Co-ordinates: 9° 22' 39" N, 39° 22' 06" E

 

Location:

Wontu Medhane Alem Kotu, along with nearby Brehane Selam Min Teamer Kristos Semra and Etysa, are the only newly carved churches to have been identified in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia. The church lies southwest of Dabre Brehan and east of the road to Addis Ababa. The site is located on a small hill and includes a built church as well as an old and new rock church. The built church is surrounded by graves and is visible on approach. The old rock church is carved into a natural cave, below and to the south. Still further south, is the new rock church and an adjacent prayer chamber. A significant portion of the new church has regrettably collapsed.

 

Site Description:

(by Tarn Philipp)

 

Old Church Description

The old church was evidently a cave prior to being enlarged and Christened a ‘church’. The mouth of the cave is to the south east and has been walled up to enclose the church. A single door in this wall provides access to the church. A corrugated iron roof extends overhead from the built wall to the rock face. The cave church omits columns and the ceiling is for the most part unworked. The walls are crudely carved and have been plastered with mud and dung in places. Four rectangular chambers, complete with niches, extend south west off the body of the church. A fifth chamber at the far end (northwest) forms the maqdas. A small niche is also found to the right of the maqdas. Steps rise steeply from the middle of the north east wall of the church, to an upper level. This upper level extends slightly northeast of the lower church but includes an opening to the central part of the church, to form a ‘mezzanine’. Three large holes are found in the floor of the church before the maqdas and were perhaps once graves or used for storage. The church no longer houses a tabot.

 

New Church Description

The new church and adjacent prayer chamber are both carved into the southeast rock face, slightly below the old church. The new church includes a single entrance to a wide chamber which forms the qene mellet. This space includes carved niches and crosses. Opposite the entrance is a second chamber, square in plan, which forms the qeddest. An internal window opening is found on either side of the entrance to the qeddest. The chamber includes niches and integrated seating at the base of the side walls. A step rises in the far end (northwest) to the maqdas. The maqdas is almost hexagonal in plan, with a central rock-hewn manbara tabot. The ceiling of the qeddest rises toward the maqdas and includes a very small and shallow central dome.

A large portion of the ceiling in the qene mellet has given way and obstructs the entrance to the qeddest. This collapse is due to the soft, clay-like nature of the rock, insufficient rock overhead and the heavy seasonal rain. The clergy intend to remove the fallen rock at the end of the rainy season and restore the damage. The prayer chamber is carved to the left of the new church. A single entrance gives access to the chamber, which includes three smaller chambers (one off each side). The plan is somewhat irregular but the surfaces are well worked. The prayer chamber includes numerous carved niches and integrated seating.

The craftsman, Abba Wolde Eyesus is from Sama Senbet (some 40km south of Addis Ababa). Abba Wolde Eyesus had previously carved near Sama Senbet (the site is disappointing and does not constitute a church) and at the nearby church of Sholagi Kristos Semra, which lies south and across the valley from Wontu Medhane Alem.

 

Getting There:

The church is a thirty-minute drive southwest of Dabre Berhan. The turnoff is east of the road from Dabre Berhan to Addis Ababa and just south of the small town of Sembo. The dirt road is signposted in Amharic and leads directly to the church compound, which is a five minutes’ drive from the main road.

 

Images
(Please click to enlarge)

Abba Haile Eyesus Gebregiorghis and Mother Tsige Brhane

Near Dӓbrӓ Bǝrhan, Šäwa, Ethiopia
September 20, 2018