Ethiopian Orthodox Christians gathered for the annual Timkat festivities on Saturday to commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river. 

Worshippers waded in the Bath of Fasilides in Gondor, and were spritzed with holy water by high priests in the capital of Addis Ababa.

In long processions, priests carried talbots, which are replicas of the Ark of the Covenant that are sacred in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.  

Some revelers said this year that the singing, dancing, and staying up all night in prayer felt muted due to unrest between militias and government forces, and the food insecurity plaguing multiple regions.  

Millions remain internally displaced despite the end of a two-year civil conflict in November of 2022.

At the gathering in Addis the patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Abune Mathias, focused on the symbolism of the day and called for peace, unity and forgiveness. 

He urged Ethiopia’s leaders to work and advocate for peace. “At the moment our fellow citizens: children, elderly, mothers and sisters are waiting to die because of hunger. Our Christian faith will be in question if we keep quiet,” he said.

About 35 percent of the East African country’s population practice Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity.

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