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✍🏾The faithfuls carrying the Ark of the Law (Tabot) out of the church with loud voices, ululation, and joyful proclamation, the faithful escort it to the Jordan of Baptism, where they remain overnight in vigil, prayer, and praise.
✍🏾Because more than one Tabot descends to the Jordan, this fulfills the word of God spoken to the prophet Moses:
“The Ark shall be a sign that I am with you.” (Exodus 25)
Just as the priests of the Old Covenant crossed the Jordan River carrying the Ark of the Law, so too the priests of the New Covenant, carrying the unchanging Ark, unite the Old Testament with the New Testament.
👉🏾Remembering Jesus Christ as the foundation of the New Testament, the priests of the Church also journey to the Jordan, following His path.
✍🏾According to the great scholar Haregewein Ageze, the learned clergy spend the night teaching and proclaiming the Word of God appropriate to the feast. Likewise, ketera commemorates Tir 10 as the day on which our Lord Jesus Christ went from Galilee to the Jordan River to be baptized by Saint John the Baptist.
✍🏾Liturgical Order of the Eve of Baptism
✍🏾On the eve of the feast, Vespers begin at four o’clock in the morning in all local churches. The service continues with prayers proper to the feast, and the Holy Liturgy is celebrated. The priests who carry the Tabot abstain from Food, observe spiritual discipline, and offer prayers fitting to the sacred occasion.
✍🏾The Procession of the Ark
On the Ketera day, after the tent has been prepared, the water gathered, and everything arranged properly, the time comes for the movement of the Ark of the Covenant from the Church .
✍🏾The Tabots are:
👉🏾Covered with gold and silver cloths
👉🏾Adorned with beautifully embroidered priestly vestments
Priests and deacons, shining in their sacred garments, carry crosses (Metsor Meskel )and censers, and as they depart from the church toward the Abhirt (sanctuary or baptismal site), church bells ring everywhere, announcing the holy procession.
✍🏾Participation of the Faithful
The faithful, young and old, walk along the paths through which the Ark passes, wearing their festive garments, rejoicing and celebrating the feast.
👉🏾When the Ark is lifted from its throne, the chant “Yom Fisiha Kone” is sung. As the Ark is raised, the hymn proclaiming “werede weld emsemayat ...” is chanted, and the priests carry the Ark with reverence and praise.
✍🏾The priests, clothed in golden vestments and turbans, and the monks, carrying the cross and prayer beads, walk in front of the Ark of the Covenant. The deacons, wearing sacred vestments similar to those of the priests, follow, carrying crosses and prayer beads, and leading the orderly movement of the procession.
✍🏾In front of the deacons walk the church singers (debatra), dressed in robes and turbans, carrying silver and bronze cymbals. As they move, they chant hymns such as “The Son has descended”, proclaiming the mystery of the Incarnation and Baptism of Christ.
✍🏾The parish priests and abbots follow the Ark. Behind them, Sunday school students, dressed in colorful garments, participate joyfully, singing hymns such as “Werede Wold,” “EzgiʾO Merha,” “Hore Eyesus,” and other traditional Amharic praises. The mothers of the faithful raise voices of thanksgiving, chanting “Ney Ney Emye Maryam” and similar praises to the Holy Virgin. Thus, the procession advances slowly and reverently toward the baptismal pool.
✍🏾Upon reaching the baptismal site, the Ark is positioned near the prepared tent. After the hymn “Werede Wold” is properly led and sung, a prayer is offered. The Gospel reading and the hymn appointed for the day are then proclaimed. Finally, the Ark of the Covenant is solemnly led into the tent prepared for it, where it is placed with reverence and honor.
(Sergiw, 1981, p. 9)
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