On September 16, 1916 the Ethiopian ruler Iyasu was excommunicated and deposed. Although there in a great deal of literature concerned with the local and international political forces behind this coup, its timing has been considered only in passing. This article focuses on the fact that this event coincided with the major Christian festival of Mäsqäl (The Festival of the Cross), an early Christian celebration, which was elevated to the de facto status of a major feast by the Ethiopian Church in the 15^th century.