Abuna Yemata Guh is a

monolithic church A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Because freestanding rocks of sufficient size are rare, such edifices are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain. They can be of ...

located in the

Hawzen Hawzen ( Ge'ez: ሓውዜን) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region (or ''kilil''), this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2105 meters above sea level. Its market da ...

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas ( am, ወረዳ; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''zones'' and the '' regional states''. These districts are further subdivided into a number of ...

of the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region, officially the Tigray National Regional State, is the northernmost regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob, and Kunama people. Its capital and largest city is Mekelle. Tigray ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. It is situated at a height of and has to be climbed on foot to reach. It is notable for its dome and wall paintings dating back to the 5th century and its architecture.

About

The church is one of the "35-odd rock-hewn churches, the largest concentration anywhere in Ethiopia." It is situated in the erstwhile Gar'alta woreda. The entrance is reached by a steep and hazardous ascent with hand and footholds in the rock. Visitors have to cross a natural stone bridge with a sheer drop of approximately 250m on either side, and thereafter a final narrow wooden footbridge. A strenuous ascent is followed by a climb up a vertical rock wall depending entirely on hand grips and foot holds (without additional support) crowned with a walk over a 50 cm wide ledge facing a cliff of sheer drop. The standing pillars are made up of

Enticho Enticho is a town in northern Ethiopia located in the Central Zone of the Tigray Region. It is the administrative center of Enticho woreda. History 19th Century Enticho is the location where on 1 July 1889 that Fitawrari Dabbab Araya (lat ...

and

Adigrat Sandstone The Adigrat Sandstone formation in north Ethiopia, in a wide array of reddish colours, comprises sandstones with coarse to fine grains, and locally conglomerates, silt- and claystones. Given the many lateritic palaeosols and locally fossil wood ...

s, which are the last erosional remnants of a sandstone formation that once covered the Precambrian basement.

History

According to local legend, the church was hewn in the sixth century and dedicated to Abuna Yemata (also referred to as Abba Yem'ata), one of the Nine Saints. The Nine Saints are traditionally believed to have originated from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

and Syria between the end of the fifth and beginning of the sixth centuries.

Paintings in the church

The paintings on the walls and domes of the church are preserved in a reasonable state. Extensive study was undertaken to understand the reason behind this phenomenon. The design of the traceries in the church replicates those found in nearby churches of Gher'alta, such as Debre Tsion church. There are more paintings depicting figures from the Old Testament than from the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

. The dry air and lack of humidity have preserved these frescoes in their original perfection. The paintings date back to initial traces of Christianity in Ethiopia and are themed around the nine saints and

twelve apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

. The oldest icons are in the form of

diptych A diptych (; from the Greek δίπτυχον, ''di'' "two" + '' ptychē'' "fold") is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world w ...

s and

triptych A triptych ( ; from the Greek adjective ''τρίπτυχον'' "''triptukhon''" ("three-fold"), from ''tri'', i.e., "three" and ''ptysso'', i.e., "to fold" or ''ptyx'', i.e., "fold") is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided ...

s dating back to the fifteenth century.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Ethiopia articles by importance Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church buildings Monolithic churches in Ethiopia Cliff dwellings

About

History

Paintings in the church

See also

References

External links