👉🏾👉🏾👉🏾A Lesson on #Saint #John (ርዕሰ አውድ ዓመት)
Beloved children of the Orthodox faith, peace and grace be multiplied to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today we turn our hearts to the mystery of Saint John (R-E'se Awdamet), the day that crowns the beginning of the Ethiopian year and fills the faithful with joy and repentance.
1. The Meaning of the Name “John”
The name John means “Grace of God.” This is not a small matter, for the grace of God is the fountain of all life, the root of forgiveness, and the power by which sinners are made saints. Just as the Scriptures tell us of John the Baptist he was sent ahead of Christ, proclaiming repentance so the very name testifies that God’s grace is given to humanity through him.
2. The Universal Commemoration of John
The Church, guided by divine wisdom, commemorates Saint John in the times of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Before the year begins, he is remembered. Why? Because John is the one who stands at the threshold of two covenants: at the end of the Old Testament and at the dawn of the New. He is the lamp shining before the Sun of Righteousness.
3. John the Baptist in Scripture
Saint Mark, echoing Isaiah, says: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight” (Mark 1:1–4; Isaiah 40:3–4). This voice was none other than John the Baptist, son of Zechariah, who baptized in the wilderness, who bore witness to Christ, and who announced salvation by repentance and forgiveness. His ministry was not for himself, but for the Lord whom he proclaimed.
4. Why the Year Begins with John
When the fathers of the Church established the order of feasts, they decreed that the first day of Meskerem the first day of the Ethiopian year be dedicated to Saint John. Thus, every year begins with his memory, for he is the gateway of the Gospel, and his ministry marks the turning of ages. The (Dirsane Ze kidus Yohannes Afewerq) testifies that our fathers wisely set this rule for the Church.
5. The Biblical Foundation of the New Year
The Book of Numbers teaches that the beginning of the year in Meskerem is a blessed season. On this day, the hours of day and night are equal twelve and twelve. After this day, the daylight begins to decrease. The change of the seasons, marked by the stars, the sun, and the moon, is not by accident but by divine order. As the book of Enoch declares: “He created the sun and the moon as a sign of the time” (Enoch 21:49).
Even in the time of Noah, it was in the first month that the waters subsided, and the earth appeared again (Genesis 8:13). Thus, the rebirth of the world after the flood coincided with this sacred month. The fathers saw in this the historical and divine root of the New Year: a new creation, a new beginning, a fresh grace.
6. The Spiritual Call of the New Year
The feast of Saint John, or R-ʾEse Awdamet, is not only about days and numbers. It is a call to repentance and renewal. As Saint Paul teaches: “Behold, the old things have passed away, and all things are become new in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). On this day, we are urged to leave behind evil deeds, and to clothe ourselves with new good works that please God.
The fathers compare this to:
a student advancing to a higher level,
a farmer planting after the winter,
a worker persevering through rains to see the summer sun.
So too the faithful must embrace spiritual growth as the new year dawns.
Continues 👇🏾