Saint Elesbaan d'Ethiopie
Roi d'Ethiopie (+ v.
535)
Caleb ou Cabeb.
Il était roi de la région
qui bordait la Mer Rouge. Chrétien, il dut s'opposer à un autre prince
éthiopien, Dunaan, qui persécutait les chrétiens dans son royaume, en
particulier un évêque arabe, saint Grégence, et plusieurs
autres du Yémen. Poussé par l'empereur byzantin Justin Ier, Elesbaan rétablit
le christianisme et mit un prince chrétien, Ariat, à la place de Dunaan. Vers
la fin de sa vie, Elesbaan abdiqua en faveur de son fils pour se consacrer
uniquement au service de Dieu.
Il est fêté le 24 octobre
par les Églises orthodoxes.
En Éthiopie, vers 535,
saint Cabeb ou Elesbaan, roi. Il combattit les ennemis du Christ, qui avaient
causé le martyre des chrétiens de Négranèse et, au temps de l’empereur Justin,
il envoya, dit-on, à Jérusalem son diadème royal et, menant la vie monastique,
comme il en avait fait le vœu, il s’endormit dans le Seigneur.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/8722/Saint-Elesbaan-d-Ethiopie.html
27 octobre. Saint
Elesbaan, roi d'Ethiopie. 523.
Papes : Saint
Homisdas (523 +) ; Jean Ier.
Empereur romain d'Orient : Justin Ier.
" Un Chrétien doit comprendre qu'il doit accomplir son titre par les
bonnes oeuvres plutôt que par le nom."
Saint Augustin.
Les Ethiopiens Axumites,
dont les possessions s'étendaient depuis la côte occidentale de la mer Rouge
jusque fort avant dans le Continent, étaient un peuple très florissant au 6ème
siècle. Le roi, qui les gouvernait sous l'empereur Justin l'Ancien, se nommait
Elesbaan. Ce prince, dans toutes ses actions et dans toutes ses entreprises, ne
se proposait d'autre but que le bonheur de ses sujets et la gloire de Dieu.
Quelques auteurs prétendent qu'il avait été converti de l'idolâtrie au
Christianisme. Quoi qu'il en soit, ses vertus montrèrent combien une nation est
fortunée lorsqu'elle a des maîtres qui ont su s'affranchir de l'esclavage des
passions. Si Elesbaan prit les armes, ce ne fut que pour défendre la cause de
la justice, et il fit servir la victoire au triomphe de l'une et de l'autre.
Les Homérites, parmi lesquels il y avait un grand nombre de Juifs, habitaient
sur la côte orientale de la mer Rouge, au Yemen. Ils étaient gouvernés, dans le
temps dont nous parlons, par Dunaan ou Danaan, que les Syriens et Arabes
appelent Dsunowa. C'était un Juif qui s'était emparé du pouvoir. La haine qu'il
portait au Christianisme le rendit persécuteur des amis du Christ. Il bannit en
526 saint Grégence, Arabe de naissance, et archevêque de Taphar, métropole du
pays.
Il fit décapiter saint
Aréthas avec 4 autres Chrétiens (nommé au 27 juillet) qui avaient confessé
généreusement la Foi. Saint Aréthas, nommé aussi Harith ou Haritz, était
gouverneur de la ville de Nagran, l'ancienne capitale du Yémen. Non seulement
il refusa de sauver sa vie en apostasiant, mais il exhorta tous les autres
Chrétiens à rester fidèlement attachés à Dieu. On l'enleva de la ville, et on
le conduisit sur le bord d'un ruisseau, où il fut exécuté en 523.
Duma, ou plutôt Reuma ou Remi, sa femme, et ses filles souffrirent également la
mort pour la même cause. On les honore comme martyrs, avec 340 autres Chrétiens
que Dunaan condamna aussi à mort. Ils sont nommés au 24 octobre dans les
calendriers d'Occident et d'Orient ainsi que dans celui des Moscovites.
L'empereur Justin, dont les Chrétiens persécutés avaient imploré la protection,
engagea saint Elesbaan à porter ses armes dans l'Arabie et à chasser
l'usurpateur. Ce prince zélé déféra aux justes désirs de l'empereur ; il
attaqua et défit le tyran. Mais il usa de la victoire avec beaucoup de
modération. Il rétablit le Christianisme, rappela saint Grégence, et fit
rebâtir l'église de Taphar. Il mit sur le trône Abraamius ou Ariat, Chrétien
fort zélé, qui se conduisit par les conseils de saint Grégence. Ce saint évêque
eut une conférence publique avec les Juifs, où la vraie Foi triompha. Il
écrivit aussi contre les vices un livre que nous avons encore en grec, et qui
est dans la bibliothèque impériale de Vienne. Il mourut le 19 décembre 552.
Saint Elesbaan, suivant
Baillet, ne fut pas plus tôt de retour dans ses Etats, qu'il abdiqua la
couronne. Mais on lit dans la légation de Nonnus, qu'il régnait à Axuma,
capitale de l'Ethiopie, plusieurs années après la guerre dont nous venons de
parler. Ce bon prince, dégoûté enfin du monde, laissa le gouvernement à son
fils, qui fut héritier de son zèle et de sa piété.
Il envoya son diadème à
Jérusalem ; puis, s'étant déguisé, il sortit de la ville pendant la nuit, et
alla se renfermer dans un monastère situé sur une montagne déserte. Il
n'emporta avec lui qu'une coupe pour boire et une natte pour se coucher. Il ne
vécut plus désormais que de pain, auquel il joignait de temps en temps quelques
herbes crues. L'eau devint son unique boisson. Il voulut être traité comme les
autres frères, et il était toujours le premier aux différents exercices. Il
n'eut plus de communication avec les personnes du monde, afin de se livrer tout
entier à la prière et la contemplation. Il est nommé en ce jour dans le
martyrologe romain.
On le représente quelquefois comme solitaire, agenouillé devant une croix, et
la couronne à terre près de lui.
16 mai 2019
Saint ELESBAAN D’ETHIOPIE
Saint Elesbaan d’Ethiopie
Roi d’Ethiopie (✝
v. 535)
Les Ethiopiens Axumites,
dont les possessions s’étendaient depuis la côte occidentale de la mer Rouge
jusque fort avant dans le Continent, étaient un peuple très florissant au 6ème
siècle. Le roi, qui les gouvernait sous l’empereur Justin l’Ancien, se nommait
Elesbaan. Ce prince, dans toutes ses actions et dans toutes ses entreprises, ne
se proposait d’autre but que le bonheur de ses sujets et la gloire de Dieu.
Quelques auteurs
prétendent qu’il avait été converti de l’idolâtrie au Christianisme. Quoi qu’il
en soit, ses vertus montrèrent combien une nation est fortunée lorsqu’elle a
des maîtres qui ont su s’affranchir de l’esclavage des passions. Si Elesbaan
prit les armes, ce ne fut que pour défendre la cause de la justice, et il fit
servir la victoire au triomphe de l’une et de l’autre.
Saint Elesbaan, roi
d’Ethiopie, sur le commandement de l’empereur Justin, va porter la guerre
contre l’usurpateur Danaan et libérer ainsi les Chrétiens yéménites persécutés
par cette bête féroce.
Les Homérites, parmi
lesquels il y avait un grand nombre de Juifs, habitaient sur la côte orientale
de la mer Rouge, au Yemen. Ils étaient gouvernés, dans le temps dont nous
parlons, par Dunaan ou Danaan, que les Syriens et Arabes appelent Dsunowa.
C’était un Juif qui s’était emparé du pouvoir. La haine qu’il portait au
Christianisme le rendit persécuteur des amis du Christ. Il bannit en 526 saint
Grégence, Arabe de naissance, et archevêque de Taphar, métropole du pays.
Il fit décapiter saint
Aréthas avec 4 autres Chrétiens (nommé au 27 juillet) qui avaient confessé
généreusement la Foi. Saint Aréthas, nommé aussi Harith ou Haritz, était
gouverneur de la ville de Nagran, l’ancienne capitale du Yémen. Non seulement
il refusa de sauver sa vie en apostasiant, mais il exhorta tous les autres
Chrétiens à rester fidèlement attachés à Dieu. On l’enleva de la ville, et on
le conduisit sur le bord d’un ruisseau, où il fut exécuté en 523.
