Ras Sadiki, given permission, raised funds to help repair and rebuild the Holy Temple of The Ark of The Covenant in Axum

Story As told by Sis Gem Morrison (Askale Mariam) , International President of the Ethiopian World Federation, Inc.

Is there any icon or symbol in Judaism and Christendom more holy, more divine, mystic and spiritual than the Ark of the Covenant? What a blessing to be asked to participate in something so historical, so in keeping with God’s purpose for us, so required by the Constitution and By-laws of The Ethiopian World Federation, EWF, Inc. – protecting our Divine Heritage; preserving ancient Ethiopian/African culture and traditions; and To usher in the teaching and practice of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.

(Visit Official Site: www.AfricasFuture.com)

After being directed to meet me under almost mystical circumstances where two associates that I had not been in touch with for at least 3 years in the case of Pastor Glenda Lee Yuk, and at least 6 years in the case of Jah Wain, both connected me with Ras Sadiki-I by telephone on the same day.  So Ras Sadiki-I visited with me as the International President of The Ethiopian World Federation, Inc. and told me his story – showing me the video that documents these events – about how he came to be ordained by the Priests of the Temple and to be baptized by the Guardian of the Ark of the Covenant (the entire event on video) to undertake the mission to build a new Temple for the Ark of the Covenant and to raise the requisite funds. Normally the Guardian does not allow people to see him or for photos to be taken of him, so it was amazing to see various instances of Ras Sadiki-I interacting with the Monk who came to accept him as a son and a friend.

READ ABOUT THE BBC NEW ARTICLE ON THE REPAIRS NEEDED FOR THE HOUSE OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANT  To satisfy those who may question this call, an English newspaper confirms that a new Temple for Ark of the Covenant being built – London’s Daily Mail Dec. 5, 2011.

After many miraculous events in his life as he travelled to Africa from Boston where he had made his home when he migrated from Montserrat – (at one point leaving Montserrat two days before the fateful eruption of the famed but devastating volcano) he visited the Temple that houses the Ark of the Covenant in Axum because he wanted to pray there. He had visited Senegal, Gambia and other African nations and met many well-known entertainers and public figures. In Senegal he met the Mbala King of Senegal, Thione Seck. He was also blessed to meet the Highest Imam of the Muslim Mouridism sect in the Holy City of Touba, Sheik Saliou Mbacke who greeted him smiling with joy as if he was someone he knew, and who prayed for him. Sheikh Saliou was the son of the reknown Muslim leader, Amadou Bamba, whose legendary story is known internationally. He had been thrown to the lions by the French colonizers and the lions had not harmed him. There is a photograph of Amadou Bamba sitting down with a skull and human bone in the lions den, and the lion lying beside him. He had also been thrown into fire and was not burned – like Daniel of the Bible. So Amadou Bamba was then taken on a French ship to be exiled to Gabon and ordered not to pray on the ship. The soldiers on the ship later reported that while at sea, Amadou Bamba escaped his chains, jumped overboard and a prayer mat appeared on the ocean. He sat on it and was able to pray.

Ras Sadiki-I had met a special group of brethren and sistren who are followers of Amadou Bamba (the Bifals) and who wear dreadlocked hair. The Bifals show reverence to Amadou Bamba in the same way Rastafarians show reverence to His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I. I later learned that this Muslim sect does have an historic connection to Ethiopia – their ancestry is linked to the Toucouleurs peoples that migrated from Ethiopia/North Africa centuries ago. I also discovered a spiritual connection to His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I:
The Toucouleur people are Muslims at heart, and have been so since the 11th century. They are known as “The defenders of the faith”. “Defender of the Faith” is one of the titles of His Imperial Majesty. https://www.byhisgrace.cc/toucouleur/)

When he told the brethren that he had met Sheik Saliou, they were shocked and found it hard to believe because they said they had lived in the area for so long and never had the honor to meet him. They asked if he had prayed for Ras Sadiki I, and when he answered “Yes”, they fell down on their knees around him and asked him to touch them and pray for them – in order to extend the Sheikh’s blessings to them.One month after he met Sheik Saliou, Sheik Saliou died. His followers said of Ras Sadiki-I “He had been waiting for you”. They started calling him the American Sheik Saliou. Sheik Saliou was the last living son of Amadou Bamba and on his death, the position of leader of the Mouridism sect was passed down to a grandson of Amadou Bamba, Elharji Barra. Ras Sadiki-I was also honored to meet him, but he died 3 months after. Ras Sadiki-I later came to realize that their prayers were preparing him for what was before him.

