While I was a student at Princeton Seminary in the 1980s, I met the exiled Bishop Paulos of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. He had taken refuge at Princeton, where his tested and unshakable faith in the Lord inspired many of us students.
We learned of his six years in an Ethiopian prison with one more spent under house arrest after communist rebels overthrew the Emperor Haile Selassie’s government. A few years later, suddenly, inexplicably, the new regime freed the bishop. He realized that staying in his country might lead to further danger, so he escaped to the United States. He began a doctoral program at Princeton while pastoring a congregation of other Ethiopian exiles in New York City.
Bishop, as we called him, looked extraordinary on most days. He was easily distinguishable on campus, wearing a purple robe and Coptic-style hat, austere beard, and bejeweled cross against raven-colored skin. But on Ash Wednesday, the drama intensified. When Bishop appeared in the cafeteria that morning, it seemed as if Darth Vader had come to campus. The Ethiopian prelate wore so much black that even his cross hid discreetly in a breast pocket. He patiently explained the Coptic tradition for clergy to dress totally in black throughout Lent.
Seeing him enveloped in that ominous attire, I sometimes felt gloomy. I reflected on the battles Christians wage daily over the powers of sin and death. But the Bishop’s costume also reminded me that a Savior rescued me, bringing hope for this life and for eternity.
When Easter morning dawned, I hurried across campus for a sunrise service. Suddenly I stopped in my tracks as a vision strode toward me. As the dazzling white figure neared, I wondered if I was seeing an angel like the one who greeted Mary Magdalene so long ago! Then I realized, “It’s Bishop!” He wore so much white that even his spats testified to the message of Jesus’ awesome victory over death.
Bishop’s face glowed as he lifted his voice above the campus’s hushed stillness and proclaimed the ancient Easter greeting, “He is risen!” I joyously echoed, “He is risen indeed!”
May that message stir your soul this blessed Easter.
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