Commemoration of King Abgar of Edessa I On Mid Lent Day
On Mid Lent Wednesday, our Holy Church commemorates, an Assyrian King named Abgar V, who ruled Edessa (Oraha – presently called Urfa/Urahay, is a city in the border of Turkey and Iraq. During the public ministry of our Lord, King Abgar of Edessa, was suffering from an incurable disease, sent a letter reiterating his belief in the Lord and requesting Him to visit Edessa, so that he could get cured. Abgar wrote a letter to Jesus, saying that he believed in Jesus as the Son of God, and that he believed in his amazing miracles about which he had only heard about. King Abgar in his letter asked Jesus to come heal him.
Towards the end of his letter, Abgar is saying that he has heard that the Jews are persecuting Him, thus, he is suggested Jesus to come and stay in his City. He also extended an invitation to the Lord to live there as he had heard about the squabbles of the Jews.
Jesus replied that He was unable to visit at that time but ensured that He would send one of His disciples. Jesus replied to his letter as follows: “Happy art thou who hast believed in me, not having seen me, for it is written of me that those who shall see me shall not believe in me, and that those who shall not see me shall believe in me. As to that which thou hast written, that I should come to thee, all that for which I was sent here below is finished, and I ascend again to my Father who sent me, and when I shall have ascended to Him, I will send thee one of my disciples, who shall heal all thy sufferings, and shall give health again, and shall convert all who are with thee unto life eternal. And thy city shall be blessed forever, and the enemy shall never overcome it.” “Moraneesho sakshyarambhe chonnabgare; Kanathennil viswaasam poondon nee dhanyan”………. (O Abgar, you are blessed because when everyone witnessed the wonders of the Lord Jesus Christ, you believed in Him even without seeing Him……..) [Kasoloki hymn on Mid Lent]. The letter of Jesus to the ruler Abgarus was carried through the courier Ananias
Some legends also state that while responding to the king’s messenger, Jesus Christ used a face-cloth which miraculously bore the image of His face. The face-cloth was sent to King Abgar together with the letter and of course with a promise that one of Christ’s disciples would be sent soon to him.
King Abgar is one of the very first who believed in Jesus without seeing Him and without doubting – considered by the Church as a saint. After the ascension of the Saviour, as instructed by the Lord, St. Thaddeus (Addai, also referred to as Thaddai) one of the Seventy (Luke 10: 1) disciples was sent to King Abgar. Thaddeus went along with along with his close friend Mari. Both of them are considered to be disciples of St Thomas. Addai and Mari are considered as the second and third “Catholicos of the East”, respectively following St Thomas, who was the first.
In Edessa, they visited King Abgar. Mar Addai placed his hands on Abgar and said, “I place my hand upon thee in the name of Eshoo Msheekha [meaning in Aramaic, Jesus Christ], and in His name you are healed.” Healing took place immediately. Through the preaching of St Thaddeus, the king and his subjects accepted the Christian faith. Thus king, his family and his subjects became Christians. Edessa thus became the first Christian city.
Church historian Eusebios (4th century) has written about King Abgar. Eusebios say that he has found the letters written by Abgar to Jesus and Jesus’s reply, from the public records of Edessa and translated it from Syriac. The healing of Abgar is also recorded in the Doctrine of Addai. The service book used by Yeldo Mar Baselius (Kothamangalam Bava) had King Abgar’s name written on it.
King Abgar, the first Christian to have believed in Jesus, without seeing Him, Indeed you are Blessed!
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