Welcome to Africanews

Please select your experience

Watch Live

Ethiopian Orthodox faithful call for peace during the Meskel festival

Thousands of Orthodox Christians gathered in Addis Ababa to celebrate the annual festival of Meskel, which marks the historic discovery of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The final bonfire recalls the efforts of St Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, to find the cross. This year, the faithful prayed for peace and an end to the civil war in the country.