New Rock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia

Co-ordinates: 13° 42’ 52’’ N, 39° 0’ 14’’

Location:

The church is situated in the mountain which rises south of the town of Warq Amba in Tembien. The church is carved into the south west face near the top of the peak and replaces a small rock church immediately to the south east.

Church Description:

(by Tarn Philipp)

The old church is among the smallest rock churches in Ethiopia and formed by two cruciform columns. It is three bays in width but only two in depth. Arches are sprung from the central columns to meet pilasters on all walls. A single rectangular entrance leads to the nave from a roughly formed chamber. The antechamber includes a a carved cross, ram’s-horn relief and an illegible Ge’ez inscription. The age of the old church is unknown but it is said to have been disused until thirty years ago. The church has since attracted a growing congregation which has in part given rise to the new rock church. Some fifty pilgrims make the ascent every Sunday and on the day of Selassie, Kidhane Mehret and Medhane Alem.

The new rock church is akin to many basilica churches across Tigray. It is rectangular in plan and formed of two aisles and a slightly higher nave, four bays in depth. The rock in which it is carved dictates that the entrance, of which there are two, is to the south aisle. There are presently no window openings. The six columns are square in plan and omit a base and capitals. A natural band of red and blue rock contrasts with the white sandstone and is so positioned that it compensates well for the lack of architectural details. Arches are sprung from the columns in all directions but are not received by pilasters along the walls. As at the new rock church of Mika’el Angua, the arches protrude slightly at the top of the columns. The ceiling of each bay is flat although most rise slightly toward the centre from where a shallow flat dome rises in all but the south west bay.

The visit in 2016 encountered a church ranging from 2m to 2.5m in height. A subsequent visit in 2017 found the church to have been excavated to a full height of close to 4.5m. A step had been introduced to the south east bays, with a small prayer niche carved in the wall of the central bay. This was to become the maqdas but following the realization that this was not true east, it was decided that the maqdas be relocated and carved in the north east corner. A return visit is required to confirm the final positioning of the maqdas and to establish whether the church is yet in use.

While most new rock churches owe their existence either to contracted craftsmen funded by village communities or devote hermits who remove themselves from society to ‘fulfill God’s work’, the church of Medhane Alem Warq Amba is unique in this regard. Here, the vision of a wealthy patron has led to a newly carved church. This patron, Kebede Tessema Wäldägabriel, an elderly man also responsible for a nearby built school, has contracted workmen to undertake the laborious task. A second church identified in 2018 in Amhara was found to have been established through such individual patronage, this time by a successful businessman from Addis Ababa. The increasing urban population, growing middle class and returning diaspora, along with the growing awareness that churches are still being carved in Ethiopia, may lead to several new rock churches being established in this manner.

Getting There:

The church is less than a five minute drive south east of Warq Amba town. An un-signposted foot path rises gradually from the roadside for some twenty minutes before rising steeply to the church, which takes forty-five minute to reach from the roadside.