The Churches

The church plays a very important part in the lives of Christian members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. On Mt. Entoto which stands watch high over Addis Ababa, Menelik II built a church when he came to the area. The Church is highly revered and there were a number of
people at various places around, praying and bowing down, often touching their heads to the ground, as they indicated the great importance of the Church in their lives.

Behind the church is a palace where MenelikII lived and where he had meetings with various dignitaries. It appears somewhat in disrepair. Menelik's daughter had some work done on it in 1911, but since then, it has remained as it is, to preserve it the way it was built.

When we first arrived in Addis Ababa, 40 years ago in September, which is the month of Meskel in Amharic tradition, we saw the airport completely surrounded by vast fields of yellow flowers, the Meskel flowers. This year, we were a bit late, and the season of the Meskel flowers had passed, but I did find a few of them still blooming. There is an important tradition behind these flowers. Meskel means cross, and the flowers led Menelik to the true cross, and so they represent the finding of the true cross.

Later, we stopped by another important church, the Church of St. George. Again, you can see people there, kissing the side of the church, or touching their forehead to it, or bowing. One woman came by with her little girl. The woman stopped to bow and spend some time praying, while the little girl seemed uninterested. But she will learn because this is an important part of the lives of these people.