Saint Giyorgis of Segla

Giyorgis of Segla (c. 1365 – 1 July 1425), also known as Giyorgis of Gasicha or Abba Giyorgis, was an Ethiopian Oriental Orthodox monk, saint, and author of religious books. Giyorgis' work has had great influence on Ethiopian monastic calendars, hymns and Ge'ez literature. He is considered one of the most important Ge'ez writers in fifteenth-century Ethiopia. Giyorgis was involved in a controversy concerning Sabbath in Christianity and consequentially fell into disfavor of emperor Dawit I. He managed to continue his work later in life, under the reigns of Tewodros I and Yeshaq I. It is possible that two or three prominent religious figures have been mixed into the same figure in Ethiopian Church tradition, and Giyorgis' identity remains uncertain. One theory is that Abba Giyorgis of Dabra Bahrey and Giyorgis of Segla (or Gasicha) are separate persons who lived in the mid-14th century. Abba Giyorgis of Dabra Bahrey may have flourished during the reign of emperor Amda Seyon I (1314–1344). He would have been the disciple of saint Iyasus Mo'a at the monastery of Hayq. Giyorgis of Segla (died between 1424 and 1426) would have been the writer, the preacher and the musician. A single remaining copy of his Gadl is being kept in the monastery of Hayq. Gadl (Saint's Life) is a traditional form of Ge'ez hagiography written by disciples of the saints after their demise. It is said that he was born in either in Tigray or Wollo and that his parents were of noble descent. Giyorgis' father was Hezba Tseyon, a court chaplain of emperor Dawit I. His father was known by his contemporaries as "a comprehender of the Scriptures like Salathiel" (Salathiel refers to Ezra the Scribe) and his mother was Emmena Seyon. Giyorgis is among the monks who are claimed to have been students of Ethiopian saint and monastic leader Iyasus Mo'a at Lake Hayq's prominent monastery, which had become a place of pilgrimage already during Iyasus Mo'a's lifetime.