Understanding ገድላት (Hagiographies) and ተአምራት (Miracles Books) in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

In the rich tradition of Ethiopian Orthodox spirituality, ገድላት (Hagiographies) and ተአምራት (Miracles Books) serve as vital sources of faith and tradition. These texts not only document the remarkable lives and struggles of saints and martyrs but also illuminate the divine interactions that shaped their journeys. By describing the trials faced by these holy figures in their commitment to God, these writings offer profound insights into the essence of Christian perseverance and devotion. This essay examines how these texts strengthen the faith of believers and contribute to the preservation of Ethiopian Orthodoxy's rich heritage (ቅርስ).

Eminent Ethiopian scholar Desta Teklewold defines Gädl (ገድል) in his Amharic dictionary as “the labor, struggle, and hardship one endures until victory and the crown are achieved.” Similarly, Aleka Kidanewold Kifle explains Gädl (ገድል) as “a book that tells the deeds of saints and martyrs during their lifetimes” (Desta Teklewold, p. 2036; Aleka Kidanewold Kifle, p. 301).

Hagiographies and books of miracles narrate the struggles of saints, martyrs, and scholars against cruel kings, the devil, and the willful flesh, all to uphold God's commandments and the church’s order. These deeds serve as mirrors of their lives, showing how their faith was lived out. In essence, hagiographies and books of miracles capture the history, miracles, promises, and messages of the saints. They also demonstrate how the teachings of the Holy Bible were expressed in the struggles of the saints (Matthew 10:37, Luke 14:27, 2 Cor. 11:26-28).

These books record the lives of saints who glorified God, their trials for their Christian faith, and the wisdom they showed in overcoming them. They are sacred texts honoring the saints, encompassing their sufferings, miracles, and the promises made to them.

Hagiographies and miracle books have biblical roots and have served since Old Testament times. 1 Kings 11፥41 says, “የቀረውም የሰሎሞን ነገር... በሰሎሞን ታሪክ መጽሐፍ ተጽፎአል።” Likewise, 2 Kings 8፥23 states, “በይሁዳ ነገሥታት ታሪክ መጽሐፍ የተጻፈ አይደለምን?” These texts were used in the Old Testament, and the Bible itself references them.

After our Lord Jesus Christ established the New Testament, Saint Luke wrote the first hagiography, known as the Acts of the Apostles (የሐዋርያት ሥራ). This book records the struggles of the Lord's disciples and is part of the 81 books of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Bible.

Saint Paul, known as the lamp of the Church, recalls the names of past saints, highlighting their struggles and teachings. In Hebrew. 11 ፥ 32-38, he states:

“እንግዲህ ምን እላለሁ? ስለ ጌዴዎንና ስለ ባርቅ ስለ ሶምሶንም ስለ ዮፍታሔም ስለ ዳዊትና ስለ ሳሙኤልም ስለ ነቢያትም እንዳልተርክ ጊዜ ያጥርብኛልና። እነርሱ በእምነት መንግሥታትን ድል ነሡ፥ ጽድቅን አደረጉ፥ የተሰጠውን የተስፋ ቃል አገኙ፥የአንበሶችን አፍ ዘጉ፥ የእሳትን ኃይል አጠፉ፥ ከሰይፍ ስለት አመለጡ፥ ከድካማቸው በረቱ፥ በጦርነት ኃይለኞች ሆኑ፥ የባዕድ ጭፍሮችን አባረሩ።ሴቶች ሙታናቸውን በትንሣኤ ተቀበሉ፤ ሌሎችም መዳንን ሳይቀበሉ የሚበልጠውን ትንሣኤ እንዲያገኙ እስከ ሞት ድረስ ተደበደቡ፤ሌሎችም መዘበቻ በመሆንና በመገረፍ ከዚህም በላይ በእስራትና በወኅኒ ተፈተኑ፤በድንጋይ ተወግረው ሞቱ፥ ተፈተኑ፥ በመጋዝ ተሰነጠቁ፥ በሰይፍ ተገድለው ሞቱ፥ ሁሉን እያጡ መከራን እየተቀበሉ እየተጨነቁ የበግና የፍየል ሌጦ ለብሰው ዞሩ፤ዓለም አልተገባቸውምና በምድረ በዳና በተራራ፥ በዋሻና በምድር ጕድጓድ ተቅበዘበዙ።” Hagiographies (ገድላት) and Miracles books (ተአምራት) similarly document the histories and miracles of saints, echoing the legacy that Saint Paul refers to in this verse.

