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A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...
made from a single block of
stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
. 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 comparable architectural complexity to constructed buildings. The term ''monolithic church'' is used of churches in various countries, not least the complex of eleven churches in
Lalibela Lalibela ( am, ላሊበላ) 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. The whole of Lalibela is a large and important si ...
,
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
, believed to have been created in the 12th century.


Ethiopia

The eleven monolithic churches in
Lalibela Lalibela ( am, ላሊበላ) 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. The whole of Lalibela is a large and important si ...
are: * Church of the Redeemer * Saint Mary * Mount Sinai * Golgotha * House of the Cross * House of the Virgins * Saint Gabriel * Abba Matta * Saint Mercurius * Immanuel * Church of St. George (Bete Giyorgis) The most famous of the edifices is the cross-shaped Church of St. George. Tradition credits its construction to the
Zagwe dynasty The Zagwe dynasty ( Ge'ez: ዛጔ ሥርወ መንግሥት) was an Agaw medieval dynasty that ruled the northern parts of Ethiopia and Eritrea, after the historical name of the Lasta province. Centered at Lalibela, it ruled large parts of the t ...
King
Gebre Mesqel Lalibela Lalibela ( gez, ላሊበላ), regnal name Gebre Meskel (Ge'ez: ገብረ መስቀል ; 1162 – 1221), was King of Zagwe dynasty, reigning from 1181 to 1221.Getachew Mekonnen Hasen, ''Wollo, Yager Dibab'' (Addis Ababa: Nigd Matemiya Bet, 1992) ...
, who was a devout
Orthodox Tewahedo {{Short description, Collective term for Oriental Orthodox Churches in Eritrea and Ethiopia Orthodox Tewahedo refers to two Oriental Orthodox Christian denominations with shared beliefs, liturgy, and history. The Orthodox Tewahedo biblical canon is ...
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. The medieval monolithic churches of this 12th-century 'New Jerusalem' are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia near a traditional village. Lalibela is an important center of Ethiopian Christianity, and even today is a place of pilgrimage and devotion. Lalibela is one of the world's heritage sites registered by
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
. Many other churches were hewn from rock in Ethiopia, outside of Lalibela in
Amhara Region The Amhara Region ( am, አማራ ክልል, Åmara Kilil), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people. Its capital is Bahir Dar which is the seat of the Reg ...
. This practice was very common in Tigray, where the outside world knew of only a few such churches until the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest Abba Tewelde Medhin Josief presented a paper to the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in which he announced the existence of over 120 churches, 90 of which were still in use. Despite Dr. Josief's death soon after his presentation, research over the next few years raised the total number of these rock-hewn churches to 153,Philip Briggs, ''Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide'', 5th edition (Chalfont St Peters: Bradt, 2002), p. 278 particularly in the districts
Kola Tembien Kola Tembien (, "Lower Tembien") is a woreda in Tigray Region, Ethiopia. It is named in part after the former province of Tembien. Part of the Mehakelegnaw Zone, Kola Tembien is bordered on the south by Abergele, on the west by the Tekezé River ...
, Degua Tembien,
Hawzen Hawzen ( Ge'ez: ሓውዜን) is a town in northern Ethiopia. Located in the Misraqawi (Eastern) Zone of the Tigray Region (or ''kilil''), this town has a latitude and longitude of with an elevation of 2105 meters above sea level. Its market da ...
and Sa'esa Tsada Amba. Their precise ages are not well defined but the majority were probably carved during the reigns of the emperors
Dawit II Dawit II ( gez, ዳዊት;  – 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 ( am, ልብነ ድንግል, ''essence of the vi ...
(ca. 1380–1413 CE) and Zer’a Ya’iqob (1434–1468), and some possibly earlier when Anbessa Wudim (legendary date: 10th C.) or
Yekuno Amlak Yekuno Amlak ( Ge’ez: ይኩኖ አምላክ); throne name Tasfa Iyasus (ተስፋ ኢየሱስ; died 19 June 1285) was Emperor of Ethiopia, and the founder of the Solomonic dynasty, which lasted until 1974. He was a ruler from Bete Amhara (i ...
(1270–1285) were in power. According to local belief excavation of the churches was started by a group of missionaries known as the ' Nine Saints', who arrived in Ethiopia from the Mediterranean region during the fifth or sixth century. Together with their Ethiopian followers these missionaries inspired a long tradition of
monasticism Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role ...
, promoting isolation in remote and highly inaccessible locations such as those in which the rock-hewn churches are found. Preferred lithologies for church hewing were
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 wood ...
and
Enticho Sandstone The Enticho Sandstone is a geological formation in north Ethiopia. It forms the lowermost sedimentary rock formation in the region and lies directly on the basement rocks. Enticho Sandstone consists of arenite that is rich in quartz. The formation ...
. The tradition continues up to the present, as rock-hewn churches are still being excavated today. Although the churches differ in design and structure, most consist basically of halls with a basilica architecture that includes three naves and a vestibule, pillars, vast ceilings, archways, and domes. Walls and ceilings are often decorated with rock carvings and colourful frescoes. Many of the medieval churches are still used today for Christian orthodox religious ceremonies and festivities.


