Mazgaba Maṣāḥəft

Title

• Dabra Zamaddo's people evade the forces of Imam Ahmad Gran

Description

Twenty-one years after Abbuna Yohannes received Mary’s message about the coming destruction at the hands of the Arami, the prophecy was at hand. The Arami came and all Christians fled, including those at Dabra Zamaddo. When the Arami reached to the monastery, they wanted to drink from a stream of water that flowed from a cliff to the church. But as the approached the water, Mary made the water flee in the direction of the beta lehem ("house of bread;" i.e., the building where the Eucharist is prepared). The Arami then approached from the opposite direction, but Mary reversed the stream’s flow once again. Finally, the Arami attempted to surround the water, and Mary sent the water in every direction, even suspending some in midair. Unable to drink, the Arami attempted to enter the shrine, but Mary sent insects to bit and sting them. They fled Dabra Zamaddo and did not return. No one entered the shrine again until the years of Arami reign had passed. At that time Mary returned the shrine’s treasures from the places in other countries where they had been taken for safekeeping. The treasures included the Se'ela Adheno (i.e., a sacred icon) as well as three tabots: one of Jesus, one of the Holy Virgin, and one of Abbuna Bartalomewos.