Duma, ou plutôt Reuma ou
Remi, sa femme, et ses filles souffrirent également la mort pour la même cause.
On les honore comme martyrs, avec 340 autres Chrétiens que Dunaan condamna
aussi à mort. Ils sont nommés au 24 octobre dans les calendriers d’Occident et
d’Orient ainsi que dans celui des Moscovites.
L’empereur Justin, dont
les Chrétiens persécutés avaient imploré la protection, engagea saint Elesbaan
à porter ses armes dans l’Arabie et à chasser l’usurpateur. Ce prince zélé
déféra aux justes désirs de l’empereur ; il attaqua et défit le tyran.
Mais il usa de la victoire avec beaucoup de modération. Il rétablit le
Christianisme, rappela saint Grégence, et fit rebâtir l’église de Taphar. Il
mit sur le trône Abraamius ou Ariat, Chrétien fort zélé, qui se conduisit par
les conseils de saint Grégence. Ce saint évêque eut une conférence publique
avec les Juifs, où la vraie Foi triompha. Il écrivit aussi contre les vices un
livre que nous avons encore en grec, et qui est dans la bibliothèque impériale
de Vienne. Il mourut le 19 décembre 552.
Saint Elesbaan, suivant
Baillet, ne fut pas plus tôt de retour dans ses Etats, qu’il abdiqua la
couronne. Mais on lit dans la légation de Nonnus, qu’il régnait à Axuma,
capitale de l’Ethiopie, plusieurs années après la guerre dont nous venons de
parler. Ce bon prince, dégoûté enfin du monde, laissa le gouvernement à son
fils, qui fut héritier de son zèle et de sa piété.
Il envoya son diadème à
Jérusalem ; puis, s’étant déguisé, il sortit de la ville pendant la nuit,
et alla se renfermer dans un monastère situé sur une montagne déserte. Il
n’emporta avec lui qu’une coupe pour boire et une natte pour se coucher. Il ne
vécut plus désormais que de pain, auquel il joignait de temps en temps quelques
herbes crues. L’eau devint son unique boisson. Il voulut être traité comme les
autres frères, et il était toujours le premier aux différents exercices. Il
n’eut plus de communication avec les personnes du monde, afin de se livrer tout
entier à la prière et la contemplation.
On le représente
quelquefois comme solitaire, agenouillé devant une croix, et la couronne à
terre près de lui.
Saint Kaleb, roi
d’Érythrée
30 mars 2022 à 10h32
(Europe\Rome). Modifié 30 mars 2022 à 10h32 (Europe\Rome)
Père Adechina Samson
Takpe
CONTRIBUTION : Le
père Adéchina Samson Takpé, prêtre du diocèse de Dassa-Zoumé (Centre-Bénin) et
doctorant en liturgie à Vinzenz Palloti University (Allemagne) présente la vie
et des vertus de bienheureux et saints africains. Cette semaine, il s’intéresse
à Saint Kaleb, roi d’Érythrée.
Kaleb, fils du roi
Tazena, naît vers la fin du cinquième siècle. Son nom entier Kaleb Ella Asbeha
bisi Lazen est déformé plus tard en Elesbaan. Éduqué dès l’enfance dans une
école de l’Église éthiopienne où il assume la culture grecque, il accède dès
l’an 510 au trône d’Aksoum (actuelle Érythrée).
Sous son règne, Aksoum
atteint sa dernière période de gloire. Le roi dirige le pays avec sagesse et
est estimé de tout son peuple. Ses effigies sont inscrites en langue Ge’ez sur
les pièces de monnaie. L’art et l’architecture prospèrent. Aksoum s’engage dans
le commerce de la soie avec la Chine, en concurrence avec les Perses. Il
contrôle le trafic sur la Mer Rouge ainsi qu’une grande partie du commerce
d’Extrême-Orient.
Libération de la
chrétienté
Vers 520, les chrétiens
de Najran (ville située dans l’actuelle Arabie saoudite, aux confins du Yémen)
avec leur leader Arethas sont persécutés par le roi himyarite Yusuf Asar Yathar
connu sous le nom de Dhu Nuwas, despote converti au judaïsme et devenu hostile
à la foi catholique. Il fait détruire les églises ou les transforme en
synagogues, s’acharne contre évêques et clercs : Saint Gregentius, évêque
de Tafas, est expulsé de son diocèse ; Saint Arethas, leader de la
communauté de Najran est décapité avec sa femme, ses enfants et 340 membres de
la communauté.
A lire aussi : Sainte Éphigénie
d’Éthiopie
Quelque temps plus tard,
4.000 catholiques sont tués sans procès après avoir subi de nombreuses cruautés.
L’empereur Justinien 1er fait alors appel au roi Kaleb. Celui-ci rassemble son
armée, loue environ 60 navires dans les ports gérés par les Byzantins dans la
mer Érythrée (actuelle Mer Rouge). Avec 100 à 120.000 hommes, il traverse la
mer et débarque au Yémen. Pour punir l’affront fait à l’honneur catholique, il
exécute Dhu Nuwas et intronise à sa place Sumuafa' Ashawa', un chrétien
autochtone. Il restaure ensuite saint Gregentius à son siège épiscopal et fait
reconstruire les églises.
L’ermitage
Dans ses inscriptions et
armoiries, contrairement à celles de ses prédécesseurs, on n’observe pas chez
lui la moindre réticence à se proclamer chrétien. Le synaxaire (ou martyrologe)
de l’Église Éthiopienne mentionne : « le saint et juste Kaleb,
roi d’Éthiopie, aimait Dieu et le craignait ; il était de foi droite.
Quand il apprit que les juifs avaient tué les chrétiens de la ville de Najran,
il fut saisi d’un zèle divin et s’affligea fort. (…) Il alla, anéantit tous les
juifs qui avaient détruit la ville et fit des miracles sans nombre. Il revint
dans sa capitale avec grand honneur et une joie inextinguible en remerciant
Dieu.
Ensuite il réfléchit en
lui-même et dit : “Comment puis-je rendre grâce à Dieu pour tout ce qu’il
a fait ? Seulement, en offrant en présent mon âme et mon corps à mon
Seigneur Jésus-Christ !”. Ensuite, il renonça au monde et au trône. De
nuit, il partit à pied au monastère qui est sur le sommet de la montagne d’Abba
Pantaléon dans lequel habitaient des moines choisis.
Il demeura dans une cellule
dont il obstrua l’entrée pour que les gens ne le voient pas. Il jura de ne pas
en sortir ni de voir le monde. Il n’y introduisit rien avec lui, sauf une
natte, une coupe, un vase d’argile et le vêtement monastique qu’il avait
revêtu. De nourriture, il n’avait pas d’autre que du pain et du sel ; sa
boisson était de l’eau.
Il envoya la couronne
royale et les vêtements royaux de grand prix dont il était revêtu à Jérusalem.
Il écrivit une lettre à Abba Jean, patriarche de Jérusalem, lui demandant de
suspendre cette couronne au-dessus de l’entrée du tombeau de Notre Seigneur
Jésus-Christ. Après être entré dans cette caverne, il ne parla avec personne.
Il plut à Dieu et mourut en paix (1) . C’était en l’an 540. »
Kaleb est souvent
représenté comme un ermite solitaire tenant en main une croix et ayant une
couronne aux pieds. Canonisé au seizième siècle par le cardinal Caesar Baronius
qui l’ajouta dans son édition du martyrologe sous le nom Saint Elesbaan, il est
fêté le 27 octobre par l’Église catholique romaine et le 24 octobre
par les Églises orthodoxes. Tous l’invoquent comme protecteur contre les
dangers de la mer.
