From Saturday evening until Sunday morning, my husband and I attended an Easter celebration at the Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The experience was rich, enlivening, and deeply resonant. I shall attempt to provide a portal into my experience through this free verse poetic expression:
Ethiopian Easter
Arrayed in a traditional Ethiopian dress - a tender gift from a dear friend - my husband and I make our way to church.
This service is a sacrificial honoring of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
After fasting from all animal products for 55 days, from around 8:00 pm on May 4th to 3:00 am on May 5th, we lovingly participated in a 7 hour worship service.
This worship service was like no other.
You walk in - adorned in your modest, yet culturally vibrant attire, greet the beautiful souls you see with a "Selam" or "Dana neh / Dana nesh?" accompanied with a hug or kiss, and you take off and store your shoes in the lobby of the building ..
For this is Holy Ground.
Upon arrival, the evening is imbued with so much honor and respect for Aba Father and His Son.
Between standing for the the reading of God's word, kneeling in prayer, clapping and singing in jubilation, inhaling the sweet & centering aroma of frankincense, and hearing the children in the nursery laugh with joy - momentarily adding a note of harmony to this incredible melody of love - I was in tearful awe.
The worship service ended around 3 am.
During announcements, our brothers and sisters acknowledged our presence, gave my husband a brief moment to speak and to express gratitude for the abundant hospitality that we'd received, and we were gifted new names - "Wudeneh" (Paul) and "Wudenesh" (Brandy) - meaning beloved or precious in Amharic.
Then, and only then, were we dismissed to eat.
When we arrived to the fellowship hall, the meal was prepared and we dined sumptuously!
No matter how deliciously the food danced on my taste buds, the fellowship and conversation was much sweeter.
Key Words: Ethiopian Easter, Ethiopia, Resurrection, Jesus Christ, Aba Father, Love, Holy Ground, Amharic.
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