The head of the Orthodox Church completes his apostolic visit to Ethiopia

Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syriac Church, was the chief guest at the Meskel Historical Festival.

According to an official statement, the visit took place at the invitation of Abune Mathias I, head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Patriarch of Ethiopia. The two heads of the church jointly led the services held as part of the Meskel celebrations.

In his message, the Catholicos said that while India and Ethiopia were geographically distant, the two churches shared close spiritual ties. As sister churches of the Oriental Orthodox family, the Ethiopian and Indian Orthodox Churches shared a spiritual heritage rooted in the Apostolic Faith, prayer and the cross of Christ, he said.

He also recalled the meeting of the heads of the Eastern Orthodox Churches held in Addis Ababa in 1965 as an important milestone in the relationship between the two churches.

Representatives of the government, metropolitans, clergy, monks and hundreds of thousands of believers took part in the celebrations at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa.

The Meskel Festival, which combines religious observance with the cultural traditions of Ethiopia, commemorates the discovery of the True Cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified by Queen Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, in the fourth century.

Catholics also attended the Holy Qurbana at Bole Medhanealem Cathedral after the festival. He returned to India on Sunday after completing his four-day apostolic visit to Ethiopia.

Published – 27 Sep 2026 19:22 IST