SOURCE : https://international.la-croix.com/fr/afrique/saint-kaleb-roi-derythree
Also
known as
Elesbaan of Axum
Calam-Negus…
Calam…
Caleb…
Elesbaas…
Elesban…
Elesbas…
Elesboas…
Eleuzoe…
Ella Atsbeha…
Ella Asbeha…
Hellestheaeus…
Kaleb…
27
October (Roman calendar)
15 May (Eastern
calendar)
Profile
Christian King in
Ethiopia in the early 6th century. With the support of Byzantine emperors
Justin I and Justinian, he invaded the southern Arabian peninsula where
Christian was under attack. Late in life he abdicated his throne to live as a
prayerful, penitent hermit and then a monk in Jerusalem.
c.555
Additional
Information
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of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
images
Wikimedia Commons: Tomb of Saint Elesbaan
video
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
websites
in nederlandse
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i norsk
MLA
Citation
“Saint Elesbaan of
Ethiopia“. CatholicSaints.Info. 17 May 2024. Web. 14 June 2024.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-elesbaan-of-ethiopia/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-elesbaan-of-ethiopia/
Article
ELESBAAN (Saint) King
(October 27) (6th century) A Christian King of Ethiopia (Abyssinia) in the
first half of the sixth century, who distinguished himself by his warlike and
successful expeditions in Arabia, where a Jewish usurper had almost exterminated
the Christianity of the Southern part of the Peninsula. In these wars he was
supported by the Byzantine Emperors, Justin I and Justinian. At the close of a
long and memorable reign Saint Elesbaan abdicated and ended his life as a
hermit in the exercises of prayer and penance. He died about A.D. 555. His real
name seems to have been Caleb. Hence, the Abyssinians style him Calam-Negus.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Elesbaan”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 23
November 2012.
Web. 14 June 2024. <http://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-elesbaan/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-elesbaan/
Statue
of Saint Elesbaan (Kaleb of Axum), Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos
Pretos, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
Escultura
do Santo Elesbão, Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, Salvador,
Bahia.
St. Elesbaan, King of Ethiopia, Confessor
The Axumite Ethiopians, whose dominions were extended from the western coast of the Red Sea, very far on the continent, were in the sixth century a powerful and flourishing nation. St. Elesbaan their king, during the reign of Justin the Elder, in all his actions and designs had no other desire than to procure in all things the happiness of his people, and the divine glory. The mildness and prudence of his government was a sensible proof how great a blessing a people enjoy in a king who is free from inordinate passions and selfish views, to gratify which princes so often become tyrants. This good king, however, was obliged to engage in a war. But his motives were justice and religion; and the exaltation of both was the fruit of his victory.
The Homerite Arabians dwelt upon the eastern coast at the bottom of the Red Sea, in Arabia Felix, and were either a part of the Sabæans, or their neighbours. This nation was full of Jews; and Dunaan or Danaan, a Jew who had usurped the sovereignty, persecuted the Christians. St. Gregentius, who was an Arabian by birth, and archbishop of Taphar, the metropolis of this country, was banished by him in 520. St. Aretas, the governor of the city Neogran, was beheaded, with four companions, for his constancy in the faith. His wife Duma, and daughters, also suffered death for the same glorious cause, and are honoured as martyrs on the 24th of October, in the Roman, and in other Western, as well as in the Eastern and Muscovite calendars. (1)
The Emperor Justin the Elder, whose protection the persecuted Christians had implored, engaged St. Elesbaan to transport his forces into Arabia, and drive away the usurper. The zealous prince complied with this just desire, and having by the divine blessing defeated the tyrant, made use of his victory with great clemency and moderation, re-established religion, recalled St. Gregentius, and repaired the vineyard, which a furious wild beast had laid waste. He rebuilt the church at Taphar; and, by laying the first stone, would be himself the first architect. He placed on the throne Abraamius, a pious Christian, who governed by the counsels of St. Gregentius. That holy prelate had a famous conference with the Jews,(2) and wrote a book against vices,(3) extant in Greek in the Imperial library at Vienna. St. Gregentius died on the 19th of December, in 552.
Baillet tells us, that St. Elesbaan resigned his crown soon after his return into his own dominions: but Nonnus, in his Legation(4) testifies in 527, several years after this war, that Elesbaan then resided at Axuma, a very great city, capital of Ethiopia.
At length, this good
king, leaving his dominions to a son who was heir of his zeal and piety no less
than of his kingdom, sent his royal diadem to Jerusalem, put on sackcloth, and
retired secretly in the night out of the palace and city to a holy monastery
situated on a solitary mountain, where he took the monastic habit, and shut
himself up in a cell for the remaining part of his life. He carried nothing
with him out of the palace but a mat to lie on, and a cup to drink out of. His
food was only bread, with which he sometimes took a few dry herbs; he never
drank any thing but water. He would not allow himself the least distinction
above the last among his brethren, and was the first in every duty of his new
state. No seculars ever had access to him, and his whole employment consisted
in the exercises of penance, the contemplation of heavenly things, and
conversing with God, by whom he was at length called, by a happy death, to
reign eternally with Christ. His name occurs in the Roman Martyrology.
Note 1. Their Acts are
published in Greek by Lambecius, (Biblioth. Vindob. t. 5, p. 130, 132, et t. 8.
p. 254, 260, 262,) and in Latin by Baronius Lipoman and Surius. Baillet
suspects them because taken from Metaphrastes. But Falconius rightly judges
that Metaphrastes gave them genuine, p. 23, which is shown by Jos. Assemani,
Bibl. Orient. t. 1. p. 358, 364 et seq.) who gives us the original Syriac
history of the Homerite martyrs, written by Simeon, bishop of Arsamopolis, in
Persia, in a letter to Simeon, abbot of Gabula.
The Syriac historians,
produced by Jos. Assemani, as Simeon, bishop of Beth-Arsamen, etc. agree in
this history perfectly with the Greeks, viz. Sim. Metaphrastes, in Surius, (t.
5, p. 943.) Theophanes, Cedrenus, Procopius, Evagrius, etc. Likewise the modern
historians of Abyssinia, who were Portuguese missionaries in that country, viz.
Francisco Alvares, chaplain to the Portuguese ambassador in 1540, who printed
that year the first and most faithful history of Abyssinia, and of his embassy;
F. Bermudes, patriarch, wrote the second in 1565, but mixing many fables
deserves credit only in things to which he was eye-witness; F. Peter Nais gave
a third in 1627; F. Alphonso Mendez, patriarch of Ethiopia, wrote also a Latin
history of that country. F. Lopo wrote another more at length, which Le Grand
translated into French, adding several curious dissertations and notes, Paris, 1738.
F. Balthasar Tellez compiled from these a new and more complete history of
Ethiopia, in which he sets off the zeal of the Jesuits. From these and other
helps Ludolph has compiled his history of Ethiopia, with a dictionary and
grammar of that language.
Note 2. The Acts which we
have of this conference have been interpolated.
Note 3. Lambec. in Bibl.
Vindob. Cod. Theolog. 306. n. 33. p. 171.
Note 4. Ap. Phot. Cod. 3
(from The Lives of
the Saints, by Rev. Alban Butler, 1866, Volume X: October.)
SOURCE : http://www.nobility.org/2011/10/27/elesbaan/
Elesbaan, king, hermit,
and saint of Ethiopia
Elesbaan, a king, hermit,
and saint of Ethiopia during the 6th cent. (Rome, Oct. 27; Ethiopia, Ginbot,
xx. May 15; cf. Ludolphus, p. 415), whose exact story is difficult to trace.
(Cf. Ludolphus, History of Ethiopia, ed. 1684, p. 167; Lebeau, Histoire
du Bas Empire, ed. 1827 viii. 47, note 4; Walch, in Novi Commentarii Soc.
Reg. Göttingen. t. iv.; Historia Rerum in Homeritide Saec. vi. Gestarum,
p. 4.) The importance of the crusades on which his fame rests is attested by
Gibbon, who asserts that, had their purpose been attained, "Mahomet must
have been crushed in his cradle, and Abyssinia would have prevented a
revolution which has changed the civil and religious state of the world" (Decline
and Fall, c. xlii. sub fin.). The details of the saint's wars and
character are drawn from the Acta S. Arethae, extant in two forms: the
earlier and more authentic, found by Lequien in the Colbert Library (Oriens
Christianus, ii. 428), is referred by the Jesuit author of the Acta
Sanctorum to the 7th cent. at latest; the later is, at best, but the
recension of Simeon Metaphrastes, in the 10th cent.
It was probably during
the later years of Anastasius's reign that Elesbaan succeeded his father Tazena
on the throne of Ethiopia. His kingdom was greatly dependent for its 288welfare upon the goodwill and good order of the people
of Yemen, the Homeritae, from whom it was separated by the narrow strait of
Bab-el-Mandeb: for through the territory of the Homeritae the merchants of
Syria and of Rome came to the great port of Adulis (cf. Assemani Bibl.
