Pilgrim in front of Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion – Ethiopia

Posted by pbOOg.cOm at 05:30 PM in 2010

Continuation of the gallery “Historic route of the North“.

© pbOOg.cOm / Pilgrim

Aksum or Axum is the religious capital of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The Aksum archaeological site was inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO in 1980.

The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion is the most important church in Ethiopia.

In the 1950s the Emperor Haile Selassie built a new modern Cathedral next to the old Cathedral of Our Lady Mary of Zion that was open to both men and women. The old church remains accessible only to men, as Mary, symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant allegedly resting in its chapel, is the only woman allowed within its compound.

Reportedly, the Ark was moved to the Chapel of the Tablet adjacent to the old church because a divine heat from the Tablets had cracked the stones of its previous sanctum. Only the guardian monk may view the Ark, in accordance with the Bible accounts of the dangers of doing so for non-Kohanim. The guardian monk is appointed for life by his predecessor before the predecessor dies. If the incumbent guardian dies without naming a successor, then the monks of the monastery hold an election to select the new guardian. The guardian then is confined to the chapel of the Ark of the Covenant for the rest of his life, praying before it and offering incense.

- Entrance of the old Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

- Inside the old Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

Similar posts :

• - On March 1, 2010 Learning – Axum – Ethiopia (1)
• - On February 8, 2010 Arriving (Tigray rock-hewn church) – Ethiopia (3)
• - On July 22, 2010 Solemn reading – Nakuto Lab – Lalibela (0)
• - On February 10, 2008 Scenes inside churches of Rome (0)
• - On September 23, 2010 Thinking – Lalibela (0)

Tags: Africa, Aksum, Architecture, Axum, Church, Ethiopia, Tigray, UNESCO, World Heritage