Meskel (Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Church, following Julian calendar, September 28 on leap years)

Meskel is an Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church holiday that commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by the Roman Empress Saint Helena of Constantinople in the fourth century. Meskel is celebrated by Oriental Orthodox members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and to a lesser extent Roman Catholic members of the Ethiopian Catholic Church, the Eritrean Catholic Church, and among Protestant members of P'ent'ay - Ethiopian-Eritrean Evangelicalism. It is a localized version of the Feast of the Cross and occurs on the 17 Meskerem in the Ethiopian calendar. "Meskel" is Amharic for "cross".