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Only five thousand people celebrated the Meskel bonfire in Addis Ababa, something unprecedented in many decades.
borkena
September 26, 2020
The Ethiopian Meskel bonfire is celebrated in the capital Addis Ababa. The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of Tewahdo, Abune Mathias, presided over the ceremony. Also in attendance were President Sahle-Work Zewde and Addis Ababa City Mayor Adanech Abiebie.
Typically, Meskel is one of the most colorful religious festivals in the Ethiopian Church attracting millions of people which is celebrated across the country; It is registered as a UNESCO world heritage site.
However, this year only five thousand people were able to celebrate in Meskel Square in the capital Addis Ababa due to the coronavirus prevention measures implemented.
Political challenges The Ethiopian church faces
Apart from the Coronavirus disease, political pressure in different parts of the country against the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church made the celebration difficult in some places outside of Addis Ababa.
In Adama (Nazret), for example, which is only 100 kilometers southeast of Addis Ababa, the city administration did not allow the Ethiopian Church to use the traditional place that the church used for centuries to celebrate festivals like Meskel. The city mayor reportedly approved the decision that the Ethiopian church should not use the place.
In Hosaena, in the regional states of southern Ethiopia, the church is experiencing similar challenges.
The last Ethiopian year (2012) was full of challenges for the Ethiopian church. He has lost hundreds of his followers in Ethiopia’s Oromo region, among other places, as radical Oromo nationalists orchestrated savage attacks in multiple cities in the region.
During the celebration in Meskel Square in the capital Addis Ababa, Patriarch Abune Mathias said: “To overcome the various obstacles in our country, intellectuals, politicians and the media must be patient and wise.”
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