Orientalis, i. p. 360), near whose ruins in Annesley Bay the Arabian traders
still unlade their ships (cf. Henry Salt, A Voyage to Abyssinia, c. ix. p.
451). When Elesbaan succeeded, the Homeritae had greatly obscured the
Christianity which they had received in the reign of Constantius, but the
language of Cosmas Indicopleustes (Migne, Patr. Gk. vol. lxxxviii. p.
170) shews that it was not wholly extinct. The name of their king is variously
written Dunaan and Dhu Nowas; by John of Asia as Dimion; by Theophanes as
Damian. He had been made king c. 490, by the people whom he had freed
from their gross tyrant Laknia Dhu Sjenatir; and having shortly after his
accession forsworn idolatry and embraced Judaism, determined to enforce his new
creed with the sword (cf. Acta Sanctorum, Oct. vol. x, p. 693). In
retaliation for the sufferings of the Jews throughout the Christian empire, he
exacted heavy tolls from all Christian merchants who came through his territory
to the port of Aden and the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, and, according to John of
Asia (cf. Assemani, Bibl. Orientalis, i. 360), put many Christians to
death. Such action was injurious to the commerce of all the neighbouring
peoples, but especially of Ethiopia; and Elesbaan soon after his accession sent
a useless remonstrance, and then prepared for war. About a.d. 519 he
crossed the straits, utterly defeated the Arabian forces, and driving the Jew
to refuge in the hills, left a viceroy to bear Christian rule over the
Homeritae and returned to Ethiopia (ib. p. 362). The time of this
expedition is incidentally and approximately marked by Cosmas Indicopleustes,
who tells us that he was at Adulis "ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ τῆς βασιλείας Ἰουστίνου τοῦ
Ῥωμαίων βασίλεως" (a.d. 518-527), when the king of the people of
Axum, being about to war against the Homeritae, sent to ask the governor of
Adulis for a copy of a certain inscription; which copy Cosmas and another monk
were charged to make (Migne, Patr. Gk. vol. lxxxviii. p. 102).
The death of the viceroy,
probably in a.d. 522 or 523, whom Elesbaan had left in Yemen,
encouraged Dhu Nowas to come down from his hiding-place in the hills ("tanquam
daemon carne indutus," Acta Sanctorum, Oct. xii. 316), and reassert
himself as king of the Homeritae and champion of Judaism. Choosing a season
when the Arabian Gulf would be an impassable barrier to the intervention of
Elesbaan, he gathered a force which presently numbered 120,000 men and, having
put to death all Christians whom he could find and turned their church into a
synagogue, pressed on to Negran, the head-quarters of the Ethiopian
vice-royalty, then held by Arethas the phylarch. He found the garrison
forewarned and the gates closed; nor were they opened at his threats, when
coming to the wall and holding up a wooden cross he swore that all who would
not blaspheme the Crucified and insult the sign of His suffering should die. At
last by treachery Dhu Nowas won an entrance, promising to hurt none of the
citizens and only demanding an exorbitant tribute; but having entered, he began
at once the reckless massacre which has left its mark even in the Koran (cf.
Walch's paper in the Göttingen Commentarii, p. 25). Arethas and Ruma his
wife died with a defiant confession on their lips; more than 4,000 Christian
men, women, and children were killed (commemorated in the Roman calendar on
Oct. 24) ; and from the fiery dyke into which the victims were thrown, Dhu
Nowas received the name Saheb-el-Okhdud ("Lord of the Trench"). At
this time, probably in Jan. 524, Simeon, bp. of Beth-Arsam, had been sent by
the emperor Justin, together with Abraham, a priest of Constantinople, to gain
the alliance of Mundhir III., king of the Arabians of Hira, a friend valuable
alike for reasons of commerce and in regard to the war with Persia. As the
ambassadors drew near the king (the story is told by Simeon in a letter to the
abbat of Gabula), they were met by a crowd of Arabs crying that Christ was
driven out of Rome and Persia and Homeritis; and they learnt that messengers
were present from Dhu Nowas with letters to king Mundhir, in which they heard
the long recital of the treachery by which Negran had been taken, of the insult
to the bishop's tomb, of the slaughter of the Christians and the triumph of
Judaism, the confession of the martyr Arethas, and the speech of Ruma urging
the women of Negran to follow her to the abiding city of the divine Bridegroom,
praying that the blood of the martyrs might be the wall of Negran while it
continued in the faith, and that she might be forgiven for that Arethas had
died first. They heard of her brutal murder, and the appeal of Dhu Nowas that
Mundhir should at once enact a like massacre throughout his kingdom. Their own
end must have seemed very near; but the courage of a soldier who stood forth as
spokesman of the many Christians in Mundhir's army decided the hesitation of
the king, and the ambassadors went away unhurt (but apparently unanswered) to
Naaman, a port in the Arabian Gulf. There they heard more fully the story of
the massacre, and especially of the constancy of a boy, who was afterwards
known to the bp. of Asia at Justinian's court. Simeon of Beth-Arsam thus closes
his letter, praying that the news may be spread throughout the church and the
martyrs receive the honour of commemoration, and that the king of Ethiopia may
be urged to help the Homeritae against the oppression of the Jew (cf.
Assemani, Bibl. Or. i. 364-379). When this message reached Elesbaan,
it was reinforced by a letter from Justin, elicited by the entreaties of Dous
Ibn Dzi Thaleban, one of the few Christians who had escaped Dhu Nowas (cf.
Wright, Early Christianity in Arabia, p. 56). This letter is given in the Acta
S. Arethae; where also it is told how the patriarch of Alexandria, at the
request of Justin, urged Elesbaan to invade Yemen, offering up a litany and
appointing a vigil on his behalf, and sending to him the Eucharist in a silver
vessel. Without delay Elesbaan collected a great army, which he divided into
two parts; 15,000 men he sent southwards 289to cross at Bab-el-Mandeb and, marching through Yemen,
divert the strength of Dhu Nowas's forces from the main body of the Ethiopians,
which Elesbaan intended to send by sea to some place on the S. coast of Arabia.
For the transport of these latter he appropriated 60 merchant vessels then
anchored in his ports, adding ten more, built after the native fashion, the
planks being held together by ropes. On the eve of the enterprise he went in
procession to the great church of Axum, and there, laying aside his royalty,
sued in formâ pauperis for the favour of Him Whose war he dared to
wage; praying that his sins might be visited on himself, and not on his people.
Then he sought the blessing, counsel, and prayers of St. Pantaleon; and
received from within the doorless and windowless tower, where the hermit had
lived for 45 years, the answer: "Ἔστω σὺν σοι ὁ συμβασιλεύων σοι."
Thus the army was sent on its twofold route.
