Ethiopia is 40% Orthodox Christian and 64% Christian overall. Muslims make up 35% of the population, according to Pew-Templeton’s Global Religious Futures Project.

FILE - This Oct. 16, 2017, file photo, shows one of the 12th century churches carved from stone in Lalibela, Ethiopia. The architectural marvels are one of the country's most magical attractions ...

As a stranger draws near, priest Mesganaw Tarkgn whips on an embroidered cape and raises an ancient cross in a picture-perfect pose. He is used to the demands of visitors to one of Ethiopia's ...

The festival’s curious blend of saintliness and savagery, paganism and piety, is typical of the ancient, isolated Ethiopian Church, which has managed to keep Christianity alive in its corner of ...

Joseph travels to Northern Ethiopia to uncover its ancient history. Joseph travels Northern Ethiopia from the monasteries of Lake Tana to the castles of King Fasiladas in Gondar and the rock-hewn ...

But, the 29 th of Cheshvan is a Jewish holiday – the festival of Sigd, an Ethiopian Jewish festival. “Sigd” means “prostration” in Ge’ez, an ancient Ethiopian liturgical language.

Worshippers kiss the holy Gospel during service at Re'ese Adbarat Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church, an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church, in Washington, D.C., Saturday, April 5, 2025.

Ethiopia has always held me in thrall. It is a cradle of prehistoric humankind. It embraced Christianity long before the missionaries arrived. Its people carved subterranean churches out of solid ...

Congregants attend an hours-long service at Re’ese Adbarat Debre Selam Kidist Mariam Church, an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church, in Washington, D.C., Saturday, April 5, 2025.

The churches are decorated with religious art and other ornamentation. Attesting to the religious mix that makes Ethiopia so interesting, we spotted a Christian cross inside a Jewish Star of David.