Ethiopian Orthodox Christians Celebrate Easter with Unwavering Devotion and Tradition.

Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia marked the holiday of Easter with church services throughout the country. With the largest Orthodox population outside of Europe, Ethiopian followers observed the holiday by fasting for 55 days leading up to Easter and abstaining from meat and animal products.

On the eve of Easter, worshippers donned traditional white attire and participated in church services that lasted into the early hours of the morning. At Kidus Gebreil Church in Addis Ababa, priests, deacons, and worshippers joined together to commemorate the holiday on Sunday. The head of the church, Megabi Hadis Leake Mariam, spoke about the significance of Easter to Christians, emphasizing the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The celebration was a reminder that believers will also rise from death, similar to Christ.

During this time families reunited with their loved ones who came from far distances to be together. While many Western churches celebrated Easter on March 31st, Eastern Orthodox churches like those in Ethiopia followed a different calendar and marked the holiday on a specified Sunday.