Our Lady of Mitmaq

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is Miaphysite rather than Catholic, but they honour Our Lady just as do Catholics, East and West.

From the FB page of an Ethiopian friend, Solomon Kibriye.

Today, Ginbot 21 (May 29), the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church celebrates the Annual Feast of the Virgin Mary and refers to it as ደብረ ምጥማቅ “Debre Mitmaq”. Mitmaq refers to a place in Egypt which was one of the locations visited by the Holy Family during their exile following the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod. This place was the site of a large Coptic Monastery Church dedicated to the Holy Virgin and was a major place of pilgrimage from ancient times into the medieval era. The church became famous due to multiple appearances by the Virgin Mary on the domes of the church.

The Ethiopian Synaxarium መጽሕፈ ስንክሳር recounts these apparitions saying she was clothed in light, accompanied sometimes by Christ, hosts of angels, Saint George, Saint Merkorios, other Martyrs and Saints, and the Holy Innocents massacred by Herod. The angels and Saints were seen to bow low before her and pay homage to her the Mother of God. She was seen wearing a glittering royal crown, and she would bless the thousands of people who came to see this miraculous vision from all over Egypt and beyond. There were not just Christian pilgrims who came to see this miracle, but thousands of Muslims and Pagans as well, who all bowed down and venerated the Holy Virgin.

In 1441, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq ordered the destruction of the church at Mitmaq and several other important Coptic shrines. These places were said to have been targeted because of the role miracles at these shrines played in the conversion of Muslims and others to the Christian faith.

Emperor Zara Yaqob of Ethiopia heard in 1441 of the destruction of the Egyptian monasteries by Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq, and was deeply grieved. He proclaimed that the destruction of Mitmaq would be treated as the death of an Emperors mother, and called for a period of mourning. For 40 days the Coptic Archbishop of Ethiopia sat as chief mourner and throngs of people came to pay respects and join th mourning. Mourning dirges were sung, and people wept. The Emperor then sent a letter of strong protest to the Sultan. He reminded Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq that he Zera Yacob had Muslim subjects whom he treated fairly, and warned that he had the power to divert the Nile, but refrained from doing harm to his Muslim subjects or diverting the River because of the human suffering it would cause. The Sultan responded with lavish gifts to appease Zara Yaqob's anger, but refused to rebuild the Coptic churches he had destroyed.

Zera Yacob ordered that the monastery be rebuilt as Debre Mitmaq in Tegulet, Shewa, to replace the one that had been razed to the ground in Egypt. This new monastery was an important one, and was the site of the church council that reconciled the House of Ewostatewos (Eustasius) with the mainline Orthodox Church. The Ewostateans had long argued for the celebration of the Saturday Sabbath alongside the Sunday Sabbath. The council at Debre Mitmaq agreed with this formula and the Emperor convinced the Egyptian Coptic church to allow this local Ethiopian practice even though the Copts of Egypt had stopped this practice centuries before. Sadly this great monastery was later also destroyed by Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, better known in Ethiopia as “Mohammed Gragn” (Mohammed the Left Handed). After the Gragn wars, there are several newer Ethiopian churches and monasteries dedicated to the Virgin Mary called “Debre Mitmaq” both inside and outside the country.

I attach this traditional image of the apparition of the Holy Virgin Mary at Mitmaq, receiving the homage of Angels, Martyrs, Saints and pilgrims. May you all have a blessed Feast of Debre Mitmaq.