04/01/2023
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One of the holy and sacred places in the eastern Gojam zone is the monastery of the great and ancient Great of MertoLeMaryam.
The head (rease rusan)of the monastery is located in the Gojam zone of East Gojam, in the administration of the city.
History essays explain that the meaning of "Choose Maryam"(mertolemariam) is: Hall of Mary.
MertoLeMaryam Monastery has changed its name four times in different eras before it got its current name.
History tells us that first it was called Hager Salam, then it was called Hager God(hager Egziabhir), then it was called Tsirha Arya, and finally it got the name that it is now called.
The administrator of the monastery has the title of head. According to historical writings, this great and ancient monastery was founded by Menelik I, who was born to King Solomon of Israel and Queen Saba (Makda) of Ethiopia, with 318 Torah priests.
The Torah priests who came to this place have been worshiping the Torah by sacrificing the Torah. In 333 A.D., the Hruian kings Abraha and Atsabha together with Ksate Berhan Aba Selama came to this place and taught the gospel, baptized the people and appointed priests.
The five mountains
Gedle Abraha and Atsaba and Gedle Aba Selama from Sateberhan explain that the noble kings Abraha and Atsbah together with the Pope Aba Selama from Sate Berhan crossed the Nile in 333 AD and reached the land of Gojam in MertoleMaryam. Historical essays tell us that after they had baptized the people from worshiping idols to worshiping God, they planned to build a church where the people could worship God.
Because there was a very beautiful temple in the place,
they started excavating from the hill which is now known as Genb wori(ግንብ ወሬ), saying that we should leave it for history and build it in another place. But the ground was spitting fire and he said he did not dig. Therefore, God did not allow us to build a church in this place, but They entered Subayi at 5 different hills in the area saying that we should enter Subayi for 3 consecutive days so that we can know God.
The following are the hills where Subai entered:-
From the hill called Kahnabni, the chief priest of the Torah
Hadis Shum from the hill called Hadisge
Bishop Abune Selama Salamage from the hill
King Abrha from the hill called Abrhi
From the hill called King Atsbha Zeno
King Atsabham first of all went to Father Selama from Sate Berhan and told the vision he saw.
Others came and told what they had seen, and Abba Salama told them that they had seen this vision. They all saw the same vision in one night. The vision they saw was: "One column of light with twelve doors, rising from the hill where the foundation of the temple started, shining and resting on Tsirha Aryam Ambalai, where the ancient Bethmquirab is located." When they went to the place in the morning, they found that the ancient temple was buried in the ground and turned into a green field. “ ወእም ድህረዝ ፈቀዱ አብርሃ ወ አጽብሃከመ ይህንጽ መቅደስ በህየ ወሐነጹ ማህደረ ሰናይተ ወገብሩ አረፋቲሃ ዘወርቅ ወዘብሩር ወሴሙ ካህናተ ወዲያቆናተ ወአስተሳነዩ ኲሎሥርዓተ ወሴሙ በውስቴታ ርእሰ ርኡሳን ዘውእቱ ሊቀ ካህናት ወሰመይዋ ለይእቲ መቅደስ መርጡለ ማርያም ” The kings Abraha wanted to build a temple in the place, and they made a temple of Mary by decorating the columns and rests with gold and pearls. By establishing a system, they appointed priests, deacons, and a Head(reas rusan) priest who could govern them all. They chose her shrine and named her Mary(mertolemariam). According to God's guidance, King Abrhao Atsabham was blessed by the Pope, Abba Selama, and built the wonderful 12-story temple in Tsar Aryam Ambalai, which was decorated with gold and pearls On January 21st, they brought in the Tabot of Our Lady and glorified the church.
The mountain where King Abraha and Atsabha first started digging to build a temple is still called Gebe wori, which means a tower left behind by rumours. Because of this, the hill where Subae entered is called Zeno, because King Atsbha first came and told the vision.
Abraha and Atsaba built a 12-story temple and a 1-story church at this place in 333 AD and installed the Tabot of Our Lady on January 21st in a colorful ceremony. This church was very different, decorated with different shapes, covered with gold and pearls, and it was a place where an amazing art impression rested. This temple was burnt down in 842 AD during the reign of Judith Gudit. The remains of the fire are still there.
The Anbesa wdm who reigned in 892 AD rebuilt the church that was burned by Judith. However, the 12-story temple and 1-storey church built by Abraha and Atsaba is very difficult to rebuild, requiring a wide range of great professionals, requiring a long time, complex and deep art, so it could not be rebuilt. Therefore, he built another church of Our Lady next to the burnt church. This church is still in use. King Ede Mariam, who reigned from August 26, 1466 AD - November 1466 AD, renovated this church in 1466 AD.
His wife, Queen Eleni, also tied around the tears, and the area around her monastery is still called Eleni Udmo. Emperor Haile Selassie built another church in this monastery in 1937. There is a Tabot of the Holy Trinity and Saint Gabriel. Again, in 1993 AD, the head priest, who was the administrator of the monastery at that time, renovated it from a grass roof to the present tin roof. There are 3 churches in this monastery. 1. Our Lady's Temple built by Abraha and Atsba 2. The Temple of Our Lady, built by the Lion King 3. King Emperor Haile Selassie built the Holy Trinity and Saint Gabriel Temples.
A very beautiful, huge and wonderful cathedral is currently being built in the historical Dzilele Mariam monastery.
The 22nd annual festival of MertoLeMaryam Monastery will be celebrated in the presence of many followers from the country and abroad.
Be a follower of the help and blessing of Our Lady Maryam blessing by attending the festival.
May the intercession and prayers of the Holy Virgin Mary separate us all!
Abyssinia Post https://t.me/AmharaVisit
