St. Tekle Haimanot the Ethiopian’s Glorification | تمجيد الأنبا تكلاهيمانوت الحبشى

Saint Teklehaimanot holds a special place in the Ethiopian Church as one of the pillars of Ethiopian monasticism and a source of salvation for many.
His father, the priest Sagazab or Skarat (meaning “Gift of the Father”), married a very beautiful and wealthy girl named Sarah, and they lived a life of piety, loving the poor and needy. When God did not grant them a child, the wife asked her husband to distribute all their possessions to the poor and free all the slaves and servants. When he asked not to rush, she insisted on her decision, so he rejoiced in her advice and fulfilled her heart’s desire. The slaves and servants were saddened because they felt like members of the household, and some asked to stay with them, which they accepted so that everyone could live as brothers.
When Metalomi, King of Damot, began persecuting Christians, he sent his soldiers to every surrounding location to commit acts of violence. One soldier reached the priest’s house and tried to kill him with a spear, but the priest escaped, diving into a lake. The soldier stood on the shore, waiting for him to emerge so he could throw the spear. When the priest delayed too long, the soldier was sure he had drowned. However, while submerged, the priest found Archangel Michael surrounding him and shielding him as if under a tent until he emerged to find his wife had been captured and the church destroyed, and he wept bitterly.
The soldiers saw Sarah and were amazed by her beauty, taking her to the king as a gift. They informed him of her situation, and he requested that she be kept in a house and provided with luxurious clothes, gold, silver, and precious jewels to adorn her. She, however, abstained from the luxurious food and her tears did not cease. In the evening, when everyone slept, she removed the fine garments, donned simple clothes, and prayed to God, seeking her deliverance from this evil. She requested the intercession of Archangel Michael, to whom she offered gifts for the poor every month and during his feast. Indeed, God sent Archangel Michael to reassure and comfort her, promising her a blessed child who would be a blessing to many.
In the morning, she wore the royal garments, and the soldiers took her to the king, who was very pleased with her. He rewarded the soldiers generously and requested they take her to the royal throne to hold an official wedding celebration in the idol temple. The king went to the temple and prostrated before the idols, while she stood awaiting God’s work with her. Suddenly, lightning, thunder, and earthquakes occurred, and Archangel Michael descended to carry her to the church where she was praying with her priest husband.
She met her husband, who initially thought she was a princess as her face was covered, but she revealed her identity and told him of God’s work with her. They thanked and glorified God for His work with them. In the evening, Sarah (also called “God’s Chosen”) saw a luminous column in the center of her house reaching the sky, embracing many diverse birds, while many people and kings looked on in astonishment. The priest saw a shining sun under his bed surrounded by countless stars illuminating the world. That night, Sarah conceived the blessed child, who was born on 24 Kiahk.

Childhood:
Many of God’s works with him from his childhood are recorded. Notably, when his parents had sold all the luxurious clothes, gold, silver, and jewels that God’s Chosen (Sarah) brought from the king, they distributed them to the poor. During Archangel Michael’s feast, the country suffered a severe famine. Sarah wept, wishing to provide something to the poor. Seeing her tears, the infant gestured toward a handful of flour, placing his hand on it, and the flour overflowed abundantly. The mother hurried and offered all she had in the kitchen, placing the infant’s hand on it, resulting in a flood of blessings she gave to the poor.
The child was baptized and named Fishhasion, meaning “Joy of Zion.” He was raised in a life of piety and worship with a monastic spirit, humility, and love for all.

