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ETHIOPIA TIMES Issue #13 April 25th 2004.
"FASIKA" Ethiopian Easter 
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was established at the beginning of the fourth century, making it one of the oldest established churches in the world.
Ethiopians date the coming of Christianity to the fourth century AD, when a Christian philosopher from Tyre named Meropius was shipwrecked in Ethiopia on his way to India. Meropius died but his two wards, Frumentius and Aedesius were washed ashore and taken to the royal palace. Eventually they became king Ella Amida’s private secretary and royal cupbearer respectively.
They served the king well, and Frumentius became regent for the infant prince Ezana when Ella Amida died. Frumentius and Aedesius were also permitted to prosyletize the new religion in Axum (as modern Ethiopia was then known). After some time, Frumentius and Aedesius returned to the Mediterranean, traveling down the Nile through Egypt to do so. When they reached Egypt, Frumentius contacted bishop Euthanasias of Alexandria and begged him to send missionaries back to Axum, since the people there had proved so ready to receive the gospel. Athanasius agreed that the need was urgent, and immediately appointed Frumentius to the task, which needed someone fluent in the language and sensitive to the customs of Axum. He ordained Frumentius the first Abuna or bishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Frumentius has since come to be known as the Abuna Salama or bishop of peace. His mission was successful and, with the support of king Ezana, Ethiopia became a Christian nation. The link between the Ethiopian church and the Patriarch of Alexandria was not broken until the 20th century, since the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria had sent Ethiopia each of its succeeding Abuna. In 1952 however, under the Imperial Regime of H.I.M. Haile Selassie I the Ethiopian "Tewahedo" Orthodox Church was declared indepedent of Egypt. The most striking feature of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church with its root in Judaism is that the religion plays such an important role in the Ethiopian society, festivals and ceremonies provide many high points in the calendar, only the Ethiopian Orthodox Church celebrates no less then 150 festivities per year. Celebrated in April, Fasika (Easter) is a festival that follows a fasting period of 55 days. During this time, no animal product is eaten. The faithful do not eat anything at all until the daily service is finished at around three in the afternoon. From Thursday evening before Good Friday, nothing is eaten until the Easter-service ends at three in the morning on Easter Sunday. Marcus Garvey, one of the most prolific Ethiopianist of the 20th century, taught us that "The God of Issace and the God of Jacob let Him exist for the race that believes in the God of Issac and the God of Jacob. We Negroes believe in the God of Ethiopia, the everlasting God- God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, the One God of all ages. That is the God in whom we believe, but we shall worship Him through the spectacles of Ethiopia". On April 29th the Garvey Club of New York City will host "Fasika: An Ethiopian Easter" at the African Orthodox Church in Harlem (see bulletin board for details). Garveyism lives and Ethiopia stretches forth her hands unto JAH! "MELKOM FASIKA" & One Love. Photograph shows famous paintings from the walls of the Church Debra Berhane Selassie in Gondar. Excerpts reprinted from www.ethioipiatravel.com ETHIOPIA TIMES Vol.1 
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