Saint Hermela | |
|---|---|
| Grandmother of the Virgin, Mystic, Beautiful, Black Beauty. | |
| Born | c. 1st century B.C. |
| Venerated in | Christianity |
| Canonized | Pre-congregation |
| Attributes | Books, Doors, with Mary, Jesus, Joachim, High Priest Aaron |
| Patronage | Childless people; grandparent; homemakers; housewives; mothers; poverty; pregnancy; sterility; mothers; children |
| Controversy | Saint Anne |
Saint Hermela member of the House of David, was the grandmother of the Virgin Mary and great-grandmother of Jesus Christ according to ancient Christian traditions. Mary's grandmother is not named in the canonical gospels. Hermela's name comes only from New Testament apocrypha, of which the Protoevangelium of James (written perhaps around 150) seems to be the earliest that mentions her name. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church has venerated Saint Hermela since the Axumite Empire's conversion to Christianity and her name was much more popularized within the Ethiopian Christian population by Emperor Zera Yacob who commissioned many churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Saint Anne. Ahmed Gragn's Islamic Jihad in Ethiopia during the reign of Emperor Dawit II destroyed many historical churches, monasteries and shrines which included churches dedicated to Saint Hermela. Many emperors after the defeat of Ahmed Gragna rebuilt some of the most important churches and monasteries but its not clear if churches named after St Hermela were ever rebuilt.