The Ethiopian Church Journal Blog

Every Day an Easter By Mitiku Adisu This Sunday, May 2, 2021, Ethiopians will be celebrating Easter. You may be wondering why a second Easter after having had one on April 4. The short end of it is that Eastern and Western churches have different traditions. Should that then be reason for not joining in or for thinking a difference in tradition "gives a divided witness?" [1] Not at all, because it is only fitting that we celebrate the Risen Christ a second, third, nay, daily, and all year.Jesus is alive. We worship One who came into time dressed in our humanity to demonstrate God's love and forgiveness by tearing down the wall of sin that separated us from the Holy One of Israel and from one another; he gave us peace, a new community, and a living hope. There is a redeemer,  Jesus, God's own Son, Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,  Holy One,         Jesus my redeemer,         Name above all names,        Precious Lamb of God, Messiah,        Oh, for si

The Fire on the Mountain (an Ethiopian folktale) People say that in the old days in the city of Addis Ababa, there was a young man by the name of Arha. He had come as a boy from the country of Guragé, and in the city he became the servant of a rich merchant, Haptom Hasei. Haptom Hasei was so rich that he owned everything that money could buy, and often he was very bored because he had tired of everything he knew, and there was nothing new for him to do. One cold night, when the damp wind was blowing across the plateau, Haptom called to Arha to bring wood for the fire. When Arha was finished, Haptom began to talk. “How much cold can a man stand?” he said, speaking at first to himself. “I wonder if it would be possible for a man to stand on the highest peak, Mount Sululta, where the coldest winds blow, through an entire night without blankets or clothing and yet not die?” “I don’t know,” Arha said. “But wouldn’t it be a foolish thing?” “Perhaps, if he had nothing to gain by it,