By Dr Amsalu Aefera Assistant Prof – SARĀBĀMON OF NIKOU IN ETHIOPIAN LITERATURE.
ስለ ቅዱስ ሰራባሞን ስንቶቻችን እናውቅ ይሆን? በዘመነ ሰማዕታት የተነሳ፣ አርዮስንና መሊጦስን በትምህርቱ የተቃወመና የረታ፣ ብዙ ገቢረ ተአምራትን የሠራ፣ የኒቅዩ (በግብጽ ውስጥ የምትገኝ ሀገረ ስብከት) ሊቀ ጳጳስና ሰማዕት ነው። እንመልከት። በረከቱ በሁላችንም ላይ ይደርብን።
St. Sarābāmon, Bishop of Nikou, lies among
those important oriental saints whose reputation reached the Ethiopian Orthodox
Church. According to his vita (see further below), he was a descendant of the
proto-martyr Stephen and raised as a Jew in Jerusalem under the birth name of
Simon. After journeying to Alexandria, he was
baptized by Archbishop Theonas (282-300), the 16th Pope of Alexandria, and then set about studying
Scripture, including the Epistle of Ignatius and Balkiros. He then became
a monk in El-Zogag[1] monastery. When the
Alexandrian Patriarchate passed to Peter, the Seal of the Martyrs (300-311),
Simon was made a patriarchal assistant, and later was appointed bishop of
Nikou, with the ordained name of Sarābāmon, upon the death of John, the
incumbent of that office. The Ge‘ez version of the vita states:
ወእምዝ፡ ሤሞ፡ ርእሰ፡ ኤጲስ፡ ቆጶስ፡ ለቅዱስ፡ ሰራባሞን፡ ኤጲስ፡ ቆጶሰ። … ወተነበየ፡ ለከዊነ፡ ኤጲስ፡ ቆጶስ፡ ወነቢይ፡ ኅቡረ። ወእምድኅረ፡ ሤሞ፡ አንበሮ፡ ሰቡዐ፡ መዋዕለ፡ ኀቤሁ፡ በእንተ፡ ፍቅሩ። ወእምድኅረ፡ ሰቡዕ፡ ፈነዎ፡ ሀገረ፡ ሢመቱ፡ ምስለ፡ አብያጺሁ፡ ኤጲስ፡ ቆጶሳት፡… “And the Archbishop ordained St. Särabamon a
bishop….. He foretold [of Sarābāmon’s] combined qualities as both a bishop and
a prophet. After his ordination, [Peter] caused [Sarābāmon] to dwell with him
for seven days because of his love [for the latter]. After seven days, he sent
him towards his diocese with his fellow bishops.” (fol.131rv).
According to the vita, his welcoming into the
city was so colorful and great that it compared to that of the entrance of
Jesus into Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday. Among many other great deeds, Sarābāmon refuted the
heresy of Sebalius, who taught the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one
person, and also attacked the theological and Christological positions of Arius
and Melitius. After being repeatedly jailed and tortured by Diocletian,
he was ultimately beheaded on Ḫedar 28 (December 7): ወከመዝ፡ ፈጸመ፡ ስምዖ፡ ወገድሎ፡ ቅዱስ፡ ሰራባሞን፡ አመ፡ ፳ወ፰፡ ለኅዳር። “And saint Sarābāmon completed his
martyrdom and combat in such a way on the 28th of Ḫedar.”
Although not well-known in Ethiopian
Christianity today, traditions about Sarābāmon are nonetheless preserved in
several Ge‘ez texts. The longest—and most important of these—is the Gadla
Sarābāmon (“Life of Sarābāmon”), a complete hagiography of the saint translated
from Arabic and preserved in a single late fifteenth century manuscript. It
was microfilmed in the late 1970s while in the possession of the famous
monastery of Dabra Libānos in Shoa as EMML 6533; internal evidence indicates
that it was commissioned by Marḥā Krestos (1408-1497),[2] ninth eččagē of the monastery. The
entire manuscript spans 168 folios, with the first 118 of those consisting of a
copy of the rare longer version of the Life of Paul[3] and the remainder being
devoted to Gadla Sarābāmon. The latter is comprised of a homily,
attributed to Alexander, archbishop of Alexandria
(†326), on the biography and combat of the saint, which is followed by his
miracles and martyrdom. An edition and English translation of the entire
text is in preparation. In addition to the Ge‘ez, an Arabic version of
this hagiography is also known,[4] as is an incomplete Coptic witness
to the martyrdom.[5]
Five much shorter Ethiopic texts are also
devoted to this saint: the Synaxarium entry for Ḫǝdar 28 (December 7), two malke’at
(Chaîne nos. 158 and 325), and two arke hymns (Chaîne no. 48 and that found in
Wein[6] Athiop. 19). The widespread
creation of the latter two forms of literature in Ethiopia suggests that the
compositions of those types dedicated to Sarābāmon were likely produced
locally. Perhaps this indicates the greater veneration of this saint in one or
more regions of mid-second millennium Ethiopia. Conversely, the
Synaxarium entry, which preserves the main Ethiopian hagiographic memory of
Sarābāmon, is derived from the Coptic, which similarly celebrates this saint’s
life on Hatour 28.
[1] The monastery of Abba Severus,
outside Alexandria.
The Vita (fol. 129va) describes the monastery as እልሐብጡን፡.
[2] His gadl was edited by S. Kur,
1972, CSCO, SAe 62-63.
[3] Published in E. A. Wallis Budge, The
Contendings of the Apostles: being the Histories of the Lives and martyrdoms
and Deaths of the Twelve Apostles and Evangelists (2 vols.; London: Henry
Frowde, 1898-1901), I:436-599 and II:527-707.
[4] Cf. G. Kraf, Catalogue de manuscrits
Arabes Chrétiens conserves au Caire (Studi e Testi 63), 12.
[5] Published in H. Hyvernat, Les Actes des
martyrs de l’Égypte, pp. 304-31.
[6] Catalogued by N. Rhodokanakis, Die
Äthiopischen Handscriften der K. K. Hofbibliothek zu Wein, 59.
Source፦ http://alinsuciu.com
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