October 24

Zamika'el Aragawi (6th cent.) monk

Today the Ethiopian church commemorates Abuna Zamika'el Aragawi, one of the "nine holy Romans" (or Syriacs) who strengthened Christian faith in Ethiopia in the sixth century.
Aragawi means "Old Man." The saint's real name was Zamika'el, and he was famous for having founded the monastery of Dabra Damo in northern Ethiopia, in a part of the country where devotion to him is still very strong today.
Icons often show him being lifted onto the plateau of Dabra Damo by an enormous snake. Snakes were venerated in an ancient Ethiopian cult, which ended with the arrival of Christianity.

BIBLICAL READINGS
Jn 14:8ff.; 1 Cor 7:36ff.; 1 Pet 2:18ff.; Acts 8:27ff.; Mt 19:26ff.

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THE CHURCHES REMEMBER...

WESTERN CATHOLICS:
Anthony Mary Claret (d. 1870), bishop (Roman and Ambrosian calendars)
Louis Guanella (d. 1915), priest (Ambrosian calendar)

COPTS AND ETHIOPIANS (14 bàbah/teqemt):
Philipp (1st cent.), one of the 7 deacons (Coptic Church)
Abba Zamika'el Aragawi, monk (Ethiopian Church)

LUTHERANS:
Leonid of Optina (d. 1841), monk and spiritual father in Russia

MARONITES:
Arethas of Najran and his companions (d. 523), martyrs

ORTHODOX CHRISTIANS AND GREEK CATHOLICS:
Arethas, megalomartyr, and companions
Synaxis of the saints of Optina (Russian Church)