Tens of thousands of Ethiopians gathered in the heart of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city, on Monday evening to mark the eve of Meskel, a Christian annual festival held in commemoration of the discovery of the cross of Jesus. The event was presided over by Patriarch Abune Mathias, who is the head of Ethiopia’s Christian Orthodox church. The church believes that in 326 AD, Queen Helena prayed for help to find the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and luckily her prayers were answered. Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia say the queen was directed by smoke to the location of the cross. Ethiopia is a predominantly Christian country and the majority of Christians are Orthodox Tewahedo Christians.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 01, 2016 17:03 UTC