The Journey to the Monastery of Gunda Gundo of St. Mary’s
摘要
To verify that the unique theology found in The Ge’ez Book of the Trinity was first written by the Estifanites, a visit to the remote Ethiopian Monastery of Gunda Gundo of St. Mary’s in Kasawa was embarked upon, where the monks of the Monastic Order of Daqiqa Estifanos agreed to be interviewed. With permission from the Patriarch’s Office of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and from the Diocese of Adigrat, during the summer of 2017 an arduous trek through the Semien Mountains of Northern Ethiopia was undertaken to visit the mountain-nestled Monastic Order, to discuss the origins of The Book of the Trinity. The journey began at the break of dawn in the remote town of Adigrat. After a series of bumpy and cramp van-bus-minibus rides, we arrived at an even more remote location in Northern Ethiopia. My historical sites’ guides-translators and I unloaded all of our food, water and gear upon two unfortunate beasts of burden, as we would spend days hiking to and from the monastery to discuss the manuscript’s origins with today’s Daqiqa Estifanos (the Disciples of Abba Estifanos).