Ordination:
At the age of fifteen, Abba Kyrillos, Metropolitan of Ethiopia, ordained him a deacon, during the time of Abba Benjamin. The metropolitan received him warmly and kissed him, declaring that he was loved by God and that the angel of the Lord accompanied him holding a fiery sword.
He lived a life of purity and chastity. When his parents tried to marry him, he refused, declaring his wish for a virginal life. When compelled, he lived with his wife as a brother with his sister until she passed away.
Abba Kyrillos ordained him a priest to assist in service. His mother passed away on 22 Mesra, and four days later his father passed on 26 Mesra of the same year.
This young priest lived in his parents’ house for seven years. One day, while hunting wild animals, Archangel Michael appeared to him, telling him that such work was unfit for priests and that he must devote his life to prayer, studying the Scriptures, and teaching. God had granted him the gift of healing the sick and performing miracles, and his name would no longer be Fishhasion (Joy of Zion) but Teklehaimanot. He also saw Christ, who laid His hand on him, blessed him, and called him to the work of preaching, promising to be with him and support him.
Saint Teklehaimanot distributed all his parents’ wealth to the poor, bid farewell to his townspeople, and began preaching.

Preaching and Monastic Service:
He went to the city of Katana, where the people worshipped idols, trees, and the sun. The people rebelled against him, and they heard the devil’s voice from their idol tree demanding he be driven away. He stood from a distance, turned toward the East, raised his hands, and prayed to the Lord to destroy the tree. It was uprooted and moved toward the saint, and the devil publicly admitted his deception of the people.
God performed many miracles through him, and many believed and received the sacrament of baptism in the river.
The local prince was saddened because the tree was a significant source of income, especially when he found that the saint had ordered the tree to be cut for use in building a church. When the prince was ill, the saint healed him in the name of the Holy Trinity, and he, his wife Acrosina, and their three children, Samuel, Benjamin, and Atia al-Salib, were baptized, along with many others.
His ascetic life was intertwined with preaching. He was a true monk, spending most of the Forty-Day Fast in the wilderness in severe austerity, returning to meet his brethren and children with great love, caring for them and guiding them.
The people were deeply attached to him, but as a command from the Lord, he had to travel from town to town across Ethiopia, preaching the Gospel and opposing idolatry and sorcery. He faced many hardships and resistance, but the Lord made his path successful, granting him miracles and healing.
Besides preaching, he was a spiritual father to many monks, practicing monastic life in Amjra with devotion, vigil, service to others, and care for the poor. Monks regarded him as an angel rather than a man. God performed miracles through him, turning the monastery into a center for preaching.
It is said that the abbot’s nephew, a priest, died, and everyone wept. Saint Teklehaimanot prayed over the body, and the Lord resurrected him. The priest wept in tears, prostrating at the saint’s feet, asking for forgiveness, admitting he had envied the saint for his gifts, thinking he would take his uncle’s position and lead the monastery. The priest thanked and praised the saint for his holy life and love, even for his envious peers.
The saint sensed that worldly glory would pursue this priest after his resurrection, so he cried to God to deliver him from that place. Archangel Michael guided him to go to the Monastery of Saint Stephen under the leadership of Isus Mor (Jesus the Conqueror). He left Amjra and reached the river, where the angel carried him over the waters to the monastery.
He dedicated his time to prayers and prostrations with extraordinary patience, enabling him to see the Heavenly Jerusalem and the thrones of glory prepared for the faithful. There, he heard a voice calling his name, telling him he would be counted among the twenty-four priests and given a golden censer to incense with them, sharing in their hymns.
He moved from this monastery to the Monastery of Saint Irgawi on Mount Damo (Debra Damo), where Saint John was abbot and clothed him in the eskim `cxhma. He stayed there for 12 years practicing ascetic life. When the abbot and brothers bid him farewell, they tied him with a rope to lower him from the monastery (on the peak) to the foot of the mountain. Suddenly, the rope broke, and everyone thought he would fall dead, but miraculous wings emerged from his body, allowing him to fly and descend safely. This is why the saint is often depicted as a seraph with six wings.
The saint traveled between monasteries, and God’s power accompanied him and worked in him.
It is also said that he went to Jerusalem and met Pope Kha’il of Alexandria there. He blessed the Holy Sepulcher and the sacred sites, then went to the Scete desert in Egypt, where the angel of the Lord appeared and ordered him to return to Ethiopia.
He lived there, mentoring many in monastic life until, upon completing his struggle, Christ appeared and informed him of his approaching departure. He contracted the plague and passed away in the Lord.