Your latest question is based on the difference between the Ethiopian and Western calendar. When Adam gave birth to Seth, he was 230 yrs old. In the same way when Seth gave birth to Henos he was 205 yrs old, this according to the Ethiopian Bible. But the question is… how come the Western Bible says Adam's age was 130 and Seth's 105? Obviously you have observed the 100 yrs difference.

The reason is that the Jews would not recognize Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the Messiah- the one who descended from heaven and was born in flesh from Virgin Mary. Thus, according to their proclamation they would wait another 100 yrs to see the birth of their true Messiah instead of accepting Jesus Christ who was their contemporary. In order to justify their calculation they deducted hundred years from the elders' age in the Bible including Adam's. Hence we witness the discrepancy. Our Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church refers to the edited version of the Jew's Bible as perverted fact written by those who are wicked. We believe the correct age for Adam was 230 and Seth's age at that time was 105.

"… is that the Choir uses a piano, -an instrument that is not allowed for worship- in their songs. I was also offered to purchase a CD by your choir which actually ruined many legitimate songs by adding a pinao. Why is this so?? Do you not regard yourselves as adherents of the EOTC?? From what I saw during my presence amongst you and what I am reading on your website everything about you is orthodox tewahedo. Then whay are you including a reformationist (Tehadeso) elements in your worship???? I am racking my brain trying to find out. First of all it does not even sound good at all. Second it is foreign to our church. Are you bitten by the "MINALEBET" bug???? I hope you will come to youe senses and do the right thing."
January 21, 2003

"Surfing the Web, I came across you Page. I was so impressed with the Style and the content of it. It feels so good to see the Sons and Daughters of Orthodox Tewahido Church getting together and build a beautiful Web Page like this. I hope other churches in various parts of the World will follow your footsteps. Your Web site is not just a nice page that is built beautifully. It is also a page that contains many information. I learned a lot, and I make sure I spread the word so that others would learn from it too. The only problem (question) I have is with the Mezmurs. In many areas of our churches, Church leaders and Preachers are strictly against the use of Modern Musical Instruments like Keyboard(Organ) in our Mezmurs. Your choir, however, uses it in some mezmurs. My questions is, who is right? how do you decide in using those instruments? was there any oppositions? If I have to give my opinion in this matter, I would say it(Keyboard) should't be used. To me, it sounds very strange. Nothing like the sound of Kebro, Kirar, Masinko and Washint. If those aren't found, to stay with ilelta and chibcheba. But I am sure you have a reason why you decided to use it. I would really appretiate it if someone explain this to me. I look forward to hearing from you. Egziabher Ethiopina Haimanotuan Yitebek Dengil Mariam Hulgize Kegna gar Tihun"
December 27, 2002

To answer these questions dealing with Yaredawi songs, the Choir and modern instruments, we need to differentiate between our Belief and the "Kenona" (Cannon Law) the Ethiopian Orthodox Church has been administered under and preserved for centuries. Traditional instruments for songs and Yared's hymns are one of the Kenona's, which make the Ethiopian Orthodox Church unique and interesting. However, using a non-traditional instrument like the piano or organ should not be considered sinful. We have to also bear in mind that the ancient Ethiopian Orthodox Church used all the instruments available to it at that time. But it doesn't mean that these instruments will stay the same forever. They change with the change in society and technology. Let's first examine what the Bible says on these instruments:

Psalms 150: 4 - 6
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with timbrel and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! LET EVERYTHING THAT BREATHES PRAISE THE LORD! However, in the equivalent Amharic version of these verses, we can argue that one of our traditional instruments, "Kirar" is not mentioned. So why is it okay for us to use Kirar when it is not specifically mentioned in the Amharic version of the Bible? But again it says, "estinfas yalew hulu Egziabeheren yamesgin!" Yes, this should be the key to these questions. Why bother how we praise Him as long as we are glorifying His name and practicing our Belief. All good things are from God and for the glory of God.