For the 15,000
Bab-el-Mandeb was indeed a gate of tears: they died of hunger, wandering in the
desert. The main body was safely embarked, and sailed S. down the Gulf of
Arabia towards the straits; which Dhu Nowas had barred by a huge chain,
stretched across the space of two furlongs from side to side. Over this,
however, first ten ships and then seven more, including that of the Ethiopian
admiral, were lifted by the waves; the rest were driven back by stress of
weather, but presently, the chain being, according to one account, broken,
forced the passage, and passing the other seventeen, cast anchor farther along
the coast. Meanwhile Dhu Nowas, having first encamped on the W. shore, where he
thought his chain would force the Ethiopians to land, hurried from his
position, and leaving but a few men to resist the smaller fleet, watched with
his main army the movements of the rest. Those on the 17 ships under the
Ethiopian admiral easily effected a landing near Aden, and defeating the troops
opposed to them, pressed on to the chief city, Taphar, or Taphran, which
surrendered immediately (cf. Wright, op. cit. 58-60). Discouraged by
this disaster, the main body of the Arabians offered a feeble resistance; and
Dhu Nowas saw that his downfall was very near. According to the Arabian
historians, he threw himself from the cliff and died in the waves; according to
the Acta S. Arethae, he bound his seven kinsmen in chains, and fastened
them to his throne, lest they should fail to share his fate; and so awaited
death at Elesbaan's own hand. The Arabic writers are unsupported in their story
of the useless resistance of a successor Dhu Giadan; it was probably at the
death of Dhu Nowas that the kingdom of the Homeritae ended, and Yemen became a
province of Ethiopia. At Taphar Elesbaan is said to have built a church,
digging the foundations for seven days with his own hands; and from Taphar he
wrote of his victory to the patriarch of Alexandria. A bishop was sent from
Alexandria and appointed to the see of Negran, but there are doubts as to both
the orthodoxy and identity of this bishop. The king restored Negran, entrusting
it to Arethas's son, rebuilding and endowing the great church, and granting
perpetual right of asylum to the place where the bodies of the martyrs had
lain, and then returned to Ethiopia (Boll. Acta SS. Oct. xii. 322),
leaving a Christian Arab named Esimiphaeus or Ariathus, to be his viceroy over
the conquered people. A part of Elesbaan's army, however, refused to leave the
luxury of Arabia Felix, and not long after set up as rival to Esimiphaeus one
Abrahah or Abraham, the Christian slave of a Roman merchant, who was strong
enough to shut up the viceroy in a fort and seize the throne of Yemen. A force
of 3,000 men was sent by Elesbaan, under a prince of his house, whom some call
Aryates or Arethas, to depose the usurper; and it seems that Abrahah, like Dhu
Nowas, sought safety among the mountains. But he soon (c. 540) came down
and confronted the representative of Elesbaan; and at the critical moment the
Ethiopian troops deserted and murdered their general. To maintain his supremacy
and avenge his kinsman, Elesbaan sent a second army; but this, loyally fighting
with Abrahah, was utterly defeated, and only a handful of men returned to
Ethiopia. The Arabic historians record that Elesbaan swore to yet lay hold of
the land of the Homeritae, both mountain and plain, pluck the forelock from the
rebel's head, and take his blood as the price of Aryates's death; and they tell
of the mixed cunning and cowardice by which Abrahah satisfied the Ethiopian's
oath, and evaded his anger, winning at last a recognition of his dignity.
Procopius adds that Abrahah paid tribute to Elesbaan's successor; and the
Homeritae remained in free subjection to Ethiopia almost to the end of the
century.
Records are extant,
almost in the very words of the ambassadors, of two embassies from Justinian to
Elesbaan. Joannes Malala, in writing of the first, had the autograph of the
envoy whom Procopius (de Bello Persico, i. 20) calls Julian; Photius has
preserved, in the third codex of his Bibliotheca, Nonnosus's story of his
experience in the second mission. Julian must have been sent before 531, for
Cabades was still living, and, according to Procopius, Esimiphaeus was viceroy
of Homeritis. He was received by Elesbaan, according to his own account, with
the silence of an intense joy; for the alliance of Rome had long been the great
desire of the Ethiopians. The king was seated on a high chariot, drawn by four
elephants caparisoned with gold; he wore a loose robe studded with pearls, and
round his loins a covering of linen embroidered with gold. He received
Justinian's letter with every sign of respect, and began to prepare his forces
to take part in the Persian war even before Julian was dismissed from his court
with the kiss of peace (Johannis Malalae, Chronographia, xviii. Bonn. ed.
pp. 457, 458). Malala records no sequel of these preparations; Procopius
complains that none occurred.
The second embassy was
sent primarily to Kaisus or Imrulcays, the prince of the Chindini and Maaddeni,
and only secondarily to the Homeritae and Ethiopians, probably in the last
years of Elesbaan's reign. Nonnosus the envoy belonged to a family of
diplomatists. But Photius does not state the purpose or result of this journey;
only telling of the great herd 290of 5,000 elephants which Nonnosus saw between Adulis
and Axum, and the pigmy negroes who met him on an island as he sailed away from
Pharsan (Photii, Bibliotheca, Bekker's ed. pp. 2, 3).
The story of Elesbaan's
abdication and seclusion is told in the Acta S. Arethae. Having accepted
the fealty and recognized the royalty of Abrahah, and having confirmed the
faith of Christ in Homeritis, he laid aside his crown and assumed the garb of a
solitary. His cell is still shewn to the traveller; it was visited in 1805 by
Henry Salt, and has been elaborately described by Mendez and Lefevre. There the
king remained in solitude and great asceticism; and the year of his death is
unknown. His crown he sent to Jerusalem, praying that it might be hung "in
conspectu januae vivifici sepulchri."
[F.P.]
Dictionary of Christian
Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century A.D., with an Account
of the Principal Sects and Heresies.
by Henry Wace
SOURCE : http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wace/biodict.html?term=Elesbaan,+king,+hermit,+and+saint+of+Ethiopia
Saint of the Day – 27
October – Saint Elesbaan of Ethiopia (Died c 555)
Posted on October
27, 2021
Saint of the Day – 27
October – Saint Elesbaan of Ethiopia (Died c 555) King of Ethiopia, Confessor,
Penitent Hermit and Monk. Also known as – Elesbaan of Axum, Ella Atsbeha, Ella
Asbeha, Calam-Negus, Calam, Caleb, Elesbaas, Elesbas, Elesboas, Eleuzoe,
Hellestheaeus, Kaleb.
The Roman Martyrology
states today: “St Elesbaan, King, who after having defeated the enemies of
Christ and sent his Royal Diadem to Jerusalem, in the time of Emperor Justin,
led a monastical life, as he had vowed and went to his reward.”
In the 6th century
Ethiopia was ruled by King St Elesbaan, who was raised from childhood in the
Catholic Faith. King Elesbaan ruled his country with wisdom and was esteemed by
his people.
At that time, Ethiopia
was part of the Eastern Roman Empire, under Justinian I. Across the Red Sea,
Arabia had fallen to Dunaan, a King who apostatised from the Catholic Faith and
adhered to Judaism. He was a despotic ruler, persecuting the Bishops and clergy
and destroying the Churches or transforming them into synagogues. St
Gregentius, Bishop of Tafas, was expelled from his Diocese; St Aretas, governor
of Nagran and leader of the Catholic reaction, was beheaded along with his
wife, children and 340 of his people. Around 4,000 Catholics were killed
without trial after suffering many cruelties.
Emperor Justinian called
on King Elesbaan to chastise the usurper. The King gathered his army and
crossed the Red Sea to punish the affront to Catholic honour. Elesbaan landed
in Arabia, defeated Dunaan and executed him. Then he restored St Gregentius to
his episcopal see, rebuilt the Churches and remained in the country until
Ebrahamos, who was Catholic, was elected King of the Arabs.
Once his mission of
justice and peace was accomplished, he returned to Ethiopia and ruled there for
some years more, carefully instructing his son in the Catholic Faith, making
him heir of his zeal and piety and the direction of the Kingdom. Then he renounced
his title and handed the rule of the Kingdom to his son.
Disguised as a Hermit, he
retired to a Monastery in the mountains. There he lived as a simple religious
dedicated to prayer, obedience and work. He carried nothing with him out of the
Palace but a mat to lie on and a cup to drink from. His food was only bread,
with which he sometimes took a few dry herbs; he never drank anything but
water. He would not allow himself the least distinction above the least among
his brethren and was the first in every duty of his new state.
No seculars ever had
access to him and his whole employment consisted in the exercises of penance,
the contemplation of heavenly things and conversing with God, by whom he was at
length called, to a happy death, to reign eternally with Christ.
He died with a reputation
of sanctity on 27 October c 555. Often he is pictured as a solitary Hermit
holding a Cross and with a Crown at his feet.
Author: AnaStpaul
Passionate Catholic.
Being a Catholic is a way of life - a love affair "Religion must be like
the air we breathe..."- St John Bosco Prayer is what the world needs
combined with the example of our lives which testify to the Light of Christ.
This site, which is now using the Traditional Calendar, will mainly concentrate
on Daily Prayers, Novenas and the Memorials and Feast Days of our friends in
Heaven, the Saints who went before us and the great blessings the Church
provides in our Catholic Monthly Devotions. This Site is placed under the Patronage
of my many favourite Saints and especially, St Paul. "For the Saints are
sent to us by God as so many sermons. We do not use them, it is they who move
us and lead us, to where we had not expected to go.” Charles Cardinal Journet
(1891-1975) This site adheres to the Catholic Church and all her teachings.
