Abba Garima Monastery on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Abba Garima Monastery is an
The first European recorded to have visited the monastery in modern times was Henry Salt, who visited it on 14 September 1805. He was told at the time that the building had been built by Prince Gabra Masqal (a son of the Emperor Kaleb) in 560.
Beatrice Playne visited the monastery around 1950, and in found that the church had burned down twenty years prior and had been rebuilt before her arrival. Nevertheless, she was shown a number of prized possessions which were centuries old, including a number of illuminated manuscripts "whose ornamental headings struck me as Syrian in style." The last treasure she was shown was "an ancient spring which, they said, had never failed since the beginning of the world."
The family of the fifth Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Abune Paulos was long associated with the Abune Garima monastery, and it is at this monastery that the Patriarch first took monastic vows as Abba Gebre Medhin.
The most important include two illuminated
The Gospel of Abba Garima
{{Authority control Christian monasteries established in the 6th century Oriental Orthodox monasteries in Ethiopia Tigray Region 6th-century establishments in Ethiopia Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monasteries
Abba Garima Monastery is an Ethiopian Orthodox
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ኦርቶዶክስ ተዋሕዶ ቤተ ክርስቲያን, ''Yäityop'ya ortodoks täwahedo bétäkrestyan'') is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Chris ...
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
, located around five kilometres east of Adwa
Adwa ( ti, ዓድዋ; amh, ዐድዋ; also spelled Aduwa) is a town and separate woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is best known as the community closest to the site of the 1896 Battle of Adwa, in which Ethiopian soldiers defeated Italian ...
, in the Mehakelegnaw Zone
The Central Zone () is a zone in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Towns and cities in the Central Zone include Axum and Adwa, as well as the historically significant village of Yeha and the town of Tembien Abiyi Adi. The Central Zone is bordered o ...
of the northern 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 is ...
in 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 was established in the sixth century by one of the Nine Saints, Abba Garima, and built by King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Gabra Masqal Gabra may refer to:
*The Gabra people of eastern Africa
*Gabra (village), village in Western Bulgaria, part of Elin Pelin Municipality, Sofia Province
* Gabra Manfas Qeddus, Ethiopian Christian saint, and the founder of the monastery of Zuqualla
*G ...
(also Gebre Meskel). The monastery became known for its early manuscript copy of the gospels and its treasury.
History
The first European recorded to have visited the monastery in modern times was Henry Salt, who visited it on 14 September 1805. He was told at the time that the building had been built by Prince Gabra Masqal (a son of the Emperor Kaleb) in 560.
Beatrice Playne visited the monastery around 1950, and in found that the church had burned down twenty years prior and had been rebuilt before her arrival. Nevertheless, she was shown a number of prized possessions which were centuries old, including a number of illuminated manuscripts "whose ornamental headings struck me as Syrian in style." The last treasure she was shown was "an ancient spring which, they said, had never failed since the beginning of the world."
The family of the fifth Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Abune Paulos was long associated with the Abune Garima monastery, and it is at this monastery that the Patriarch first took monastic vows as Abba Gebre Medhin.
Layout and artifacts
The most important include two illuminated Garima Gospels
The Garima Gospels are two ancient Ethiopic Gospel Books. Garima 2, the earlier of the two, is believed to be the earliest surviving complete illuminated Christian manuscript. Monastic tradition holds that they were composed close to the year 50 ...
which have been restored, and are housed in a former chapel for female pilgrims. Most biblical scholars had previously proposed that these gospels, though inspired by on Abba Garima's example, must have been written centuries after his death, probably in the tenth century or later. However recent radiocarbon dating carried out at Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
has confirmed a date between AD 390 and AD 570 for Garima 2, likely the earlier of the two gospel books; meaning that it may well be older than Abba Garima himself. If so they are the earliest surviving dated Christian illuminated manuscripts
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, the ...
.
See also
*Garima Gospels
The Garima Gospels are two ancient Ethiopic Gospel Books. Garima 2, the earlier of the two, is believed to be the earliest surviving complete illuminated Christian manuscript. Monastic tradition holds that they were composed close to the year 50 ...
References
External links
The Gospel of Abba Garima
{{Authority control Christian monasteries established in the 6th century Oriental Orthodox monasteries in Ethiopia Tigray Region 6th-century establishments in Ethiopia Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monasteries