Ethiopians celebrate Meskel holiday with pomp, despite recent fighting in Tigray

Millions of Christians in Ethiopia gathered to celebrate Meskel, a religious holiday that commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by the Roman empress Helena in the 4th century, even as fighting continued in the troubled northern region of Tigray.

“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction…”