Malankara Orthodox Catholicos completes four-day visit to Ethiopia

Baselios Marthoma Mathews III, Catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, has completed a four-day apostolic visit to Ethiopia. The Catholicos was invited by Abune Mathias I, head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Patriarch of Ethiopia. He was the chief guest at the Meskel Festival in Addis Ababa and jointly led religious services with the Ethiopian patriarch.

In his message, the Catholicos said India and Ethiopia, despite their geographical distance, shared close spiritual ties. He described the Ethiopian and Indian Orthodox Churches as sister Churches within the Oriental Orthodox family, with a common heritage rooted in apostolic faith, prayer and the Cross of Christ. He also recalled a 1965 meeting in Addis Ababa involving the heads of the Oriental Orthodox Churches, describing it as an important milestone in relations between the churches.

The Meskel celebrations at Meskel Square were attended by government representatives, metropolitans, clergy, monastics and hundreds of thousands of faithful. The festival combines religious observance with Ethiopian cultural traditions. Meskel commemorates the discovery of the True Cross, on which Christians believe Jesus Christ was crucified.

According to the tradition described in the source material, the cross was discovered by Queen Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, in the fourth century. During the visit, the Catholicos also attended the Holy Qurbana at Bole Medhanealem Cathedral. He returned to India on Sunday after completing the programme.

The visit was presented by the church as an occasion to reaffirm the spiritual relationship between the two Orthodox communities.