Abuna Yemata Guh is a

monolithic church A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Because freestanding rocks of sufficient size are rare, such edifices are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain. They can be of ...

located in the Hawzen

woreda Districts of Ethiopia, also called woredas (; ''woreda''), are the third level of the administrative divisions of Ethiopia – after ''List of zones of Ethiopia, zones'' and the ''Regions of Ethiopia, regional states''. These districts are f ...

of the

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. It is situated at a height of and has to be climbed on foot to reach. It is notable for its spectacular location, its architecture and dome dating back to the sixth century, and its 15th century wall paintings.

About

The church is one of the "35-odd rock-hewn churches omprisingthe largest concentration anywhere in Ethiopia." It is situated in the erstwhile Gar'alta district (

). The entrance is reached by a steep and hazardous ascent with hand and footholds in the rock. Visitors have to cross a natural stone bridge with a sheer drop of approximately on either side, and thereafter a final narrow wooden footbridge. The standing pillars are made up of Enticho and

Adigrat Sandstone The Adigrat Sandstone formation in north Ethiopia, in a wide array of reddish colours, comprises sandstones with coarse to fine grains, and locally conglomerates, silt- and claystones. Given the many lateritic palaeosols and locally fossil woo ...

s, which are the last erosional remnants of a sandstone formation that once covered the

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...

basement. Although Abuna Yemata Guh is the most inaccessible place of worship in the world, priests have not recorded deaths from the climb.

History

According to a local legend, the church was hewn during the sixth century, and dedicated to Abuna Yemata (also referred to as

Abba Yem'ata Abba Yäm’ata or Yem’ata (probably late 400s and early 500s A.D.) was one of the Nine Saints of Ethiopia. He founded a monastery in Gär’alta in Endärta woreda, Tigray Region. His feast day is on 23 Teqemt (2 November). The church of A ...

), one of the

Nine Saints The Nine Saints were a group of missionaries who were important in the initial growth of Christianity in what is now Ethiopia during the late 5th century. The names of the Nine Saints are: # Abba Aftse # Abba Alef # Abba Aragawi # Abba Garima (Is ...

. The Nine Saints are traditionally believed to have originated from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

between the end of the fifth and beginning of the sixth centuries.

Paintings in the church

Owing to the dry climate of the church, the paintings on the walls and domes of the church are well-preserved. The design of the traceries in the church replicates those found in nearby churches of Gher'alta, such as Debre Tsion church (which houses more paintings depicting figures from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

than from the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

). The text found in these paintings is written in Geez. Abuna Yemata Guh church 02

The paintings, themed around the nine saints and

twelve apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

, includes icons that are in the form of

diptych A diptych (, ) is any object with two flat plates which form a pair, often attached by a hinge. For example, the standard notebook and school exercise book of the ancient world was a diptych consisting of a pair of such plates that contained a ...

s and

triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

s, are by tradition said to date back to the sixth century, although scholars have placed their creation to the latter half of the 15th century. A 2016 study analyzing the paintings using

X-ray fluorescence X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is the emission of characteristic "secondary" (or fluorescent) X-rays from a material that has been excited by being bombarded with high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. The phenomenon is widely used for elemental analysis ...

broadly supports the 15th century date, showing that most of the pigments used were sourced locally and that no underlying layer of paint existed, with the exception of the painting of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, where evidence of retouching was identified.

Gallery

File:Abuna Yemata Guh church 01.jpg, View of the church atop sandstone hill File:AbunaYemataClimb.jpg, The way to climb into the church. People can be seen at the top and bottom File:AbumaYemata_Entrance.jpg, Entrance to the church (the small hole seen in the lower-center) File:Abuna Yemata Guh entryway climb.jpg, Ascent to the church File:Priest holding the staff.jpg, A priest holding the staff File:Abuna_Yemata_Guh_Monk.jpg, Another monk File:Исследуя искусство южных границ христианской ойкумены.jpg, Church interior File:Fresques de l'église d'Abuna Yemata Guh (Gheralta, Ethiopie).jpg, Close up of the fresco File:Saint Abuna Yemata Guh.jpg, Abuna Yemata

References

External links