PLEASE ADVISE ME OF ANY GLARING TYPOS etc - In June 2021 I lost 95% sight in my
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here will be abundantly blessed. Pax et bonum! VIEW ALL POSTS
SOURCE : https://anastpaul.com/2021/10/27/saint-of-the-day-27-october-saint-elesbaan-of-ethiopia-died-c-555/
Saint of the Day:
Elesbaan of Ethiopia
“Protector of Christians”
King (ca. 510-540)
His life
+ Elesbaan (who is also
known by the name “Caleb”) was the son Tazena and became the king of Axum (a
kingdom that covered the areas of modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea) around the
year 520.
+ Around 523, King
Elesbaan invaded Yemen in retaliation for the slaughter of the Martyrs of
Najram and other Christians. Following the military conflict, Elesbaan
successfully installed a Christian to serve as his viceroy.
+ Because of his efforts,
early documents praised him as the “Protection of Christians.” It is said that
near the end of his life, he gave his crown to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
in Jerusalem and spent the rest of his life in prayer and contemplation.
+ In the 16th century,
his name, along with the Martyrs of Najran, were added to the Roman
Martyrology, the Church’s official listing of saints.
For prayer and reflection
“Lord, the king finds joy
in your power; / in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
You have granted him his
heart’s desire; / you did not refuse the prayer of his lips.”—Psalm 21:2-3
Spiritual bonus
On this day we also
remember the monk Saint Odrian. Traditionally honored as an early bishop of
Waterford, Ireland, he was among the first disciples of Saint Columba and became
a monk in Columba’s monastery on the island of Iona. Saint Odrian died around
the year 563.
Prayer
O God, who alone are holy
and without whom no one is good, command, we pray, through the intercession of
blessed Elesbaan, that we be numbered among those who do not deserve to be
deprived of your glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and
reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman
Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For One Saint)
Saint profiles prepared
by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
SOURCE : https://aleteia.org/daily-prayer/friday-october-27-2
Blessed Elesbaan, King of
Ethiopia
Commemorated on October 24
Blessed Elesbaan1 was
the Emperor of what is now Ethiopia, and lived when Arabia was ruled by Dunaan,
an oppressor of Christians. The pious Elesbaan was unable to stand by while
those who believed in Christ were being massacred. He declared war on Dunaan,
but his first military campaign was not successful.
Desiring to learn the
reason for his defeat, Elesbaan, inspired by a revelation from above, visited a
recluse named Zenon. He revealed to the Emperor that he had acted unrighteously
in his desire to take revenge against Dunaan, for the Lord has said, “Vengeance
is mine, I shall repay!” (Hebrews 10:30).
The holy ascetic urged
Elesbaan to promise that he would devote the rest of his life to God, if he
wished to escape His wrath for his self-willed revenge, and then he would
defeat Dunaan. Saint Elesbaan made that vow to the Lord, and in 520 he and his
army confronted the enemy. This time, he defeated, captured, and executed
Dunaan. According to the Roman Martyrology, after Elesbaan defeated the enemies
of Christ, he sent his royal diadem to Jerusalem to be hung near the
Life-Giving tomb of Christ, during the reign of Emperor Justin.
Following his victory,
the Saint kept his word and abdicated as Emperor, secluding himself in a
monastery. For the next fifteen years he lived a life of strict fasting and
asceticism.
Emperor Elesbaan reposed
around 553-555.
1 His name is given
as Kaleb on his coins and inscriptions.
SOURCE : https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2024/10/24/103048-blessed-elesbaan-king-of-ethiopia
San Caleb (o Elesbaan,
Elsebaan) Re d’Etiopia
† Gerusalemme, 555 circa
Martirologio Romano: In
Etiopia, san Caleb o Elésbaan, re, che per vendicare l’uccisione dei martiri di
Nağrān affrontò vittoriosamente in battaglia i nemici di Cristo; dopo avere
inviato, al tempo dell’imperatore Giustino, il suo diadema regale a
Gerusalemme, si ritiene che, come era stato nei suoi desideri, si sia riturato
a vita monastica, prima di fare ritorno al Signore.
Numerosi sono stati in
ormai due millenni di cristianesimo i casi di sovrani e talvolta intere
famiglie reali ascese alle più alte vette della santità, ma in tale settore i
meno famosi sono indubbiamente i molti monarchi etiopi dai nomi spesso
impronunciabili venerati come santi dalla locale Chiesa copta. Uno di essi,
Sant’Elsebaan, vissuto nel VI secolo, è però commemorato anche dal
Martyrologium Romanum che pone la sua festa al 15 maggio.
La sua vicenda è
strettamente legata alla vicenda dell’eccidio dei martiri di Nagran, città
posta nella penisola arabica nel territorio dell’odierno Yemen. Tale zona era
stata conquistata dagli etiopi all’inizio del VI secolo, che ne avevano curato
anche la diffusione del cristianesimo, ma un giorno il giudeo Dunaan innescò
una rivolta che portò all’uccisione del principe Areta, di sua moglie e delle
quattro figlie, nonché di altre centinaia di cristiani.
Il patriarca di
Alessandria d’Egitto scrisse allora ai vescovi orientali raccomandando loro di
venerare come santi martiri le vittime, che anche dai cattolici sono oggi
festeggiate al 24 ottobre, e con l’aiuto dell’allora imperatore Giustino spinse
il re axumita Elsebaan a vendicare l’eccidio. Questi non si tirò assolutamente
indietro, riconquistò lo Yemen, uccise Dunaan e si impossessò anche della sua
principale roccaforte. Lo storico Alban Butler sostenette che il re “dopo aver
sconfitto il tiranno grazie alla benedizione divina, gestì la sua vittoria con
mirabile clemenza e moderazione”, ma come invece fu poi messo in luce tale ricostruzione
dei fatti non corrispondeva affatto alla realtà, poiché sia in battaglia che
nei successivi rapporti avuti con gli ebrei Elsebaan dimostrò sempre grande
ferocia e crudeltà.
La tradizione vuole
comunque che al termine della sua vita il monarca abbia preferito abdicare in
favore del figlio, donando la sua corona alla chiesa del Santo Sepolcro in
Gerusalemme e trascorrendo gli ultimi tempi della sua vita quale eremita
esemplare presso la città santa. Qui morì santamente verso l’anno 555.
La singolare vicenda di
Areta e dei suoi compagni nel XVI secolo a giudizio del cardinale Baronio
meritò di essere citata anche nel Martirologio Romano, soprassedendo al fatto
che tutti costoro fossero assai probabilmente seguaci dell’eresia monofisita,
forse poiché la sua conoscenza alquanto sommaria delle Chiese d’Oriente non gli
fece neppure sfiorare il dubbio dell’ortodossia dottrinale della Chiesa etiope.
L’inserimento nel calendario cattolico toccò così anche al re Elsebaan, che
divenne l’unico tra i numerosi santi sovrani etiopi ad essere venerato dalla
Chiesa universale.
Autore: Fabio
Arduino
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92759
Den hellige Elesbaan av
Aksum (d. ~555)
Minnedag: 27.
oktober
Den hellige Elesbaan
(Elsebaan, Elesbaas, Elesbas, Elesboas, Ellesboas, Elesboam, Eleshaah, Eleuzoe,
Eleuzoé); med det kristne dåpsnavnet Kaleb (Caleb, Kalib, Calam) og tittelen
Negus (konge) ble født en gang på 400-tallet i Abyssinia (Etiopia). Procopius
av Caesarea kaller ham «Hellestheaeus» (Hellesthaeus, Ellestheaeus), en variant
av hans tronnavn Ella Atsbeha eller Ella Asbeha. Han ble konge av Aksum, den
gamle religiøse og politiske hovedstaden i Etiopia, som var blitt omvendt til
kristendommen av den hellige Frumentius. Aksum
var eget kongerike i dagens Eritrea og Etiopia fra 400 f.Kr til 650 e.Kr.
Elesbaan/Kaleb er den best dokumenterte og mest kjente kongen av Aksum. Kaleb,
et navn som kommer fra den bibelske skikkelsen Caleb, er hans dåpsnavn.
Detaljene om hans kriger og karakter er hentet fra Acta Sanctae Arethae.
Han ble helt fra barndommen oppdratt i den katolske tro. Kong Elesbaan styrte
sitt land med visdom og ble høyt aktet av sitt folk.