He was now told by God to cut his beautiful dreadlocks. In his journeys through Africa he had met many important and high ranking personalities. But God spoke to him in Spirit and told him he had plans for him. God told him that he may feel that he met many important people but there were even more important people he was going to meet but he would be judged “before he got inside the gate”. That was the reason he had to cut his locks. I saw the videos of Ras Sadiki in Senegal where he had the locks – one of the most attractive bongo natties I had ever seen. (I found a pic of Ras Sadiki-I on his MySpace page so it is shown below). So I could fully relate to the fight within him before he finally decided to submit to the spirit and cut his hair after he asked God to give him a sign. God gave him three signs. He cut his hair.His intention in travelling to Africa was to build a hotel in Ethiopia, and he went to Axum in order to pray at the site of the Ark of the Covenant. When he visited the Temple that houses the Ark of the Covenant, he took pictures. He asked to meet the Guardian Monk but he was told that the chances of meeting the Guardian Monk and talking with him were almost nil. However, after waiting only 5 minutes, the Priest returned with the Monk. When he returned to the USA and looked on the pictures he noticed that the dome of the Temple appeared to be in disrepair and needing a facelift. On his next trip to Ethiopia and Axum, he again visited the Temple and again asked to see the Guardian Monk. He told the Priests he wanted to repair the dome and paint the fence. The Guardian Monk gave him permission to paint the fence but he was told that the dome was leaking and that it could not be fixed while the Ark of the Covenant was in the building.

The fence is now painted royally in green, gold (really yellow) and red, the traditional colors of Ethiopia and the official colors of the Ethiopian World Federation, Inc. as ordained in the Constitution and By-Laws. And there is now a tarpaulin covering the Dome of the Temple for protection from the elements. At first Ras Sadiki-I was only able to speak with the Guardian Monk outside of the fence. Later on, in the video he showed me, it shows him having a meal with the Monk in the Monk’s quarters. That reminded me of what God had said to him that he was going to meet people of much more importance and “You will be judged before you get inside the gate.” If he had not been obedient to God and cut his locks, he may not have been given the access to the Guardian Monk. The Monk does not normally allow people to take pictures of him, much less to eat with him.

Ras Sadiki-I, before God told him to cut his locks. His obedience was well rewarded

Shortly thereafter, the Priests handed the specifications for building a new Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant to Ras Sadiki-I and told him he was being assigned the job to build the new Temple. The Priests told him that they had been holding the specification for two years – they had been waiting for someone to come. He showed me the specifications. I actually touched it! They explained that when the new building is completed, then the Ark would be moved and the repairs could begin on the original Temple (which had been built by Empress Menen). This was when he realized that all along God was preparing him for this. The Guardian Monk recognized and chose him to be the builder of the new Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant.Ras Sadiki-I donated a large sum of money to the construction of the temple on two different occasions. Thus they were able to begin the project. The video I saw showed him climbing down a ladder to lay the first three stones in the foundation while the bare-footed Monk blessed each stone with the maskel in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

When he had first visited Ethiopia, he was also welcomed warmly by the Priest of Bet Giyorgis Church in Lalibela (one of those Churches cut out in the rock in the shape of a cross that is so well recognized in so many photographs on the internet). His guide told him that the priest had seen hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists come to the Temple each year and he had never before seen the Priest get up and approach anyone so enthusiastically, greeting them and then blessing them the way he received Ras Sadiki-I. When he returned to the U.S. he received an email from the guide who had by now become his friend. He told him that the Priest at Bet Giyorgis had been asking about him. He was surprised that the priest even remembered him.When he returned to Ethiopia and visited the church again, the Priest was outside strolling along and talking with some visitors. When he saw him, he immediately left those folks and, almost running, hurried towards him and greeted him like an old friend.

Ras Sadiki-I was curious and asked the Priest what it was about him that made him remember him and greet him so warmly. He said he didn’t know, but it was what he felt in his heart. The video shows the Priest wrapping him in a white prayer cloth on the steps of the church.

