Ethiopian Orthodox choir sing during the Meskel festival celebration
Members of Ethiopian Orthodox choir sing during the Meskel festival celebration to commemorate the discovery of the true cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified, at Meskel square, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Sept. 26, 2022.
👉 The shadow of war hung over Ethiopia's Meskel festival in Addis Ababa on Tuesday, with high security, low turnout and Orthodox Christian priests calling for peace and forgiveness in their sermons.
The event - usually a joyous affair where huge crowds gather around bonfires - marks the moment when the 4th century Roman Empress St Helena found Christ's cross in Jerusalem.
As they do year after year, hundreds of priests, musicians and singers clad in white robes came together on the vast expanse of the capital's Meskel Square.
But the mood was much darker, and the clergy kept turning to the conflict raging again in the northern region of Tigray.
"Truly speaking, this year, we Ethiopians are not celebrating the festival in full happiness," said Archbishop Abuna Markos, resplendent in a white robe with gold trim and embroidered silver crosses and blue floral designs.
"Just like the mothers were crying under the cross, our mothers in the North are also crying. They are suffering. This suffering is common to all of us. It's our own," he said, holding a gold cross encrusted with red gems.
The war in Tigray, which broke out in November 2020 and has spilled over into other regions, has killed thousands of people, displaced many more and left an estimated 13 million people in desperate need of food aid. (Reuters)