På den tiden var Etiopia
en del av Østromerriket under keiserne Justinos I (518-27) og Justinian I
(527-65). Det var trolig i de siste årene av keiser Anastasios Is regjeringstid
(491-518) at Elesbaan etterfulgte sin far Tazena på tronen i Aksum. Hans
kongerikes velferd var svært avhengig av godviljen til og den gode orden blant
folket i Himyar (i det nåværende Jemen) i det sørvestlige Arabia, som ble kalt
himyarittene (klassisk Homeritae), som de var separert fra ved det trange
stredet Bab-el-Mandeb. For gjennom Himyars territorium kom handelsmennene fra
Syria og Roma til den store havnebyen Adulis (Aduli) i dagens Eritrea.
Da Elesbaan kom på
tronen, hadde himyarittene for en stor del mistet den kristendommen som de hadde
mottatt under keiser Konstantius II (337-61), men den var ikke fullstendig
utryddet. Himyarittenes konge var Yusuf Asar Yathar, bedre kjent ved sitt
tilnavn som refererer til hans fletter eller hestehale, Dunaan (Dhu Nuwas, Dzu
Nuwas, Dhu-newas, Dunawan, Dimion, Damian eller Masruq), som var utropt til
konge rundt 490 av folket som han hadde befridd fra tyrannen Laknia Dhu
Sjenatir. Kongen falt kort etter sin opphøyelse fra den katolske tro og
konverterte til jødedommen, og han var fast bestemt på påtvinge landet sin nye
tro med sverd.
Som gjengjeldelse for
jødenes lidelser over hele det kristne imperiet krevde han inn hard toll fra
alle kristne kjøpmenn som kom gjennom hans territorium til havnebyen Aden og
Bab-el-Mandeb-stredet, og ifølge Johannes av Asia drepte han mange kristne. Han
erobret byen Zafar og massakrerte garnisonen og presteskapet, og kirken der
gjorde han om til en synagoge. Disse handlingene var skadelige for handelen til
alle naborikene, men spesielt for Etiopia, og Elesbaan sendte snart etter sin
tronbestigelse en nytteløs protest, og deretter forberedte han seg på. Rundt
519 krysset han stredet, bekjempet de arabiske styrkene fullstendig og drev
jødene til å ta tilflukt i fjellene. Han etterlot en visekonge for å utøve
kristent styre over himyarittene og vendte tilbake til Etiopia.
Visekongen som Elesbaan
hadde etterlatt i Himyar, døde i 522 eller 523, og dette oppmuntret Dunaan til
å komme ned fra skjulestedet i fjellene og hevdet seg igjen som konge over
himyarittene og forkjemper for jødedommen. Han valgte en årstid da havet ville
utgjøre et uoverstigelig hinder for en intervensjon fra Elesbaan, og han samlet
en hær på 120 000 mann. Han forfulgte biskopene og presteskapet, og den hellige
biskop Gregentius av Zafar ble utvist fra sitt bispedømme. Etter å ha drept
alle kristne han kunne finne og forvandlet deres kirker til synagoger,
fortsatte han i 523 til byen Najran (Nagran) i det nordlige Jemen (nå i
Saudi-Arabia), som var et av de viktigste kristne støttepunktene i området og
hovedkvarter for visekongen eller guvernøren, som da var Aretas fylarken
(stammehøvding). Han het egentlig Banu Harith, men fikk sitt navn endret til
Aretas som helgen i Martyrologium Romanum.
Dunaan fant at garnisonen
hadde fått et forvarsel og portene var stengt, og de ble heller ikke åpnet
etter hans trusler. Da han kom til murene, holdt han opp et trekors og sverget
at alle som ikke ville spotte den korsfestede og håne tegnet på hans lidelser,
skulle dø. Til slutt klarte Dunaan å få adgang ved hjelp av forræderi samt
falske løfter om ikke å skade noen av innbyggerne, men bare kreve en høy skatt.
Men straks han var innenfor portene, begynte han straks den hensynsløse
massakren som har etterlatt seg spor selv i Koranen. Dunaan fikk soldatene til
å plyndre byen og dømte alle kristne til døden hvis de ikke ga opp sin religion
og gikk over til jødedommen. Han drepte 4 000 kristne (Najran-martyrene)
uten lov og dom (ifølge katolske martyrologier var de «bare» 340). Guvernøren
av Najran, Banu Harith (Aretas), ble halshogd sammen med hustruen Ruma og
barna, mens prestene, diakonene og de konsekrerte jomfruene ble brent til døde.
Dunaan forsøkte å få Aretas’ hustru Ruma til å gå med på å leve sammen med ham,
og da hun nektet, fikk han hennes to døtre (eller datter og datterdatter)
henrettet foran hennes øyne. Hun ble tvunget til å smake på deres blod, og
deretter ble også hun halshogd. Etter den brennende grøften som ofrene ble
kastet i, fikk Dunaan tilnavnet Saheb-el-Okhdud («Grøftenes herre»).
På denne tiden, trolig i
januar 524, var biskop Simeon av Beth-Arsam blitt sendt av keiser Justinos
sammen med Abraham, en prest i Konstantinopel, for å oppnå en allianse med
Mundhir III, arabisk konge av Hira, en verdifull venn både av kommersielle
grunner og når det gjaldt krigen med Persia. Da utsendingene nærmet seg kongen,
ble de møtt av en flokk arabere som ropte at Kristus var blitt drevet ut av
Roma og Persia og Himyar, og de fikk vite at utsendinger fra Dunaan var til
stede med brev til kong Mundhir, hvor de hørte en lang oppramsing av det
forræderiet som førte til at Najran ble tatt, om krenkingen av biskopens grav,
om nedslaktingen av de kristne og judaismens triumf, om martyren Aretas
bekjennelse og hans hustru Rumas tale som formante kvinnene i Najran til å
følge henne til den guddommelige brudgoms rike, mens hun ba om at martyrenes
blod ville være Najrans mur mens byen fortsatte i troen, og at ville bli
tilgitt for at Aretas hadde dødd først, og om det brutale mordet på henne.
De hørte også om appellen
fra Dunaan om at Mundhir straks måtte utføre en lignende massakre i hele sitt
kongerike. Deres eget endelikt må ha syntes svært nær, men motet til en soldat
som sto frem som talsmann for de mange kristne i Mundhirs hær, gjorde at kongen
nølte og utsendingene kunne dra uskadet bort, men åpenbart også uten noe svar
fra kongen, til havnebyen Naaman. Der hørte de alle detaljene i historien om
massakren. Simeon av Beth-Arsam slutter sitt brev med en bønn om at nyheten
måtte spres i hele kirken og at martyrene måtte få æren av en minnedag, og at
kongen av Etiopia måtte bønnfalles om å hjelpe himyarittene mot den jødiske
kongens undertrykkelse.
Den fryktelige ugjerningen
ble universelt fordømt. Patriarken av Alexandria skrev til de østlige biskopene
og ba om at de massakrerte ble minnet som martyrer, og både han og keiser
Justinos I (518-27) skrev og ba kong Elesbaan av Aksum om å hevne massakren.
Uten å nøle samlet Elesbaan en stor hær som han delte i to deler. Han sendte
15 000 mann sørover for å krysse over Bab-el-Mandeb-stredet (som betyr
tåreporten) og deretter marsjere gjennom Jemen for å avlede Dunaans styrker
bort fra etiopiernes hovedstyrke, som Elesbaan aktet å sende sjøveien til et
sted på sørkysten av Arabia. For transporten av disse forsynte han seg med
seksti handelsfartøy som da lå ankret opp i hans havner, og han la til enda ti
skip som var bygd etter lokal skikk ved at plankene ble holdt sammen av rep.
Kvelden før den dristige ekspedisjonen gikk kongen i prosesjon til den store
kirken i Aksum, hvor han ba om at hans synder måtte hjemsøke ham selv, ikke
hans folk. Deretter ble hæren sendt ut hver sin vei.