They developed a beautiful friendship, and the Priest told him he should visit another church about 20 kilometers away. This church was not a very well-known one because visitors would have to walk some of the distance and cross a river. They told him that river has never dried up – not even in the longest drought in Ethiopia. In his obedience he went and visited the church. On the way he was told to splash himself with the water from the river to receive special blessings. We see him do this in the video. This was a church which was older than most of the other churches. It was originally built in a cave but the cave had collapsed over time and they had built a structure around what was left of the church. The Holy of Holies was still intact, behind a door that he was told was over 1,000 years old. They showed him the stain where the water had drained into the church (from the cave) for probably thousands of years. This was the holy water that was used by the church before the cave collapsed. However, the structure around the church was now in disrepair, so he immediately made arrangements to have the repairs done. He shows on the video the repaired structure.

Emperor Haile Selassie I had sent a tent as a gift to the church in 1952. They showed him the proclamation in Amharic on a cloth banner. He was also told that when Empress Menen was sick with her hand, His Imperial Majesty sent for the Priest to bring the maskel of that church which he laid on Her and immediately Her hand was healed. Ras Sadiki-I was honored to have that same maskel that was used to heal Empress Menen laid on him to bless him.

Ras Sadiki-I, a Rastafarian from Montserrat, who loves Africa so much he visited 10 times (so far), cut his locks in obedience to God. Based on his obedience he was later baptized in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church by none other than the Guardian Monk of the Ark of the Covenant, attended by around 20 other high ranking priests of the Church. His baptism was not witnessed by a congregation. It was just him and the Priests – in his birthday suit. The guardian Monk arrived (barefoot said speed) under armed guard that waited outside as the ceremony took place. This was a landmark, once in eternity event as well. No other Guardian of the Ark in history had ever baptized anyone. Ras Sadiki-I is the only person ever baptized by a Guardian Monk. He is well blessed and highly favored.After the first ceremony he was taken to the Monastery of Our Lady Of Zion and anointed again with the Oil of David. After the baptism ceremonies were complete, the Priests celebrated with Ras Sadiki-I in a reception he had arranged for them in the hotel in Axum where he was staying. The priests sang and danced in the hotel, celebrating his baptism with joy. It is all shown on the video. The Guardian Monk did not attend – he had done his duty and gone back to the life of discipline and sacrifice to which he had been born. (Guardian Monks are prepared from birth for this duty). He would not go into a hotel.

During his trod in Ethiopia Ras Sadiki-I was given three (3) different church names by the various priests with whom he had come in contact. It appears that these prelates of the church all recognized him as someone who was worthy and who had a special purpose.

He was given the name Haile Giyorgis by the priest of Bet Giyorgis Church in Lalibela (the name of his church…it means the Power of Saint George).
The Archbishop Of Axum, Abuna Salama (Tigray) – shown in pic – gave him the name Menbera Selassie (it means the Dwelling Place of the Trinity) and
The Guardian Monk gave him the name Fisaha Tsion (it means the Happiness of Zion).

And in response to someone who questioned him when he later showed a group the video in Brooklyn March 2012; “Yes”, he had three private meetings with Abuna Paulos at his palace in Addis Ababa. Pic shows him with Archbishop Abuna Salama of Axum (Tigray) in the airport in Asum on their way to meet with Abuna Paulos at his palace in Addis Ababa.

He was given charge and responsibility by the Guardian of the Ark of the Covenant and the administrative priests responsible for the Temple to build the new temple. He was given direct instructions to raise the funds needed – US $350,000.00 for the new Temple and an estimated $150,000 for the repair and renovation of the old one for a total of $500,000.00. Read Exodus 25. He had the endorsement and blessings of the highest order of the Orthodox Priesthood in Ethiopia. He had planned to make copies of the video to share in his fund raising effort, but when he sought permission from the Guardian Monk, he was told, NO – no videos, no press conferences, no website, no hoopla.

However, on his recent return to Ethiopia (April – May 2012) after explaining to the Guardian Monk that it was more difficult to raise the funds than he thought it would be and that there were articles in papers in the United Kingdom about the Ark of the Covenant and the New Temple being built, he was given permission to go ahead and do whatever publicity and fund-raising was necessary. The Guardian Monk only asked that his image be removed from the video or any document being shared. He can, however, show the original video with the Guardian Monk to your group in a personal presentation. He was also given a signed and sealed letter of endorsement from the Church Administration in Aksum and an official English translation as proof of the mission he was given by the Priests and the Guardian Monk.

(Churches, Organizations and EWF Locals and members are encouraged to help raise funds for the Temple by putting on fund-raising events. You can invite Ras Sadiki-I to make a presentation to your organizations. But do not forget to make your personal contribution – and don’t say you do not have enough. Ras Sadiki-I reminded me that the widow’s mite was more important than the riches of the wealth man.)

