Adadi Mariam is a rock-hewn

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 approximately 66 km southwest of

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

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 ...

. A popular tourist destination, the site is believed to have been built in the 12th century. Throughout its history the church has been damaged by both man-made and natural causes. Recently, restoration work to strengthen and restore the church have been done with the aid of Switzerland.

History

Local tradition states that king

Lalibela Lalibela () is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Lasta district and North Wollo Zone, it is a tourist site for its famous rock-cut monolithic churches designed in contrast to the earlier monolithic churches in Ethiopia ...

, one of the prominent kings of the

Zagwe dynasty The Zagwe dynasty () was a medieval Agaw monarchy that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It ruled large parts of the territory from approximately 1137 to 1270 AD, when the last Zagwe King Za-Ilmaknun was killed in battle by the ...

and a saint in the

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church () is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. One of the few Christian churches in Africa originating before European colonization of the continent, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church dates bac ...

, commissioned the construction of the church in the 12th century. According to the

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

of St. Lalibela, Adadi Mariam was one of 76 rock-hewn churches which he had constructed and excavated in his lifetime, including those in

Lasta Lasta (Amharic: ላስታ ''lāstā'') is a historic province in northern Ethiopia located in the Amhara Region. It is the province in which Lalibela is situated, the former capital of Ethiopia during the Zagwe dynasty and home to 11 medieval roc ...

. His visit to southern region of Shewa was documented in the book known as ''Tefut'', found in the Gishen Debre Kerbie monastery and in the Sodo Debre Ader (Mahder) church of Zuquala. According to oral traditions, the establishment of Adadi Mariam church is also related to the coming of one of the most prominent saints of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church, ''Abune''

Gebre Menfes Kidus Abune Gebre Menfes Kidus ( Ge'ez:አቡነ ገብረ መንፈስ ቅዱስ; also familiarly called Abo; born 29 December 829 E.C.) was an Egyptian Christian saint, and the founder of the monastery of Zuqualla. The fifth day of every month in ...

, from Egypt to Ethiopia. Before the journeying to the central region of Shewa near Mount Zuquala and founding a monastery there, St. Gebre Menfes Kidus had stayed in Lasta with St. Lalibela. A few years after founding the monastery, St. Lalibela paid a visit to the site in order to receive blessings from St. Gebre Menfes Kidus. During his stay St. Lalibela saw a vision that St. Mary and her child had visited the spot near the monastery (the site where Adadi Mariam now exists) and that Angels were helping St. Gebre Menfes Kidus. It was after this vision that St. Lalibela immediately commissioned the work of building the church in the late 12th century into the early 13th century. Work continued on the site until St. Lalibela had another vision instructing him to move back to his homeland of Lasta, upon which time he ordered the

tabot ''Tabot'' (, sometimes spelled ''tabout'') is a replica of the Ark of the Covenant, and represents the presence of God, in Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches. ''Tabot'' may variously refer to an inscribed altar tablet (''tsel ...

of Saint Mary to be placed into the church and consecrated immediately. Chiesa_rupestre_di_adadi_maryam,_03.jpg, Exterior

References

{{Reflist Monolithic churches in Ethiopia Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church buildings 12th-century establishments in Ethiopia