Atronsa Maryam ( Ge'ez: አትሮንሰ ማርያም, "Throne of St Mary") is one of the oldest churches in South Wollo,

Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...

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 ...

. The church sits on small hill near the mighty river of Walaqa and about 5 km from the town of Woin Amba. The original name of this area was Kelanto. It is also very close to the famous church of Mekane Selassie. The church was first built by Emperor Baeda Maryam in about 1468, where he would also reinter

Yekuno Amlak Yekuno Amlak (); throne name Tesfa Iyasus (; died 19 June 1285) was Emperor of Ethiopia, from 1270 to 1285, and the founder of the Solomonic dynasty, which lasted until 1974. He was a ruler from Bete Amhara (in parts of modern-day Wollo and ...

's body.

Construction

Originally, the idea of building a church in the vicinity of Kelanto was initiated by Emperor

Newaya Krestos Newaya Krestos (; throne name: Sayf Ar'ed, lit. "sword of terror") was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1344 to 1372, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. He was the eldest son of Amda Seyon I. Reign According to James Bruce, Newaya Krestos was pre ...

, also called Sayfa Ara'ad (1344-1372). The place where this church was built is a private property of Emperor Newaya Krestos who bought it with his own money to build a church on it. Unfortunately, he died before he build one. The original name of the place was Kelanto; also called Sako Malza, apparently a name of the district where Kelanot was. Several years later, fulfilling the ambition of his grand father, Emperor Zera Yacob (1434-1468) sent a

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 ...

to the site and built a small chapel for her. He called its name Dabra Paraqlitos. Like his predecessors, Zera Yacob was not able to complete the work of building a church, and he died before he materialized his thought. Following the original name of the place, Kelanto, the church was also known by the locals as Dabra Kelanto. It is believed that Zera Yacob was not responsible for the creation of the tabot itself or for choosing the site for it. The local legend claims that the Tabot of Atronsa Maryam was brought during the reign of Ezana. In about 1462, the son of Emperor Zera Yacob, Emperor Baeda Maryam (1468-1478) started building the church. He hastened its construction staying there and succeeded building a beautiful church. In October 1468, a few days after the commemoration (tizkar) of the fortieth day of the death of Emperor Zera Yacob, the church of Atronasa Maryam was inaugurated. During the inauguration, Emperor Baeda Maryam renamed the tabot and the site, where he built the church for it, Atronasa Maryam. The church was under the jurisdiction of the monastery of

Debre Libanos Debre Libanos () is an Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo monastery, lying northwest of Addis Ababa in the North Shewa Zone (Oromia), North Shewa Zone of the Oromia Region. It was founded in 1284 by Saint Tekle Hay ...

. The son and successor of Emperor Baeda Maryam, Emperor

Eskender Eskender (, "Alexander"; 15 July 1471 – 7 May 1494) was Emperor of Ethiopia and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Kwestantinos II (Ge’ez: ቈስታንቲኖስ, "Constantine"). He was the son of Emperor Baeda Maryam I by ...

(1474-1497), was apparently involved in the construction of the church. Eskandar, like Emperor Baeda Maryam, was buried in the church of Atronasa Maryam. Before the demolition of Atronsa Maryam, a total of about 21 kings of Abyssinia have been buried in this church. In the course of time, the church acquired fame for its wealth - Emperor Baeda Maryam himself being its generous donor - and for harboring the remains of eighteen of the earlier metropolitans and emperors, starting with

(1270-1285). A text in the chronicle of Emperor Baeda Maryam states that the tabot spent 67 years in "Sako Melza". The period until the infamous 21st year of the reign of Emperor

Lebna Dengel Dawit II (; – 2 September 1540), also known by the macaronic name Wanag Segad (ወናግ ሰገድ, ''to whom the lions bow''), better known by his birth name Lebna Dengel (, ''essence of the virgin''), was Emperor of Ethiopia from 150 ...

(1508-1540).

Destruction

In about 1531, during the Ethiopian–Adal War between the Muslims and the Christian

Ethiopian Empire The Ethiopian Empire, historically known as Abyssinia or simply Ethiopia, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day territories of Ethiopia and Eritrea. It existed from the establishment of the Solomonic dynasty by Yekuno Amlak a ...

, one of the Adal contingents, commanded by Waz Ir Nur, plundered its property and burned the church along with the treasure that they could not carry away. When they arrived at the church of Atronsa Maryam, they entered it and were astounded by its workmanship. However, the

itself, assumed to have been burned down with the church, was moved before the onslaught. This story was fully described by the writer of the Futuh-al-Habasa as follows: The

Imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

then called the

Arabs Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...

who were with him, and said to them, "Is there in

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 ...

(Rum) or

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

or anywhere else a building such as this house (Atronasa Maryam) and its paintings and gold?" They said, "We have neither seen nor heard about one like it in Constantinople or India or in the world." Later, the tabot was able to come back to her original site after "57 years" of exile. The tabot is believed to have spent most of its exile in a new church built at a mountain pinnacle over the Blue Nile Gorge, also named after it as Atronsa Maryam. In about 1616, Hafa Krastos was able to rebuild the church which took him about 30 years. Hafa Krastos was the "son of Hamalmal" and probably the older brother of Emperor

Susenyos I Susenyos I ( ; –1575 – 17 September 1632), also known as Susenyos the Catholic, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1607 to 1632, and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne names were Seltan Sagad and Malak Sagad III. He was the son of '' ...

(1607-1632). The tabot spent about 94 years in happiness in the new church rebuilt by Hafa Krastos. In a second raid, the new church was again looted and demolished by the Oromo on 23 August 1710. This time the tabot herself was taken captive.Diana Spencer
"In Search of St. Luke lkons in Ethiopia"
''Journal of Ethiopian Studies'', 10 (1972), pp. 67-95.

Construction

Destruction

See also

References

Further reading