MESKEL CELEBRATION IN ETHIOPIA
(THE FINDING OF TRUE CROSS)
(THE FINDING OF TRUE CROSS)
Meskel, the most colorful and major Ethiopian Orthodox festival celebrated on September 26th and 27th with worship songs and lightening a massive bonfire to commemorate the discovery of the true cross on which Jesus Christ has been crucified.
The Story goes back to the year 326 A.D while Queen Helena or Empress Helena the mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the cross upon which Christ was crucified. When she was unable to find the Holy sepulcher, she prayed for help and was directed by smoke from a burning fire as to where the cross was buried. After unearthing the holy cross Queen Helena lit torches heralding her success. It is believed to be the King of Alexandria gave the Ethiopian Emperor Dawit half of the true cross in return for protection afforded to the Coptic Christians.
The fragment of the true cross is reputedly held at Gishen Debre Kerbe about 70 km northwest of Dessie.
The occasion has been observed for more than one and half millennium by the faithful, the clergy and the leaders of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church, and UNESCO has inscribed Meskel commemoration feast of the finding of the True Holy Cross of Christ on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. UNESCO made the decision in its 8th Conference of intangible cultural heritages.
Debre Kerbe Gishen Mariam Church
Cross in the Bible
God sent Christ to bear our sins means that God does not just shrug off our sin and through Christ’s death, we are delivered both from the penalty and from the power of sin. The cross is the place where all the wounds of sin are healed. If you suffer from emotional problems-guilt, anxiety, depression, anger, or whatever-there is healing in the cross of Christ. If you are going through tragedy or suffering, there is comfort in abundance as you contemplate the sufferings of the spotless Saviour on your behalf.
As Paul said in his letter 1 Corinthians 1:18 "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
Mark 8:34 said " And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
1 Peter 2:24-25 told us that "Through Christ’s death on the cross, those who turn to Him are delivered from both the penalty and the power of sin."
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