ABOUT MAHIBERE KIDUSAN

History

In 1977 E.C. (Ethiopian Calendar), a group of higher-education students began a spiritual initiative aimed at encouraging youth on university campuses to participate in Sunday School and to deepen their understanding of the teachings of the Church. This early effort was later strengthened by students who had received theological training at the Zeaway Hamere Berehan St. Gebreil Clergy Training Monastery, under the guidance and blessing of the then Archbishop of Shewa, Abune Gorgorios II. 

The movement continued to grow and, in 1983 E.C., expanded during a gathering at the Bilate Military Camp, which brought together students from various higher-education institutions across the country. With the blessing of the Church Fathers, the association was formally established under the name Mahibre Kidusan, operating under the Sunday School Department of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Since its establishment, the association has remained committed to offering dedicated spiritual service and faithfully supporting the mission of the Church.

Name

The association is named Mahibre Kidusan (Association of the Saints) in honor of the Saints, who turned away from worldly life and offered their lives in faithful witness to the Orthodox faith—the faith foretold by the prophets and joyfully proclaimed by the apostles. Through their holy lives and sacrifices, the Saints continue to inspire the Church and guide the faithful on the path of salvation.

OBJECTIVES

  • To organize youth who are children of the Church and are pursuing higher education under the association, and to nurture them through the teachings and traditions of the Church.
  • To expand evangelism through various means, including ministry, publications, and audio and video recordings, in cooperation with the appropriate Church bodies.
  • To create enabling conditions that allow educated members of society to support the Orthodox Church through their knowledge, skills, and material resources. 
  • To empower members of the association to render voluntary and humanitarian service in a spirit of Christian love and responsibility. 
  • To preserve and uphold the spiritual heritage, dignity, and legacy of the Holy Church Fathers, and to pass these values on to future generations.

Necessity

  • To safeguard youth in higher-education institutions who are baptized and have become children of the Holy Spirit from false teachings and influences that seek to mislead them from the Orthodox faith. 
  • To establish appropriate and effective means through which students in higher-education institutions may learn, preserve, and pass on to future generations the canon and traditions of the Church, as handed down by the Holy Church Fathers. 
  • To support youth in overcoming social and practical challenges following graduation, and to guide them in serving both their country and the Church through their professional vocations. 
  • To follow up on and strengthen the youth’s adherence to, and practice of, the Orthodox faith in their daily lives.

Stand

The association shall not interfere in administrative affairs of the church and it is free from and political affiliation.

Membership

  1. Disciples who trained in various training institution of the church and providing ministerial activity.
  2. Higher institution students attending Sunday in their respective parishes.
  3. Member of Sunday school or/and parish that provide spiritual service after graduating from higher institution.
  4. The laity who support the objective of the association with their knowledge, money and labor.

Structure

Mahiber Kidusan is set under the Sunday School department of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. It provides spiritual services by its sub centers in the dioceses all over the country and in the Diaspora.