Ethiopia Celebrates St. Gabriel’s Annual Feast With Great Pomp
Ethiopia Celebrates St. Gabriel’s Annual Feast With Great Pomp
The annual feast of St. Gabriel, observed on Tahsas 19 in the Ethiopian calendar, is being celebrated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Numerous monasteries and churches are marking the occasion with special religious ceremonies.
Among the main centers of celebration are Qulbi Debre Maalq St. Gabriel Monastery and Hawassa Debre Mihret St. Gabriel Monastery. In Addis Ababa alone, the feast is observed in more than 54 monasteries and churches, including Menbere Golet Gibi St. Gabriel Monastery and Debre Bisrat St. Gabriel Monastery.
The celebrations feature Divine Liturgy, prayers, hymns, and communal gatherings, reflecting the deep spiritual significance of the day. Festivities are also taking place outside Ethiopia. In Djibouti, the feast was celebrated at St. Gabriel Church in Misraqe Tsehai, attended by Ethiopia’s Ambassador and Special Envoy to Djibouti, Dr. Legesse Tulu, according to local media reports.
In Ethiopian Orthodox tradition, the feast commemorates the biblical event described in Daniel 3:1–30, when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into a fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar for refusing to worship a golden idol. They were miraculously saved by divine intervention, as a heavenly messenger appeared in the flames. This miracle is closely associated with Archangel Gabriel, who is venerated as a protector and divine messenger.
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