Other churches

There are a number of monolithic churches elsewhere in the world. However, none have the free-standing external walls of the Lalibela churches. They instead more closely resemble
cave monasteries A cave monastery is a monastery built in caves, with possible outside facilities. The 3rd-century monk St. Antony the Great, known as the founder of monasticism, lived in a cave. *Albania ** Qafthanë Cave Church, cave church near Urakë ** S ...
in that they consist of tunnels converging into a single rock. Examples include: * The
Geghard Geghard ( hy, Գեղարդ, meaning "spear") is a medieval monastery in the Kotayk province of Armenia, being partially carved out of the adjacent mountain, surrounded by cliffs. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with enhanced protec ...
monastery,
Kotayk Province Kotayk ( hy, Կոտայք, ), is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located at the central part of the country. Its capital is Hrazdan and the largest city is Abovyan. It is named after the Kotayk canton of the historic Ayrarat province ...
, Armenia * The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
near
Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
* The subterranean St. Jean Church in Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, France * Church in
Saint-Émilion Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. In 2016, it had a population of 1,938. In the heart of the country of ''Libournais'' (the area around Libourne), i ...
, France *
Temppeliaukio Church Temppeliaukio Church ( fi, Temppeliaukion kirkko, sv, Tempelplatsens kyrka) is a Lutheranism, Lutheran church (building), church in the Töölö neighborhood of Helsinki. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo Suomalainen, Timo a ...
in
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland * The subterranean rock churches in
Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...
, Turkey which number beyond one thousand and contain some superb examples of
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
wall-paintings, representing both the academic classicizing trend in Byzantine art, and some archaic popular styles


See also

*
Rock-cut architecture Rock-cut architecture is the creation of structures, buildings, and sculptures by excavating solid rock where it naturally occurs. Intensely laborious when using ancient tools and methods, rock-cut architecture was presumably combined with quarry ...
*
Monolithic architecture Monolithic architecture describes buildings which are carved, cast or excavated from a single piece of material, historically from rock. The most basic form of monolithic architecture is a rock-cut building, such as the monolithic churches of Et ...
*
Bochnia Salt Mine The Bochnia Salt Mine () in Bochnia, Poland, is one of the oldest salt mines in the world and is the oldest commercial company in Poland. The Bochnia salt mine was established in 1248 after salt had been discovered there in the 12th and 13th cent ...
*
List of cave monasteries A cave monastery is a monastery built in caves, with possible outside facilities. The 3rd-century monk St. Antony the Great, known as the founder of monasticism, lived in a cave. *Albania ** Qafthanë Cave Church, cave church near Urakë ** ...
*
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
*
Ellora Caves Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 CE., Quote: "These 34 mo ...


References


External links


Saint-Roman abbey website
(in French and a part in English)
Website about monolithic monuments
(in French) {{coord, 12, 01, 54, N, 39, 02, 28, E, display=title, region:ET_type:landmark_source:dewiki Church architecture Monoliths Cave churches