Yekatit 1 — February 08

The Big Meeting of 150 Holy Fathers

A very long time ago, 150 holy church leaders traveled to a big city named Constantinople. These leaders were called bishops, and a bishop is like a kind shepherd who looks after God's people in the churches. They came together for a special meeting called a Council. At a Council, wise fathers talk and pray together until they agree on what is true.

Why did they meet? A few teachers had started saying things about God that were not true. One of them said the Holy Spirit was just something made, like a chair or a tree. But that is not right! The Holy Spirit is truly God, just like the Father and the Son. God was never made. God has always been.

A kind, wise father named Timothy gently asked each teacher to think again. He reminded them of the day Jesus stood in the Jordan River. The Holy Spirit came down like a gentle dove, and the Father spoke from heaven. That is how we know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are real, and that all three are God.

When the meeting was over, the 150 fathers wrote down the true words we still say in church today: "We believe in the Holy Spirit." Children all over the world have prayed those very words ever since. It was a happy day. The truth about God had been kept safe.

One teacher simply would not stop teaching what was untrue. So the fathers gently asked him to step away from leading the church, so that no one would grow confused. They were sad to do it, and they hoped he would one day change his heart.

The Son stood in the Jordan, and the Spirit came down upon Him, and the Father called out from heaven, "This is My Son, Whom I love; listen to Him."— from the words of the Council

Saint Peter's Church

There was once a church built long ago near the city of Alexandria. It was named after Saint Peter, a brave church father who loved God with his whole heart and stayed faithful to the very end of his life.

A good king named Constantine loved God too. He built many churches so people could gather and pray. The believers built this special church for Saint Peter, and on this very day they blessed it and opened it for prayer. People prayed there, and God answered them, and they went home glad.

After a very long time, that stone church was taken down. But the Synaxarium reminds us of something lovely. Saint Peter has a home in heaven that can never be hurt or broken, and it will last forever and ever. The buildings we make may grow old, but God's love and God's heaven are always strong and new.

The church of blessed Peter, which is in the heavens, is strong, and nothing can ever harm it.

Askenafer and His Wife

This day belongs to two faithful people as well, Askenafer and his wife. They loved God together as a family. The Synaxarium does not tell us a long story about them, but it keeps their names so we never forget them.

That is a sweet reminder. God knows and remembers every single person who loves Him, even when no one writes a long book about them. Husbands and wives who pray together, and families who follow God, are precious to Him. We ask these two kind friends to pray for us, and we thank God for them.