† MONASTIC LIFE †
DEBRE BERHAN SELASSIE
ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX TEWAHEDO MONASTERY
A Christian Monastic place of worship and living in the traditional ancient ways serving God
~ ~ ~ A place to share knowledge of our Faith and Practice of Worship ~ ~ ~
About Our Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) is a member of the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
The Oriental Orthodox communion comprises six groups: Syriac Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Eritrean Orthodox, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (India) and Armenian Apostolic churches. These six churches, while being in communion with each other, are hierarchically independent.
Tewahedo (Te-wa-hido) (Ge'ez ተዋሕዶ tawāhidō, modern pronunciation tewāhidō) is a Ge'ez word meaning "being made one" or "unified".
Tewahedo refers to the Oriental Orthodox belief in the one single unified Nature of Christ; i.e., a belief that a complete, natural union of the Divine and Human Natures into One is self-evident in order to accomplish the divine salvation of humankind, as opposed to the "two Natures of Christ" belief (unmixed, but unseparated Divine and Human Natures, called the Hypostatic Union) promoted by today's Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia article on the Henotikon; the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and many others, all refused to accept the "two natures" doctrine decreed by the Byzantine Emperor Marcian's Council of Chalcedon in 451, thus separating them from the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox — who themselves separated from one another later on in the East-West Schism (1054).
One of Debre Berhan Selassie Church’s endeavors is to build a lasting relationship with other Oriental Orthodox churches through various collaborative efforts.
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The name “Debre Berhan Selassie” means Mountain of the Light of the Trinity.
We share the name with a small, blessed, famous, ancient Holy Monastery in Gondar Ethiopia, which was protected from invaders by the Arc Angel Michael. It still stands today and is full of worshipers and visitors.
May the Light of the Trinity guide us all and may God's Will be done always, not our will.
The E.O.T.C has 32 dioceses throughout Ethiopia
The church also has dioceses in Jerusalem, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America,
the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia.
Membership of over 40 million ~ 30 thousand monasteries ~ 400 thousand clergymen
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is a founding member of the World Council of Churches.
In terms of total number of members, the Ethiopian Church is the largest of all Oriental Orthodox Churches, and is second among all Orthodox Churches among Eastern and Oriental Churches (exceeded in number only by the Russian Orthodox Church).
In Ethiopia (51%, the total Christian population being 62%), especially in two regions in Ethiopia: Amhara (82%) and Tigray (96%), as well as the chartered city of Addis Ababa (82%), and is also important in Oromia Region (41%).
It is also one of two dominant religions in Eritrea (50%).
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Debre Berhan Selassie Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Monastery of Miami, South Florida was founded in Memory of His Imperial Majesty, Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, the Conquering Lion of Judah, Defender of the Orthodox Faith. July 23, 1892 - August 27, 1975; for he built and restored many churches and monasteries in Ethiopia and he extended his hand to Africans born in the West. He sent to us a great teacher when he sent . . .
His Eminence Abune Yesehaq Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Archdiocese
of the Western Hemisphere. July 23, 1933 - December 29, 2005.
In Loving and Deep Respectful Memory of Our Beloved earthly Father, who taught us by his humble
example how to serve the true and living God. He was a Saintly Monk, a true and faithful shepherd
of the Lord. He baptized thousands and established many churches in the USA, Caribbean and Africa.
It was his sincere wish to establish Monasteries in the West.
We will strive to humbly continue his work and vision. May God Grant them eternal life in His Grace.
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The EOT Church has a system of administration by which it’s members are guided.
† There are two essential areas in the administrative structure :
1. Religious affairs and
2. Secular affairs.
The former are conducted by the Patriarch and the Holy Synod, while the latter are managed by an appointed
general administrator whose duty it is to run the day to day secular affairs of the church and to manage the
church’s finances and property.
† Any decision made by the general administration is subject to approval by the patriarch.
† The next constitutional offices are Archbishop, Bishops and Episcopas.
An archbishop rules a diocese allotted to him. A Bishop assists the Archbishop or is head of certain territory.
In each province there is a liqu kahinal or head priest (administrator) who administers the spiritual and
secular matter, subject to the archbishop and bishop and the restrictions of the canon law of the church.
After the head priest come the other clergymen in charge of branch churches and after them comes the deacons.
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Mission Statement
† Establish a Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Monastery for "Maenaekosae" (Monks)
to live and pray where they can serve God by serving the community..
† Build and maintain a Monastic Church to educate and provide spiritual services to all
Ethiopian Orthodox Church community in the Diaspora.
† Preserve and uphold the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church's faith, doctrine,
monastic tradition, and practice of worship
† Administer and conduct our church according to the Holy Scriptures and Canonical Laws.
† Create and maintain a very welcoming bi-lingual atmosphere. To ease language barriers that may hinder some
people. We pray everyone to feel at ease and free to ask questions and connect with the Lord God.
† Educate, guide and welcome new adult members through the Adult Spritual class; as well as the next generation on
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo faith, through the Sunday school, and youth camp to ensure that the youth preserve
their faith including the history, language, and culture of Ethiopia and the Caribbean. We believe it is our duty to
educate the youth so that they will become the next generation of clergy and leaders of the church.
† Assist members of our community through humanitarian efforts; and help to preserve historical churches in the
Caribbean and Ethiopia, as well as Monasteries in Ethiopia.
† Build Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Monasteries in the USA and in the Caribbean, where the tradition of
Monastic living and practice of serving God by serving the community may be carried out.
† Contribute and make initiatives to create alliances with other Ethiopian Orthodox Monasteries and other communities
which belong to the Oriental Orthodox churches..
† We Pray for one continued unitied Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church forever and forever. So be it.
~ A house divided against itself cannot stand ~
May the Grace of God be with you. Please pray for us.
