Symbiosis of Church and State during the መስቀል [Meskel] Celebration in Ethiopia

Abstract

Abstract: 

This study examines the መስቀል [Meskel] festival based on a nine-minute archival YouTube video authorized by UNESCO as its primary artifact. As one of the oldest and indigenous Christian Churches in Africa, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) has preserved the Commemoration Feast of the Finding of the True Cross of Christ for centuries. The Meskel celebration functions as a primary vehicle for identity formation and transcends the liturgical rite, serving as a ritual reaffirmation of the historic bond between its divine obligation and the historic Ethiopian state. This study then argues that, despite the official institutional separation of church and state in Ethiopia, their enduring relationship is clearly demonstrated in the festival. Contrary to the modern perceived antithesis between the sacred and the secular, this study shows a convergence of interests where the historical symbiosis of the two continues to manifest. The study also reaffirms that while the historical and ritual elements embedded in the festival are vital, the church does not claim them to be an end in themselves; rather, they serve as a medium and pathway to lead the adherents to a cruciform life. Therefore, this study first demonstrates how the Meskel celebration serves as a historical and contemporary manifestation of the symbiosis between church and state in Ethiopia. Then, it advocates for a renewal of the ritual’s theological core, suggesting that adherents move beyond outward ritual participation toward an internalized lived Theology of the Cross.