Ethiopians celebrate Easter with calls for charity and peace

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopians marked Easter festivities Sunday with vows to embrace sacrifice, love and peace in a country facing armed conflict and other challenges.

During Fasika, as Easter is known, Christians of all denominations — including the majority Orthodox group — come together to celebrate Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.

For some Ethiopians, religious festivals in recent months have acquired more meaning with the conflict in the Amhara region and instability in neighboring Tigray, where a deadly war ended with a peace deal in 2022.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement that it “takes patience, humility and sacrifice to achieve dialogue and reconciliation to heal a nation.”

At the cathedral known as Medhane Alem in the capital Addis Ababa, mammoth congregations took part in services marked by acts of devotion, including kneeling and prostration. The public rituals attest to the passion of Christ.

The presiding priest, Leul Adbaru, urged the faithful to reflect on the meaning of the sacrifice made by Jesus. “Ethiopians ought to believe, understanding for whom Jesus Christ died for on the cross at Calvary,” he said.

Across Addis Ababa, lengthy church services were followed by feasts to mark the end of a 55-day fasting period.

Fitsum Getachew, a casual laborer in the city, waited hours to be served food at Medhane Alem, joining hundreds of worshippers in the meal that included traditional raw meat.

“At this feast prepared by our devout mothers we have partaken of all things, even chunks of raw meat and we are giving thanks unto God," he said.

For church fundraisers and volunteers like Mulumebet Jembere, charity is the enduring spirit of Fasika. The poor will be looked after, she said.

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