So we humbly give thanks and praise that the Almighty God who reveals Himself to those of the Rastafari faith in the spirit and personality of His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I, Jah Rastafari, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God and Defender of the Faith, has chosen to use us to His glory and give our membership the opportunity to be blessed by our involvement with this project.

The Ark of the Covenant was designed by our Father God speaking through Moses as a way for His presence to be made visible to the Children of Israel throughout the Exodus – to lead, guide and protect them as they were delivered from bondage in Egypt, wandering 40 years in the wilderness before reaching the Promised Land.

Could this be our opportunity in these days to have the blessing of the Ark of the Covenant to help guide the Repatriation that the Black Peoples of the World seek after more than 400 years in the Diaspora – suffering slavery, second-class citizenship, police brutality, racial discrimination in work, school and housing, institutionalized racism, poverty and deprivation? Is the Ark of the Covenant showing us the pathway to organize and centralize to occupy the Land promised by His Imperial Majesty as our Divine Heritage – just as Canaan was promised to the children of Israel back then by a loving God who saw the suffering of His people under the whip of the Egyptians and who raised Moses – who married an Ethiopian, by the way – as a leader and provided the Ark to clear the way for them?

God gave Moses the specifications to build the Ark of the Covenant. The Monk who is the closest to the Ark, and the only human being on earth allowed to view the Ark itself uncovered (where God resides among men and speaks to us from the Mercy Seat) gave Ras Sadiki-I the specifications to build the new temple. God Himself spoke to Moses from the Mercy Seat upon the Ark. Wherever the Ark is God Himself is there. He has not abandoned His people. He did not abandon His holy place in Mt. Zion! In the traditional Anthem we sing at our EWF membership gatherings, it begins:

“Ethiopia the Land of our Fathers – the Land where our God (Jah)(or “the Gods) loves to be…. As the swift bee to hive sudden gather, thy children all gather to thee…” (full anthem below)

Those of us who are members of His Majesty’s Church, The Ethiopian Orthodox Church that he himself br, have a different perspective in regards to this holy icon than the general public because the history of the Ark of the Covenant and how it got to Ethiopia is always taught. (It is significant to me that when I was baptized at St. Gabriel Church in Brooklyn in the 90’s, His Majesty’s name was in the Liturgy. But shortly thereafter the Church leaders removed his name, obviously on orders from Ethiopia). This was the Church that His Imperial Majesty worshipped in, and He himself brought it to Ethiopia as an independent Church from under the Archdiocese of the Egyptian Orthodox Coptic Church.

Ras Sadiki-I returned to Ethiopia April 2012. For those willing to help, please make your donation as soon as you can. Your name will be placed in a book to be blessed by the Guardian Monk. When the Ark of the Covenant is settled in its new home, the book will be placed in the Holy of Holies close to the Ark of the Covenant where the spirit of God will touch each name for continued and blessing and protection for eternity.

We pray that those of the Christian faith, the African Diaspora community, the EWF, Inc. membership and the Rastafari community all come together to Rally Round the Ark of the Covenant. We must be aware that what we do for the Ark of the Covenant, we do for the Almighty God, and our sacrifice will not be in vain. The Constitution and By-Laws given to the Black Peoples of the World in 1937 by His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile Selassie I, makes it incumbent that EWF, Inc. take up this high and holy task. I am honored, blessed and favored that Ras Sadiki-I has seen it fit to include me on behalf of the EWF, Inc. to be involved in this project and I want to share that blessing with everyone, regardless of color. However, since I was approached on behalf of the EWF, Inc. I am obligated to reach out to our members and the members of the Rastafari community who share our love for Ethiopia, Africa,.

Provided here are the links and banking information provided by Ras Sadiki-I to make your donation. When you make your donation, please send me an email – you do not have to state the amount. Also, remember the widow’s mite. It was more valuable that the many dollars of the rich men. Let the spirit speak to your heart.

As we pray to Our Holy Father: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –  – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Go to the “DONATIONS PAGE” for Paypal link and Instructions for Sending Funds to Africa’s Future Corp. (the organization set up by Ras Sadiki-I for the purpose of raising funds to build the Temple).

Account Name: Africa’s Future Corp.
Paypal email: [email protected]
Contact Ras Sadiki-I: [email protected]

Contact The Ethiopian World Federation, Inc.
[email protected]
347-462-9039, 347-897-8211