After reflecting on the hagiographies of others, St. Paul emphasizes the importance of learning from the saints' lives: “እንግዲህ እነዚህን የሚያህሉ ምስክሮች እንደ ደመና በዙሪያችን ካሉልን፥ እኛ ደግሞ ሸክምን ሁሉ ቶሎም የሚከበንን ኃጢአት አስወግደን፥ የእምነታችንንም ራስና ፈጻሚውን ኢየሱስን ተመልክተን፥ በፊታችን ያለውን ሩጫ በትዕግሥት እንሩጥ፡፡” (Hebrews 12:1). This calls us to strengthen our faith and strive to follow their virtuous lives.

The Apostle Paul encourages us to reflect on the saints and strive to be like them, providing a foundation for Christians to be inspired by their battles. “የእግዚአብሔርን ቃል የተናገሩአችሁን ዋኖቻችሁን አስቡ፥ የኑሮአቸውንም ፍሬ እየተመለከታችሁ በእምነታቸው ምሰሉአቸው።” (Heb. 13:7). Following the lives of the saints is vital because imitating them means imitating Christ Himself: “እኔ ክርስቶስን እንደምመስል እኔን ምሰሉ።” (1 Cor. 11:1). Paul further urges, “እኔን የምትመስሉ ሁኑ ብዬ እለምናችኋለሁ” (1 Cor. 4:16). To reflect on saints and follow their example, we need two things: teachers who tell their battles and books that preserve their struggles.

The Battle of the Saints illustrates perseverance in suffering, endurance in hardship, steadfast faith in Jesus Christ, and the rejection of heretics. A Christian who regularly reads and reflects on the struggles of the saints gains the strength to confront difficulties and remain patient in temptation (ፈተና).

The following verses emphasize the importance of recording and preserving hagiographies—the books of the saints' struggles.

“እንደ እብድ ሰው እላለሁ፤ እኔ እበልጣለሁ፤ በድካም አብዝቼ፥ በመገረፍ አብዝቼ፥ በመታሰር አትርፌ፥ በመሞት ብዙ ጊዜ ሆንሁ።አይሁድ አንድ ሲጎድል አርባ ግርፋት አምስት ጊዜ ገረፉኝ። ሦስት ጊዜ በበትር ተመታሁ፤ አንድ ጊዜ በድንጋይ ተወገርሁ፤ መርከቤ ሦስት ጊዜ ተሰበረ፤ ሌሊትና ቀን በባሕር ውስጥ ኖርሁ።ብዙ ጊዜ በመንገድ ሄድሁ፤ በወንዝ ፍርሃት፥ በወንበዴዎች ፍርሃት፥ በወገኔ በኩል ፍርሃት፥ በአሕዛብ በኩል ፍርሃት፥ በከተማ ፍርሃት፥ በምድረ በዳ ፍርሃት፥ በባሕር ፍርሃት፥ በውሸተኞች ወንድሞች በኩል ፍርሃት ነበረብኝ፤በድካምና በጥረት ብዙ ጊዜም እንቅልፍ በማጣት፥ በራብና በጥም ብዙ ጊዜም በመጦም፥ በብርድና በራቁትነት ነበርሁ።”(2 Cor. 11:23-27)

“ነገር ግን እንደምታውቁት በፊልጵስዩስ አስቀድመን መከራ ተቀብለን ተንገላትተንም፥ በብዙ ገድል የእግዚአብሔርን ወንጌል ለእናንተ እንናገር ዘንድ በአምላካችን ደፈርን።” ( 1 Thessalonians 2:2)

“መልካሙን የእምነት ገድል ተጋደል፥ የተጠራህለትንም በብዙም ምስክሮች ፊት በመልካም መታመን የታመንህለትን የዘላለምን ሕይወት ያዝ።” (1 Tim 6:12)

“መልካሙን ገድል ተጋድዬአለሁ፥ ሩጫውን ጨርሼአለሁ፥ ሃይማኖትን ጠብቄአለሁ።” (2 Tim 4 ፡ 7)

Hagiographies offer several key advantages and purposes:

Revealing Christ

Hagiographies primarily reveal the glory of Christ, not merely that of the saints. St. Paul states this truth in 2 Thessalonians 1:10: “በዚያም ቀን በቅዱሳኑ ሊከብር፥ ምስክርነታችንንም አምናችኋልና…” St. Ephrem echoes this in the Thursday Hymn of Praise of Mary: “በእውነት ሰማዕታት የዚህችን ዓለም ጣዕም ናቁ፤ ስለንጉሥ ክርስቶስም ደማቸውን አፈሰሱ፤ ስለ መንግሥተ ሰማያትም መሪር ሞትን ታገሡ::” This highlights that all they endured was rooted in their faith in Christ.

