Gabra Manfas Qeddus
Encyclopedia
Gabra Manfas Qeddus was an Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

n Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

, and the founder of the monastery of Zuqualla
Mount Zuqualla
Mount Zuqualla is an extinct volcano in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Situated in Ada'a Chukala woreda of the Misraq Shewa Zone, it rises from the plain 30 kilometers south of Debre Zeyit...

. The fifth day of every month in the Ethiopian calendar
Ethiopian calendar
The Ethiopian calendar , also called the Ge'ez calendar, is the principal calendar used in Ethiopia and also serves as the liturgical calendar for Christians in Eritrea belonging to the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church and Lutheran Evangelical Church of Eritrea...

 is dedicated to this saint.

Manuscripts differ in relating the story of the life of Gabra Manfas Qeddus and the miracles he performed. Unless otherwise stated, the account below is pieced together from various legends about his life.

Life in Egypt

One text reports Gabra Manfas Qeddus lived 562 years, 300 of them in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, while another attributes him a life of 362 years. There he was born to noble parents, named Simon and Eklesia. Eklesia, according to legend, came from the tribe of Benjamin
Benjamin
Benjamin was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on...

 of ancient Israel. Eklesia and Simon are said to have been barren for 30 years. The day of Gabra’s conception and the date of his birth are said to coincide with those of Jesus Christ.

Forty days after his birth the baptism of Gabra Manfas Qeddus was celebrated with a banquet attended by the Roman emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

. He developed traits common to all prodigious children. By the age of two, tradition reports that he was already wise. When three years old, God sent his archangel Gabriel to the child, to take him into the desert and put him into the custody of the monk Zamada Berhan, leaving his parents and nurse in despair. There he was ordained priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

 and became an abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...

.
For a time Gabra remained in the desert performing miracle
Miracle
A miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that a god may work with the laws...

s, while people from remote countries visited him. Then a second time God sent Gabriel to take Gabra deeper into the desert, and to have him live amongst sixty lions and sixty leopards. While there, Gabra Manfas Qeddus developed thick white hair covering all his body like a coat. He was able to appease the wild beasts, and in this respect resembled the figure of Daniel from the Old Testament. As he was able to talk to the animals, he may be compared to saint Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...

.

In Ethiopian iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...

 he is commonly depicted in full view standing upright, covered by his hair from top to toe, while lions and leopards rest at his feet.

Journeys to the Holy Land

Gabra Manfas Qeddus then set out for a journey into the Holy Land. He visited all the holy places, including Bethlehem
Bethlehem
Bethlehem is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank of the Jordan River, near Israel and approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism...

, Jerusalem, Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...

 and the river Jordan. God incited him to go to Gabaon, where the devil assaulted him with wild beasts. Attacked by a serpent, Gabra won the battle, and the serpent was petrified by him.
Gabra Manfas Qeddus begged the Lord to make him invisible, so as to prevent humans and supernatural beings alike from recognizing him and putting him to the test.

Life in Ethiopia

When he was 300 years of age the Lord ordered Gabra Manfas Qeddus to go to Ethiopia to preach to the people there. He travelled there on a winged chariot, accompanied by his leopards and lions. In Ethiopia he founded the monastery of Zuqualla
Mount Zuqualla
Mount Zuqualla is an extinct volcano in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. Situated in Ada'a Chukala woreda of the Misraq Shewa Zone, it rises from the plain 30 kilometers south of Debre Zeyit...

, an extinct volcano, which is in the southern part of the former province of Shewa
Shewa
Shewa is a historical region of Ethiopia, formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire...

 (now in Ada'a Chukala
Ada'a Chukala
Ada'a Chukala is one of the 180 woredas in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. Part of the Debub Misraq Shewa Zone located in the Great Rift Valley, Ada'a Chukala is bordered on the south by Dugda Bora, on the west by the Mirab Shewa Zone, on the northwest by Akaki, on the northeast by Gimbichu, and on...

 woreda). Zuqualla is an icon for the mountain of Tabor
Tabor
-Places:* Mount Tabor * Tábor, Czech Republic** Taborite, member of a 15th century Czech religious group considered heretical by the Roman Catholic Church* Tabor, Slovenia, town and municipality...

 in the Holy Land.

Before establishing his monastery, some texts have Gabra Manfas Qeddus tempted by demons and devils for a period of hundred years, after which time the Lord exempted the Ethiopians from sin. Then Gabra left Zuqualla to wander to Kabd
KABD
KABD is a radio station broadcasting an Adult Hits format. Licensed to Ipswich, South Dakota, USA, the station serves the Aberdeen area. The station is currently owned by Dakota Broadcasting.-External links:*...

 in order to stare at the heavens for seven months without blinking. The devil, in the shape of a raven, came to pick out his eyes. But Manfas Qeddus was cured by the archangels Gabriel and Michael, who brought him back to Zuqualla.

Some manuscripts recount a visit to heaven, where Gabra Manfas Qeddus was kissed by the Holy Trinity. While still on his way back from heaven, three other saints arrived in Kabd to visit him -- Samuel of Waldebba
Samuel of Waldebba
Samuel of Waldebba was a 15th century Ethiopian monk and ascetic of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.-References:*-External links:*...

, Anbas of Hazalo and Benyam of lower Begemder
Begemder
Begemder was a province in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. There are several proposed etymologies for this name...

 -- who were all accompanied by lions. As soon as the lions and leopards of Gabra Manfas Qeddus noticed their fellow-creatures, though, they devoured them. Nothing was left of them when Manfas Qeddus eventually arrived on the scene. Gabra ordered his animals to spit out the remains of their meal, upon which the pets of the saints reappeared sound and healthy.

Three times a year Gabra Manfas Qeddus returned to the Holy Land to receive Holy Communion: on Christmas day, on the day of Jesus' baptism and on Good Friday
Good Friday
Good Friday , is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday, and may coincide with the Jewish observance of...

. There he spoke Hebrew but also all the languages of the world, a characteristic associated with the story of the tower of Babel
Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...

.

He died on a Sunday, on the 5th of Maggabit, while he was lying on the floor with his arms outspread, in the posture of Jesus on the cross.
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