Postcards: Ethiopians celebrate “Timket” festival that marks Jesus’ baptism
DAWIT ENDESHAW, of Reuters, reports from Addis Ababa…
Ethiopian Orthodox Church reaches deal with breakaway Oromo synod
Nairobi, KenyaReuters The influential Ethiopian Orthodox Church said late on Wednesday it had reached an agreement with a breakaway synod from the Oromiya region following deadly violence that killed dozens and led to partial internet shutdowns. The rift threatened to bring fresh instability to Africa’s second most populous nation, just as its starts to turn […]
Social media restricted in Ethiopia after church rift turns violent
Nairobi, KenyaReuters Access to social media platforms has been restricted in Ethiopia, Internet watchdog NetBlocks said, following violent protests sparked by a rift within the country’s Orthodox Church. The protests broke out in the Oromiya region when three church officials declared themselves archbishops last month and set up their own governing body. Some demonstrators have […]
Shadow of war hangs over Ethiopia’s Meskel festival celebrations
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaReuters 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 […]
Ethiopia’s holy town of Lalibela struggles to heal wounds of war
Lalibela, EthiopiaReuters The bedframes where sleepy pilgrims used to rest at the Cliff Edge Hotel lie twisted under the sky, blood spatters the hotel kitchen and a lone picture of a priest hangs on a crumbling wall. The 18-room hotel in the holy town of Lalibela, in the north of Ethiopia, used to welcome visitors […]
Eritrean and Tigrayan forces killed and raped refugees – HRW report
Nairobi, KenyaReuters Eritrean soldiers and Tigrayan militias raped, detained and killed Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, an international rights watchdog said on Thursday. Human Rights Watch’s report detailed attacks around two camps in Tigray, where local forces have battled the Ethiopian Government and their Eritrean allies since November in a conflict that […]
Updated: Ethiopian Orthodox Church Patriarch blasts Tigray “genocide”
Updated: 6.30pm, 9th May, 2021 Nairobi, KenyaAP The head of Ethiopia’s Orthodox Church has said that atrocities amounting to genocide are being committed in Tigray, in his first comments on the conflict in the region that broke out in November and has killed thousands. Abune Mathias, who has been head of the church since 2013, did […]
In COVID-19 trimmed Meskel festival, Ethiopian Orthodox Church Patriarch urges peace
In Meskel celebrations held under World Health Organization COVID-19 safety protocols, Abune Mathias, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, called for dialogue, peace and reconciliation in the country, where ethnic tensions recently flared up. At the Meskel Square – a ground in the capital, Addis Ababa named after the festival and where the celebrations are traditionally […]
Ethiopian monk said to be 114-years-old survives coronavirus
Addis Ababa, EthiopiaAP An Ethiopian Orthodox monk whose family says he is 114-years-old has survived the coronavirus. Tilahun Woldemichael was discharged from a hospital on Thursday after almost three weeks. He received oxygen and dexamethasone, a cheap and widely available steroid that researchers in England have said reduced deaths by up to one third in […]
Ethiopians celebrate Meskel festival
Via World Council of Churches Ethiopians have celebrated the annual festival of the Meskel (which means “cross” in Amharic), marking the finding of the “true cross” on which Jesus Christ was supposedly crucified. The festival is one of the major religious celebrations of the Orthodox Church in the Horn of Africa country. The main national […]