Memorial for the Saints and Resource for Holy Living

Hagiographies are known as the light of the gospel. While the Holy Gospel instructs, "Stand firm! Be patient! Suffer! You will be crowned!” hagiographies illustrate this by showing how the saints stood firm, were patient, suffered, and received their crowns. They reveal the fulfillment of the gospel and God’s commandments. In relation to this, St. Paul wrote to his spiritual son Timothy, stating, “ስለዚህም ምክንያት ይህን መከራ ደግሞ ተቀብዬአለሁ፥ ነገር ግን አላፍርበትም፤ ያመንሁትን አውቃለሁና፥…..በክርስቶስ ኢየሱስ ባለ እምነትና ፍቅር አድርገህ፥ ከእኔ የሰማኸውን ጤናማ ቃል ምሳሌ ያዝ፤መልካሙን አደራ በእኛ በሚኖረው በመንፈስ ቅዱስ ጠብቅ።” (2 Timothy 1:12-14). He encouraged him further, saying, “እንደ ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ በጎ ወታደር ሆነህ፥ አብረኸኝ መከራ ተቀበል። ደግሞም በጨዋታ የሚታገል ማንም ቢሆን፥ እንደሚገባ አድርጎ ባይታገል፥ የድሉን አክሊል አያገኝም።” (2 Timothy 2:3, 5).

St. Paul praised Timothy for following his teachings, stating, “አንተ ግን ትምህርቴንና አካሄዴን አሳቤንም እምነቴንም ትዕግሥቴንም ፍቅሬንም መጽናቴንም ስደቴንም መከራዬንም ተከተልህ” (2 Timothy 3:10). While being well-equipped in scriptural teachings is commendable, education alone does not make a true follower of Christ. St. Paul emphasized the importance of imitating the saints in action, echoing, “….አካሄዴን አሳቤንም እምነቴንም ትዕግሥቴንም ፍቅሬንም መጽናቴንም ስደቴንም መከራዬንም ተከተልህ፡፡” Thus, the struggles of the saints serve as valuable lessons for other believers.

Hagiographies in This Day

The Church, rooted in the Holy Bible, has accepted, preserved, and continued to write, translate, and teach about the struggles of early Christians and the saints. However, the Church currently faces numerous challenges regarding hagiographies and the miracle books of the saints. Some people are misled by those who oppose the Church's traditions, including hagiographies and books of miracles. These individuals distort the original texts by erasing or altering their content, inserting improper language, misinterpreting their meanings, and teaching falsehoods that are not found in these books. Additionally, they engage in the theft and destruction of these valuable texts.

Christians should not panic when hearing negative remarks from those who oppose the struggles of the saints, as these struggles are firmly rooted in biblical evidence and tradition. To navigate the deceptions spread by some, Christians need to seek guidance from the Church Fathers and teachers for clarification on unclear passages in these texts and to deepen their understanding through diligent study.

The Church acknowledges the significant challenges faced by hagiographies and the Book of Miracles. However, it firmly rejects any texts contradicting the gospel or Holy Bible, recognizing that such misstatements are introduced by those seeking to undermine the Church's traditions and canons. This truth is illustrated in the following passage:

“ከወንጌል ቃል የተለየ አስተያየት ሥርዋጽ (ጣልቃ ገብ) ያለዉንና ያልተስማማዉን ንባብና ልብወለድ ኃይለ ቃል አስፍረዉ የተገኙ መጽሐፍት ቢኖሩም እንኳ በበር በኩል ያልገቡ አንዳንድ ጉሕልያዎች (ሽሙጠኞች፣ ሴረኞች) የሰነቀሩዋቸዉ ናቸዉ ብለን እንሰርዛቸዋለን እንጂ አሜን ብለን አንቀበላቸውም።” (መርሐ ጽድቅ ባህለ ሃይማኖት፣ በኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ከርስቲያን፡ ትንሳኤ ዘጉባኤ ማተሚያ ድርጅት፣ ገጽ 156)

Hagiographies and miracle books do not serve for doctrinal discussions (የኢትዮጵያ ቤተክርስቲያን ታሪክ ፣ አባ ጎርጎርዮስ፣ ገጽ 82). Their primary purpose is to inspire imitation of Christ through the lives of the saints. Doctrines represent the unchangeable teachings of the Church, including the Five Pillars of Mysteries, the Holy Trinity, Christology, Mariology, Soteriology, the Incarnation, Angelology, Saintology, Eschatology (last things), and Anthropology (the doctrine of creation), etc.

Given the challenges outlined, hagiographies and miracle books may undergo revisions after Church review and approval. For doctrinal discussions, the Holy Bible, teachings of the Church Fathers, and Holy Tradition are referenced.

In conclusion, the enduring legacy of ገድላት and ተአምራት highlights their crucial role in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. They inspire believers to imitate the commitment of saints, encouraging a deeper understanding of faith through the lens of their struggles and victories. In embracing these stories, the faithful not only honor the past but also find the strength to navigate their spiritual paths today, affirming that the battles of the saints continue to echo within their own lives.