Zéna-Marqos
fl. 13th to early 14th century
Orthodox
Ethiopia

Zéna-Marqos, Abba (perhaps fl. 13th - early 14th century A.D.), of Morat was a cousin of St. Täklä-Haymanot, being the son of his uncle, Zär'a-Yohannes, and himself became a saint of the Ethiopian Church. He was a disciple of the saint, who invested him with the monastic habit. He is associated with the monastery of Däbrä Zéna-Marqos. Many marvels are recounted concerning the life of Abba Zéna-Marqos, he is said to have preached in Gojjam and the kingdom of Adal and to have been the apostle of Guragé in a text contained in a Vatican Codex. His feast is commemorated on 3 Tahsas.

Belaynesh Michael

E. A. Wallis Budge, The Life and Miracles of Takla Haymanot (London, 1906).
Enrico Cerulli, Gli Atti di Zena Marqos, Monaco etiope del sec. XIV, Studi e Testi, Nos. 219, 220 (In Civitate Vaticane, MCMLXII).

This article is reproduced, with permission, from The Dictionary of Ethiopian Biography, Vol. 1 'From Early Times to the End of the Zagwé Dynasty c. 1270 A.D.,' copyright © 1975, edited by Belaynesh Michael, S. Chojnacki and Richard Pankhurst, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. All rights reserved.