When we don't use Begena, Masinko or Kirar for the moment for logical and other reasons, it doesn't mean that we are undermining our tradition or worshiping Western culture. Aren't we all using the Internet, which is a creation of Western culture to stay in touch with the world? And why are we using CD's or cassettes to record our songs, which Dawit or Yared did not have in their time? Yes, we do use what the 21st century made available to us as long as it is not changing the essence of our FAITH. Isn't it preferred to use any instrument and praise one GOD in peace? One needs to appreciate the fact that people here come every Sunday from far and near, sacrificing personal life and worship according to tradition. It is this BIG SUCCESS we need to consider, the church's unprecedented services to the hundreds and thousands of Christians in southern California in more than twenty years.

A lot of times we seem to be fixated more on the visual things than what is coming out of our mouth or whether our heart is clean and doing what the Bible teaches us to do. Like fasting from certain food items by itself does not do us any good if we let our heart surrender to the devil's work as that would only make us hypocrites. It is what comes out of the mouth not what goes in to the mouth that matters. "From the same mouth come (both) blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way" James 3:10. If man is God's creation, aren't all these innovations creations of God's blessing? Who said they are sin and evil? If Kidus Yared had been present among us today, he would have used all these innovations and composed songs that would be heard in every corner of this planet and reached the stars and the heavens. We too are building a church in Los Angeles, a Hi-Tech capital of the world, using whatever is at our disposal, including the INTERNET bringing every body together to worship GOD and spread His "WORD" throughout the world. We have to remember that all good things are from our Creator for us to make use of.

There are so many scenarios that seem controversial but we tend to do anyway. We can argue, why go to the doctor seeking help? Why use anesthesia, bone marrow transplant, HIV treatment, etc.? Why don't we use those medicines our great ancestors used to use? Of course, time has changed and God has made us invent all these new technologies to save lives. Would using these new happenings change our Belief in God? Of course not! We know God sends His healing through the doctor and all the medicines He let us invent. We should not make our life so complicated dwelling on peripheral issues that do not harm our real Belief. No question that we love Yared's hymns, traditional instruments and all the cultures our church is teaching together with the religion and we have no intention of changing any of it, but glorifying God by all means available comes above all these. Let's not spend too much time on things that seem to be politicized, but focus on our FAITH. We should rather spend our time on substantial and constructive issues, worshiping God and keeping our Unity, Love, Peace and Friendship. This is what the "WORD" instructs us do!

Apart from that, it will be the choir committee's responsibility to manage its members based on its bylaws. And all its members need to abide by the committee's bylaws approved by the clergy and all its members. However, we need to understand the fact that we may not be able to do every thing exactly like we see in Ethiopia due to the life style we are leading in this part of the world and because the 21st century technology has changed things and life. We can only try whatever we can to keep up to tradition as close to hundred percent as possible. This tells us to focus more on the Belief than the Kenona and not be passionate about comparisons of Churches in America and Ethiopia. And finally to join the choir, you can always contact the group to get a detailed explanation of what is required of you to be part of the group.

Born about 519 A.D. at Axum, he perceived his first inspirational awakening while resting at Menelik 1st gravesite and watching the struggling tiny creature succeed after several attempts and crawling to another branch. The young Yared soon went back to school, and in the subsequent years his genius ecclesiastical work started unfolding. Because of his celebrated work and fame, some foreign scholars distort history and attempt to claim him as one of theirs by stripping off his Ethiopian nationality.

His most noted contribution is the entire composition of the rhythm the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church uses during the Liturgy, prayer songs, and songs of the choir. Many historians talk about his divine knowledge of songs as having their source in the Heavens. Many also confirm the fact that his songs had so much depth, beauty and power that their impact would be felt by all beings in the surrounding areas. When he played, animals would freeze on the spot and rocks would crack. He also played and sang his famous song, "ARAYAM BE SEMAY" in front of The Ark of The Covenant at Axum Tsion.