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phelgo d-sawmo The Feast of Mid Lent, Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the commemorations of King Abgar & St. Habib of Edessa & the commemoration of the innocent Syriac Christian martyrs (phelgo d'sawmo, Hido dhewyo danhosho Slibo, dukhrono d'Mor Abgar u Mor Habib, dukhron sohde Suryoye brire) according to the Liturgical Calendar of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Malankara. The 25th day of the Great Fast which is always a Wednesday is known as MidLent (phelgo d'sawmo). This is one of the very few days during the Great Lent when the Holy Qurbono is celebrated on a weekday other than Sunday or Saturday. On this day there is a procession around the church carrying the Holy Cross. This is followed by an Exaltation of the Cross (sleeba aaghosham) facing the four cardinal directions; East, West, North & South. Then the Cross is placed on a big decorated cross-stand (known as m’northo/gogultha) covered with a red cloth, & kept in the middle of the church. This stand remains in the church until the Feast of the Ascension of our Lord (Suloqo d-Moran) which occurs 40 days after Qymtho (Feast of the Resurrection ie Easter). This Exaltation of the Cross has a direct link to the Gospel reading from the Holy Qurbono of Mid Lent. St. John 3:14-15 says "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Moses lifted up the bronze serpent around the middle of the exodus (the journey of the Israelites from slavery to their promised land). He lifted up the serpent so that those who are bitten by the snake might look at it & have life. Similarly the Church faithful at the middle of our lenten journey, also lift up the Holy Cross so that those who are bitten by sin can look at it & gain eternal life by the victorious Cross . On MidLent Wednesday, the Church also commemorates King Abgar the Black of Edessa (Abgar ukomo u Malko d'Urha). King Abgar, a contemporary of our Lord, was believed to have corresponded with Him. This tradition is based on various sources including 'Doctrine of Addai' (one of the earliest Syriac Christian writings, & the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius (who personally testified that he read the correspondence in the archives of Edessa). During the public ministry of our Lord, King Abgar who was suffering from an incurable disease, sent a letter reiterating his belief in the Lord & requesting Him to visit Edessa so that he could get cured. 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. King Abgar is one of the very first who believed in Jesus without seeing Him & without doubting. Additionally, the Syriac Orthodox Church also commemorates the martyrdom of deacon Habib of Edessa. Mor Habib of Urhoy served as deacon in the village of Telzeha, Phoenicia. Under the persecution of Emperor Licinius, Deacon Habib went secretly into the churches of Telzeha, where he ministered, read the Scriptures, encouraged & strengthened many by his faith, admonishing the faithful to stand fast in the truth of their faith, not fearing their persecutors. As a result, Habib had to face brutal torture & persecution. But he was relentless in his faith. Finally, the soldiers tied him to a stake & burnt him alive. Thus Mor Habib attained the crown of martyrdom. His mother & other relatives took down his body but were astonished that it was unharmed. Mor Jacob of Sarug has described the burning of Habib in his homily. “Habib the martyr adorned by flames called me from his pyre. I do not know if I can number him with Hanania [Prophet Daniel]. Who is more glorious Assariya or Habib? Habib fought against the sword & fire. His love was warmer than that of fire. Hence, he was not scared. Habib taught us to embrace death not fearing fire or sword" The Holy Bible readings from the Church Lectionary: Evening: St. Matthew 17:22-27 Morning: St. John 7:14-15 St. John 3:13-21 Before Holy Qurbono: Numbers 21:4-9 I Samuel 7:5-12 Proverbs 30:1-17 Psalms 34:1-9 Zechariah 12:6-14 Holy Qurbono: Acts 15:23-33 II Corinthians 9:1-15 St. John 3:13-21, 7:14-15 For sermons/commentaries based on the Gospel: https://web.archive.org/web/20230610181608/http://malankaraworld.com/Library/Sermons/Sermon-of-the-week_Mid-Lent.htm MidLent devotionals: https://web.archive.org/web/20230129090711/http://www.malankaraworld.com/Library/Lent/Lent_today-Day24.htm Tone of the Day: 8 Service in Ma'De'Dono: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-sQ_AWkxOI8iMN6xkwzMSy5QIWkFkmLI/view?usp=drivesdk English Prayers: http://bit.ly/MidLentEnglish Malayalam Prayers: https://tinyurl.com/249derpn Manglish Prayers: https://bit.ly/ManglishMidLentVadheFeet Syriac Prayers: https://tinyurl.com/2dhauyyh https://syriacorthodoxresources.org/Feast/Abgar.html https://sites.google.com/site/syrianorthodox/home/greatlent/mid-lent St. Jacob of Serugh on King Abgar of Edessa’s letter of correspondence with Jesus Christ (draft translation by malfono Eliyo Aydin): http://bit.ly/SerugAbgarEliyo The Friend of Jesus: Jacob of Serugh’s Version of the Abgar Legend by Dr. Kelli Bryant Gibson: http://bit.ly/AbgarFriendofJesus