Hannah Maryam TekleHaimanot planned on staying in Jamaica for two months before continuing on to Ethiopia, where she intended to remain and carry on with her work for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC).
She did, however, meet Aba Gebreyesus Wolde Samuel Negatu, an Ethiopian monk who served as the top administrator for the church’s Archdiocese in the Caribbean and Latin America, the day after she arrived in her own country. He urged her to remain in Jamaica and serve as director of the Abune Ysehaq Home for the Aged, which is situated on the grounds of the church on Maxfield Avenue.
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Maryam became the first Jamaican to be recognized by the EOTC as an Emahoy (female monk) when she was consecrated fifteen years ago. Hannah Maryam, who was born in Bull Bay and has worked for the organization for 40 years, came to religion at the University of Illinois.
She sees the potential in her new position to increase her humanitarian efforts.
She shared the importance of her title to their leader legacy and the religion itself, “The appointment is very significant to extend the legacy of His Eminence Abune Yesehaq, the late Archbishop of the Western Hemisphere. It means a lot to me personally, as one of his spiritual children, and I know that he had high hopes for me and my desire to follow in his footsteps to become a monk. Therefore, by the grace of God, I hope to work with others to improve the living conditions of the present elderly residents and to build and expand his vision of helping the homeless and indigents in Jamaica. This is all our duties as his spiritual children, not mine alone.”
The nursing facility for the elderly, which can house nine people, now has five occupants.
There are currently five operating EOTC branches in Jamaica: Mannings Hill Road, St Ann (Ocho Rios), Portland, and Westmoreland (Savanna-la-Mar). The Maxfield church is one of these branches.
The renowned Emahoy was Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou, an Ethiopian pianist and composer whose talent was admired just as much for her humanitarian endeavors. At age 99, she passed away in Jerusalem in March.
Hannah Maryam emphasized that her ambition was never to become the first Emahoy/Nun in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church born in Jamaica. While demonstrating respect for the EOTC’s elders and teachings, she noted, “As a matter of fact, I didn’t even realize it until after I was consecrated and the archbishop said it to me. My focus was simply on learning monastic life in the monastery.”
An Emahoy’s life is not unlike that of their Roman Catholic counterparts, who also have a strong commitment to their religion and the underprivileged. They observe fasts 280 days a year.
From an early age, Hannah Maryam was introduced to religion. The Jewish grandmother who reared her in Bull Bay upheld the Old Testament dietary and Sabbath restrictions.
She noted, “The practices of Judaism and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo faith have much in common, so the transition was very easy for me. The EOTC, though Christian, recognizes both Saturday and Sunday as holy days. Sunday is the most significant as it is the day of our Lord’s resurrection.”
Hannah Maryam has made it one of her top goals to look for financial and material support in order to launch the first Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Monastery in the Caribbean and Latin America, which she hopes would have its main office in Jamaica. It would serve as the Emahoys/Orthodox monks’ monastery.