For de 15 000 ble
virkelig Bab-el-Mandeb en tåreport, for de døde av sult da de vandret gjennom
ørkenen. Hovedstyrken kom trygt av gårde og seilte sørover mot stredet, som
Dunaan hadde sperret med en enorm lenke som var strukket over stredet i en
lengde av 400 meter. Men over denne ble imidlertid de første ti skipene og
deretter enda syv, inkludert det til den etiopiske admiralen, løftet av
bølgene. De andre ble drevet tilbake av været, men så ble lenken ifølge en
beretning brutt, og de seilte gjennom og passerte de sytten første skipene, før
de kastet anker lenger ned langs kysten. I mellomtiden hadde Dunaan, som først
hadde slått leir på den vestlige stranden, hvor han regnet med at hans lenke
ville få etiopierne til å gå i land, skyndt seg fra denne stillingen og
etterlatt bare noen få mann for å stå imot den mindre flåten, og han iakttok
med sin hovedstyrke bevegelsene til resten. Mennene på de sytten skipene under
den etiopiske admiralen, foretok med letthet en landgang nær Aden og bekjempet
de troppene som gjorde motstand mot dem. Deretter skyndte de seg til den
viktigste byen, Zafar, som straks overga seg. Avskrekket av denne katastrofen
gjorde arabernes hovedstyrke en kraftløs motstand, og Dunaan så at hans
nederlag var svært nær. Ifølge de arabiske historikerne kastet han seg fra
klippen og døde i bølgene, men ifølge Acta Sanctae Arethae, bandt han sine
syv mannlige slektninger i lenker og festet dem til sin trone, slik at de
skulle dele hans skjebne, og avventet døden for Elesbaans egen hånd.
De arabiske historikerne
støttes ikke av noen andre kilder i deres historie om den nytteløse motstanden
til en etterfølger av Dunaan, Dhu Giadan, og det var trolig ved Dunaans død at
himyarittenes kongerike endte, og Jemen ble en provins i Etiopia. I Zafar skal
Elesbaan ha bygd en kirke, og han gravde ut fundamentene i syv dager med sine
egne hender. Fra Zafar skrev han også om sin seier til patriarken av
Alexandria. En biskop ble sendt fra Alexandria og utnevnt til bispesetet
Najran, men det finnes tvil om både denne biskopens identitet og hans
ortodoksi. Kongen gjenoppbygde Najran og betrodde byen til Aretas’ sønn, og han
gjenoppbygde og utrustet den stor kirken og ga evig asylrett til det stedet
hvor martyrenes legemer var lagt. Så restaurerte han St Gregentius på hans
bispesete, og deretter returnerte han til Etiopia og etterlot den innfødte
kristne araberen Sumuafa’ Ashawa’, kalt Esimphaios (Esimiphaeus eller Ariathus)
av Procopius, til sin visekonge over det erobrede Himyar.
Men en del av Elesbaans
hær nektet å forlate luksusen i Arabia Felix, og ikke lenge etter satte de
opp som rival til Esimiphaeus en Abrahah eller Abraham, den kristne slaven til
en romersk kjøpmann, som var sterk nok til stenge visekongen inn i en festning
og gripe tronen i Jemen. En styrke på 3 000 menn ble sendt av Elesbaan
under en fyrste av hans hus, som noen kaller Aryates eller Arethas, for å
avsette usurpatoren, og det synes som om Abrahah, i likhet med Dunaan, søkte
tilflukt i fjellene. Men han kom snart ned (ca 540) og konfronterte Elesbaans
representant. I det kritiske øyeblikket deserterte de etiopiske troppene og
myrdet sin general. For å opprettholde sitt herredømme og hevne sin slektning,
sendte Elesbaan en ny hær. Mens den var lojal og kjempet mot Abrahah, ble de
fullstendig beseiret, og bare en håndfull menn returnerte til Etiopia. De
arabiske historikerne hevder at Elesbaan sverget på overta himyarittenes land,
både fjell og slette, rive panneluggen av opprørerens hode og ta hans blod som
prisen for Aryates’ død. Procopius legger til at Abrahah betalte skatt til
Elesbaans etterfølger, og himyarittene forble i frivillig underkastelse til
Etiopia nesten til slutten av århundret.
I hagiografisk
skjønnmaling ble det senere hevdet at Elesbaan gjorde bruk av seieren med stor
mildhet og moderasjon, men dette er ikke riktig. Både på slagmarken og senere i
hans behandling av jødene viste han stor blodtørstighet og grusomhet. Procopius
av Caesarea, Johannes av Efesos og andre samtidige historikere forteller om
Elesbaans invasjon av Jemen.
Etiopisk tradisjon som
gjentas av Acta Sanctae Arethae, hevder at Elesbaan mot slutten av sitt
liv abdiserte til fordel for sin sønn, sendte sin krone til Den hellige grav i
Jerusalem og levde et eksemplarisk liv som eremitt. Det ser ut som om han
dermed gjorde bot for sin grusomhet og hevngjerrighet, men han er likevel en
tvilsom skikkelse å finne i Martyrologium Romanum. Han døde rundt 555 i Etiopia
(noen skriver Jerusalem), ifølge tradisjonen en 15. mai (noen sier 27. oktober
532). Han skal ha etterlatt seg sønnen Gabra Masqal, og tradisjonen gir ham
også en andre sønn, Israel, som det har vært antatt er identisk med den
aksumittiske kong Israel. Ofte avbildes han som en eneboer som holder et kors
og med en krone for sine føtter.
Det var den ærverdige
kardinal Cesare
Baronius (1538-1607), lærd oratorianer og kirkehistoriker, som satte
inn Aretas og Najran-martyrene samt Elesbaan i Martyrologium Romanum da han
reviderte det på 1500-tallet. Det er ingen tvil om at martyrene døde fordi de
holdt fast ved den kristne tro, og Elesbaan kan godt ha angret sin grusomhet og
ha dødd en god død. Imidlertid var dette etter konsilet i Kalkedon, og de var
alle nesten sikkert monofysittiske heretikere, som mente at Kristus hadde bare
én natur, den guddommelige, siden den etiopiske Kirken var hovedsakelig
monofysittisk i sin offisielle doktrine (selv kaller de seg miafysitter).
Enten var Baronius
uvitende om dette, siden hans kunnskaper om de østlige kirkene var beskjedne,
eller så avgjorde han at martyriet unnskyldte det som trolig uansett ikke var
noe mer enn teknisk heresi. Elesbaan har minnedag den 24. oktober i den
ortodokse kirke (6. november etter den gregorianske kalender), samme dag som
Najran-martyrene minnes i Martyrologium Romanum, som nevner Elesbaan den 27.
oktober, mens han feires den 28. mai (Ginbot 20) av de Etiopisk-ortodokse.
Martyrologium Romanum skriver den 27. oktober:
«I Etiopia, St Elesbaan,
konge, som etter å ha overvunnet Kristi fiender og sendt sitt kongelige diadem
til Jerusalem, på keiser Justinus’ tid, levde et monastisk liv, som han hadde
sverget, og gikk til sin belønning».
Kilder:
Attwater/Cumming, Butler (X), Benedictines, Delaney, Bunson, KIR, CSO, Patron
Saints SQPN, Infocatho, Heiligenlexikon, santiebeati.it, en.wikipedia.org,
oca.org, zeno.org, heiligen-3s.nl, ccel.org, traditioninaction.org -
Kompilasjon og oversettelse: p. Per Einar Odden
Opprettet: 2. mai 1998
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/elesbaan
Elesbas (ook Calam,
Caleb, Elesbaas, Elesboas, Eleuzoé of Kaleb) van
Ethiopië; koning van Aksum & monnik; † ca 555.
Feest 15 mei & 24
(oosterse kerk) & 27 oktober (westerse kerk).
In 525 bestreed hij met
succes de Joodse tiran Dhô-Nuwás, die in Zuid-Arabië de christenen vervolgde.
De Oost-Romeinse keizer Justinianus († 548; feest 14 november) verzocht hem om
hulp in zijn strijd tegen Perzen. Na een mislukte veldtocht tegen een
plaatselijke vorst zou hij zich als kluizenaar in een cel hebben
teruggetrokken. Naar het schijnt had hij te kampen met een wreed en wraakzuchtig
karakter. Volgens zeggen is hij zijn leven lang monofysiet gebleven.
Hij moet gestorven zijn
rond 555.
[107; 140»10.24; Dries van den Akker s.j./2008.09.15]
© A. van den Akker
s.j. / A.W. Gerritsen
SOURCE : https://www.heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/10/27/10-27-0555-elesbas.php
Voir aussi : http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j251sd_Elesbaan_10_27.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D11Z0bQAYuo&ab_channel=AwakenTheSaint
