The Kidane Mehret Church ( Ge'ez for "Covenant of Mercy") in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, popularly known simply as the Ethiopian Church, is part of the ''Debre Genet'' (ደብረ ገነት) monastery, whose name means "Monastery of Paradise".Robin Twite, "Africa in Jerusalem - The Ethiopian Church" in ''The Israel Review of Arts and Letters'', 1996/102
/ref> The monastery and its church belong to the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church 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 ...

. It is one of two Ethiopian monasteries in Jerusalem, along with Deir Sultan, Debre Genet being located in

West Jerusalem West Jerusalem or Western Jerusalem (, ; , ) refers to the section of Jerusalem that was controlled by Israel at the end of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. As the city was divided by the Green Line (Israel's erstwhile border, established by t ...

and Deir Sultan in the Old City.

Etymology

''Kidane Mehret'' (ኪዳነ ምሕረት) is a Ge'ez phrase meaning Covenant of Mercy. It refers to the Ethiopic tradition that Jesus promised his mother that he would forgive the sins of those who sought her intercession. The feast of Our Lady of the Covenant of Mercy is celebrated on 16 Yekatit (

Ethiopian calendar The Ethiopian calendar ( am, የኢትዮጲያ ዘመን ኣቆጣጠር; Oromo: Akka Lakkofsa Itoophiyaatti; Ge'ez: ዓዉደ ወርሕ; Tigrinya: ዓዉደ ኣዋርሕ), or Ge'ez calendar ( Ge'ez: ዓዉደ ወርሕ; Tigrinya: ዓዉ ...

), corresponding at present to 24 February (

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

) except in leap years, when it corresponds to 25 February, since in the Ethiopian calendar the extra day is inserted in what for the Gregorian calendar is the preceding month of September.

History

Emperor of Ethiopia The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...

Yohannes IV ''girmāwī''His Imperial Majesty, spoken= am , ጃንሆይ ''djānhoi''Your Imperial Majesty(lit. "O steemedroyal"), alternative= am , ጌቶቹ ''getochu''Our Lord (familiar)(lit. "Our master" (pl.)) yohanes Yohannes IV (Tigrinya: ዮሓ� ...

(r. 1872–1889) used war booty won in his conflict with

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

to purchase land to the north of the

Old City of Jerusalem The Old City of Jerusalem ( he, הָעִיר הָעַתִּיקָה, translit=ha-ir ha-atiqah; ar, البلدة القديمة, translit=al-Balda al-Qadimah; ) is a walled area in East Jerusalem. The Old City is traditionally divided into ...

in 1888. The next year Yohannes died in battle and was followed by Emperor

Menelik II , spoken = ; ''djānhoi'', lit. ''"O steemedroyal"'' , alternative = ; ''getochu'', lit. ''"Our master"'' (pl.) Menelik II ( gez, ዳግማዊ ምኒልክ ; horse name Abba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 A ...

(r. 1889–1913). The church was inaugurated in 1893.

Description

The Kidane Mehret Church in Jerusalem is round in shape with a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

of some 30 metres in height. As in most Ethiopian churches, the interior consists of three concentric rings. In the centre is the square ''mekdes'' (መቅደስ), "sanctuary", also called the ''kidist qiddusan'' (ቅድስተ ቅዱሳን), "

Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies (Hebrew: ''Qōḏeš haqQŏḏāšīm'' or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also הַדְּבִיר ''haDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where God's prese ...

", which only priests and deacons may enter and which contains the ''

tabot ''Tabot'' ( Ge'ez ታቦት ''tābōt'', sometimes spelled ''tabout'') is a Ge'ez word referring to a replica of the Tablets of Law, onto which the Biblical Ten Commandments were inscribed, used in the practices of Orthodox Tewahedo Christians ...

'', the tablet over which the

Eucharist 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 instit ...

is celebrated. Around this is the circular part known as ''kidist '' (ቅድስት), "holy", intended for those able to receive holy communion. The outer circular ring, the ''qne mahilet'' (ቅኔ ማሕሌት) is for the cantors and is accessible by the faithful generally.Kiros Gebru, "The Cosmological Symbolism of the Ethiopian Church Building"
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kidane Mehret Church Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo churches in Jerusalem Church buildings with domes 1893 establishments Churches completed in 1901

Etymology

History

Description

See also

References