• October 27th - St. Frumentius

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Fri Oct 26 09:26:46 2018
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    October 27th - St. Frumentius
    (4th Century)

    We in America have slight acquaintance with Ethiopia, that impoverished hig= hland on Africa's eastern spur, today suffering the double tyranny =
    of Marxism and famine. But the Ethiopians, racially of both black and Semit=
    ic origins, have an ancient Christianity. They learned it in the fourth cen= tury from St. Frumentius.

    Frumentius, a citizen of Tyre in Lebanon, =E2=80=9Cdiscovered=E2=80=9D Ethi= opia by a curious accident. Around 340 A.D., Marobius of Tyre, a tutor, too=
    k his Tyrian pupils Frumentius and Aedisius on a study trip through Arabia.=
    On the return sea-trip their ship stopped at an Ethiopian port. There the = ship's crew got into a scuffle with some Ethiopians, who slew the c=
    rew and all the passengers. All, that is, except Frumentius and Aedisius, w=
    ho happened to be studying under a tree some distance from the bloodied doc=
    k. Not that they escaped eventual detection, but when arrested they were no=
    t killed but presented as slaves to the king, who lived at Aksum.

    This ruler was impressed by the youths. Aedisius, the younger, he appointed=
    royal cup-bearer; Frumentius, royal secretary. Before the king died, he re= warded both with their freedom. His widowed queen, regent during the minori=
    ty of the crown prince, begged both of them to stay on and help her. Frumen= tius, now armed with new influence, was able to induce some Christian merch= ants to settle in Ethiopia.

    When the new king was installed, he asked the Tyrians to continue with him.=
    Aedisius declined, left for home, and was eventually ordained a priest. Fr= umentius, however, hoping to bring about the Christianization of his adopte=
    d country, went to Alexandria and asked St. Athanasius, the great Coptic pa= triarch, to send missionaries to the Ethiopians. Athanasius agreed, ordaine=
    d Frumentius himself to priesthood and episcopacy, and named him head of=E2= =80=99 the mission.

    Frumentius then went to Aksum. By preaching and, we are told, by miracles, =
    he succeeded in making many converts. Tradition says that the royal brother=
    s, Abreha and Asbeha, were among them. Meanwhile, the Roman Emperor Constan= tius, who favored the Arian heresy (that Christ is not truly divine), tried=
    to oust Frumentius because of his association with Athanasius, the chief o= pponent of Arianism. The imperial plot failed.

    Ethiopia's church has always been closely connected with the Coptic=
    Church of Egypt. Its liturgy follows Coptic practice, and until 1959 it wa=
    s always the Coptic patriarch who named the patriarch-catholicos (head bish= op) of the Ethiopian Christians; and he always named Copt to that post. (Th=
    e patriarch of the Ethiopians is still called =E2=80=9CAbuna=E2=80=9D =E2= =80=9CFather=E2=80=9D a title originally bestowed on Frumentius.)

    When the Coptic Church refused to accept the decrees of the ecumenical coun= cil of Chalcedon (451), the Ethiopians followed suit. Since the council had=
    condemned monophysism (the erroneous doctrine that Christ has only one nat= ure, the divine, and not two, the divine and the human), Copts and Ethiopia=
    ns were considered to be monophysites. Fortunately, as a result of recent e= cumenical discussions, it has become clear that the Copts and Ethiopians ha=
    ve always accepted the correct teaching.

    From the 17th century on there has been a small body of Ethiopian Rite Chri= stians united with the popes. Today, they number 100,000. Their senior Cath= olic prelate is Cardinal Paulos Tzadua, archbishop of Addis Ababa. Since 19=
    19 the Holy See has conducted a small Catholic Ethiopian seminary within th=
    e walls of Vatican City. It is to be hoped, however, that as a result of on= going ecumenical dialogue the whole Ethiopian and Coptic churches may retur=
    n to union with the See of Peter, with which they were once devotedly unite=
    d. I am sure that their revered =E2=80=9Cabuna=E2=80=9D, St. Frumentius, is=
    praying for that happy result.


    Saint Quote:
    Receive Lord, all my liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will=
    .. You have given me all that I have, all that I am, and I surrender all to = your divine will, that you dispose of me. Give me only your love and your g= race. With this I am rich enough, and I have no more to ask.
    --St. Ignatius Loyola

    Bible Quote:
    19 Now when it was late that same day, the first of the week, and the doors=
    were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jew=
    s, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them: Peace be to you. 20=
    And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disc= iples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord. (John 20:19-20)


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    Prayer to Christ the King

    O CHRIST, JESUS, I acknowledge Thee as Universal King.
    For Thee all creatures have been made. Do Thou exercise
    over me all the rights that Thou hast.

    Renew my Baptismal Vows, I renounce Satan,
    with all his works and pomps, and I promise to live as a
    good Catholic: Especially, do I pledge myself, by all
    the means in my power, to bring about the triumph of the
    rights of God and of Thy Church.

    Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee all my poor actions to obtain
    that all hearts may recognize Thy Sacred Royalty, and that thus the
    reign of Thy Peace may be established throughout the entire world.
    Amen.

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