The True Cross

I came to Ethiopia at a good time. The rainy season is ending, fields are a lush green, flowers bloom. On September 27, I got to experience the two-day holiday named Meskel, the Finding of the True Cross, a key Orthodox festival in Ethiopia. According to tradition, Roman Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, traveled to Jerusalem in the fourth century and found the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. She did so by having a fire built and letting the smoke lead her to the site where the cross was buried. The story goes that part of the cross—the right arm—made its way to Ethiopia where it remains today.

Every year, Ethiopian Orthodox devotees gather in town squares to listen to priests chanting and to receive a blessing as a large wooden cross is moved through the crowds and a big bonfire is built to remember Helena’s fire that led her to the true cross. Wearing traditional cotton shawls and holding yellow Meskel daisies, attendees dance, sing, ululate, and light candles. They then go home and make their own bonfires where neighbors come together till late at night. The next day is a day for family and food.

Meserete Kristos Seminary, where I work, is an evangelical Christian institution, so my colleagues and students believe that the “true cross” is within our hearts. Most of them did not attend a Meskel festival as my colleagues Yodahe, Werner and I did, yet they did gather with their families. For all Christians in Ethiopia, Meskel is a family time. Most of my students, however, could not be with their families on Meskel—because they live far from home and travel is not easy given the violence of the current situation. Though some were not impressed that the cafeteria had no special food for them, they did enjoy a day off from classes, even though we had just begun the week before! I’m grateful for the chance to experience Meskel.