From the Pastor

Ethiopian Orthodox Visits St. Joseph School

Fr Zeradawit Brhane (pastor of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church on Robert Street) visited our school last Tuesday to bless an of Mary and Jesus and also a . The icon and cross now hang in the hall way of the school. (special thanks to Shawn Krukowski of Trade Winds and Ryan Kracht for their work on framing the items)

Father Zeradawit has a few students in our school from his parish. The blessing of the icon and cross is a great sign of unity between our two parishes. I have had the honor of knowing Abba Zeradawit (as are called in the Ethiopian tradition) for about 24 years. In the past I have attended some of his liturgies and he has attended some of our Christmas Eve Masses.

Christians have been in Ethiopia since apostolic times. The Book of Acts 8:27 speaks of the Ethiopian who was returning home from worship in Jerusalem and was baptized by St. Philip. It is also said that the Apostle St. Matthew carried the Gospel to Ethiopia.

Abba Zeradawit blessed the icon and cross for the school. The icon is a copy of a fresco painted in a church at Lake Tana, Ethiopia. This image of Mary holding the child Jesus was originally painted in the 18th century. The Blessing Cross is one commonly used by Ethiopian priests to offer . The cross hanging in the school is modern and made of nickel, but created using ancient designs. He then made a few classroom visits. He also met with Chris Stokeman (Director of the Good Shepherd Catechesis) to learn about how his students were growing in their faith and looking for ways to ensure strong connections with their Ethiopian Orthodox faith.

What a beautiful gift we have in celebrating the universal church. We are planning a future Maronite Catholic (Lebanese Catholic) liturgy for the school with Abouna Emmanual (pastor of Holy Family Maronite Catholic Church) so our students can learn more about this beautiful rite. Watch future bulletins for more information on the Maronite Catholic liturgy to be offered here.

St. Joseph, pray for us!

Fr Michael Creagan