After the Feast of Pentecost the Holy Apostle St. Simon, in performance of The Lord Jesus command, “go and make disciples of all the nations…” (St. Matthew 28: 19), preached the Gospel in many places entering into towns and villages of darkness bringing them the Light of Christ. Through his witness to Christ many came to the light of Christian baptism. He ordained Deacons, Priests and Bishops for the Christian communities he founded as he traveled the trade roads of Northern Africa.

In Mauritania (North Africa) he was seized by the pagans of that land and suffered many evils and tortures. Almighty God aided and strengthened him when he was being tortured. The Lord God performed great miracles and wonders through this Apostle. An example being he raised the dead and healed those sick of various illnesses. These pagans repented of their evil against him and the Gospel and asked for instruction in the Christian faith and baptism.

The Apostle Simon traveled wide and far bringing the Good News of Christ to the nations. He ended his missionary work in the province of Abkhazia in present day northern Georgia. The pagans of this land tortured him; in the end they crucified him and he won the Crown of Martyrdom for Christ around 78 A.D.