Debra Sina ( ti, ደብረ ሲና) is a monastery in the highlands of

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

near

Keren Keren may refer to: Places Inhabited places * Keren, Eritrea, a city in Eritrea, formerly called Cheren * Keren Subregion, Anseba region, Eritrea Other places * House of Keren, a historical house in Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, Russia * Keren, a cr ...

in the

Anseba Anseba Region (Tigrinya: ዞባ ዓንሰባ, it, Regione dell'Anseba) is an administrative region of Eritrea, located in northern Eritrea. The capital and the most populous city in the region is Keren. The region is named after Anseba River, ...

Region.

History

It was the site of the first

Holy Communion The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...

prepared in the

Eritrean Orthodox Church The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( ti, ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ) is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandri ...

, by the 4th-century bishop

Aba Salama Frumentius ( gez, ፍሬምናጦስ; died c. 383) was a Phoenician Christian missionary and the first bishop of Axum who brought Christianity to the Kingdom of Aksum. He is sometimes known by other names, such as Abuna ("Our Father") and A ...

. It is one of the oldest monasteries in Africa and the world, because probably built in the third century. The monastery is the site of a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

Eritrean Orthodox The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church ( ti, ቤተ ክርስትያን ተዋህዶ ኤርትራ) is one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches with its headquarters in Asmara, Eritrea. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandri ...

believers each year in June. The pilgrimage centers on a church above the village where a vision of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

was said to have been seen by shepherd girls beneath a large boulder. The church is built adjacent to and over the rock where the vision was seen. The pilgrimage includes thousands of ordinary Eritrean believers camping for one night in the village of Debra Sina, singing, drumming, chanting and celebrating Mary.

References

Bibliography

* Killion, Tom (1998). ''Historical Dictionary of Eritrea''. The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-3437-5. Eritrean Orthodox monasteries Anseba Region Oriental Orthodox monasteries in Eritrea {{Eritrea-stub

History

See also

References

Bibliography