New Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia

Co-ordinates: 13° 41' 39" N, 38° 57' 15" E

Location:

The new church forms part of the monastery above the old rock church of Arbaʿǝtu Ǝnsǝsa Däbrä Təguhanə. The monastery, said to date from the 6th century, supports around sixty students and offers magnificent views towards Wärq Amba and Abba Sälama Monastery beyond. The church of Maryam Tä’amina is a forty-five-minute walk northwest.

Church Description:

(by Tarn Philipp)

Excavation began one month prior to this visit, meaning the present church is rather small but when complete it is expected to measure some twelve by twelve metres and include four freestanding columns. The church is carved into the east face and includes a built frontage structure that gives access from the south and provides storage to the north. The church is turned within the rock so that the maqdas is situated to the east. The extent of the current excavation is largely what will form the maqdas chamber. The chamber will include direct access to the built storage space and be used by priests during liturgy. On this visit, four labours were found hard at work, assisted by some fifteen children from the monastery, who shovelled the white sandstone slag into large sacks and carried them off.

The responsible priest is Abba Gäbrä Yoḥannəs who relates that the site of the new church was previously a prayer chamber used by the monks. There are indeed several such prayer chambers at the monastery, one of which has also recently been expanded. The priest has contracted master craftsman Halaqa Wäləldayə, who is simultaneously overseeing excavation of another new church, Abba Yoḥannəs Wäldä Nägʷädgʷad Däbrä Säma’it. Halaqa Wäləldayə was not onsite, but is allegedly being paid the sum of 60,000 Ethiopian Birr to deliver the project. The four labourers are paid 300 Ethiopian Birr a day and live temporarily at the monastery. Of the four workmen, only Gäbrä ꓱgzi’abəḥer had previous experience, having carved a new priest chamber at Maryam Ḥiśəto near Wärq Amba. The new church of ‘Arəsema Däbrä Təguhanə is expected to be complete within six months, after which the workmen will move to nearby Abba Yoḥannəs Wäldä Nägʷädgʷad Däbrä Säma’it, to complete the church there.

Getting There:

‘Arəsema Däbrä Təguhanə lies west of the ʿAbiy ʿAddi-Adwa road between ʿAbiy ʿAddi and Wärk Amba. The new church is a five-minute walk above the old church of Arbaʿǝtu Ǝnsǝsa Däbrä Tiguan, itself a twenty-minute walk above the village of Däkətor on the road to Abba Yoḥannəs Monastery.

Dates Visited:

• 22 January 2020