St. Michael's Cathedral is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cathedral located in Keren, Anseba,

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

, the seat of the Eritrean Catholic Eparchy of Keren.

The 1875 church rebuilt in 1925

The first

church in Keren was constructed in the western outskirts of the town in 1865, but was demolished in 1871 by the

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

Ethiopian forces who in the 1870s controlled much of Eritrea. The Apostolic Vicariate of Abyssinia, which from 1870 to 1894 had its headquarters in Keren, was allowed to rebuild the church, began the work on 24 May 1873 and completed it and blessed it on 14 February 1875. Rebuilt in 1925, the church is cruciform with a central dome. This church became the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the Eritrean Catholic Eparchy of Keren, when this was set up by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 21 December 1995. Since the beginning, following the practice set by Saint

Justin de Jacobis Giustino Sebastiano Pasquale de Jacobis, CM (9 October 1800 – 31 July 1860) was an Italian Catholic bishop and member of the Congregation of the Mission who served as Apostolic Vicar of Abyssinia and the Titular Bishop of Nilopolis. He is of ...

, the

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

is celebrated in the Ge'ez variant of the

Alexandrian rite The Alexandrian rites are a collection of ritual families and uses of Christian liturgy employed by three Oriental Orthodox churches (the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Ethiopian Orthod ...

New cathedral

In 1965 the foundation stone was laid for a much larger new cathedral of Saint Michael to replace that of 1875/1925. 1961–1991 were the years of the

Eritrean War of Independence The Eritrean War of Independence was an War, armed conflict and insurgency aimed at achieving self-determination and independence for Eritrea from Ethiopian rule. Starting in 1961, Eritrean insurgents engaged in guerrilla warfare to liberate ...

and only in the 21st century did construction begin in earnest. It was not yet completed in January 2017. The new building is situated in the south of the town (coordinates: 15.774931 N, 38.448618 E). With projections for the sanctuary and three entrances, it is octagonal in shape, as in many churches of Ethiopic tradition.Edward Ullendorff, ''Ethiopia and the Bible''
(Oxford University Press 1967), p. 87

Other churches in Keren

In the centre of the town of Keren, the Church of Saint Anthony exists, like the cathedral, in two versions, but these two versions are close to each other. The old church was consecrated on 12 June 1932. The coordinates of the new Church of Saint Anthony are 15.779711 N, 38.454835 E.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Michael's Cathedral, Keren Eastern Catholic cathedrals in Eritrea Keren, Eritrea

The 1875 church rebuilt in 1925

New cathedral

Other churches in Keren

See also

References