Yemrehana Krestos - Yemrehana Krestos

North facade of the Yemrehana Krestos church
Yemrehana Krestos · ይምርሃነ ክርስቶስ
regionAmhara
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2,662 m
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Yemrehana Krestos

The church Yemrehana Krestos, amharic: ይምርሃነ ክርስቶስ, also Yemrehanna Krestos / Kristos, is an Ethiopian Orthodox church from the 11th or 12th century in the Amhara region in the northEthiopia. Named after the emperor Yemrehana Krestos it is part of the architectural tradition of the fallen kingdom of Aksum. It is still controversial whether this church is at the same time or before the rock churches of Lalibela was erected. Her ceiling and wall paintings are considered to be the oldest in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The village of the same name is in the immediate vicinity.

background

Map of the village and church of Yemrehana Krestos

location

The church is located approximately 19 kilometers northeast of Lalibela and about 13 kilometers west of the 4195 meter high mountain 1 Abuna Yosef south of the one named after the church 1 Village in a basalt rock cave located at an altitude of 2662 meters and facing northeast.

history

The beginnings of the church are in the dark. It is not absurd, however, that it was created during the emperor's reign Yemrehana Krestos from presumably 1039 to 1079[1] or 1132 to 1172[2] to apply. The period of his reign is, however, controversial and thus also the time when the church came into being.[3] According to Ewa Balicka-Witakowska, the wall and ceiling paintings probably date from the end of the 12th century.[4] According to the gadl, the description of life or saints, of the Yemrehana Krestos[5] the building of the church could be in connection with a visit to an Ethiopian embassy to the caliph Saladin in 1173, when the door of the Caliph's palace for this church was also obtained.[6]

The earliest information about this church comes from the Portuguese missonary Francisco Álvares (* around 1465, † around 1540), who had lived in Ethiopia for six years as part of a Portuguese embassy from 1520. His work "Verdadeira Informação das Terras do Preste João das Indias“ („Truthful report from the kingdom of the priest John of India“) Also contains a description of this church or the monastery, which he visited for two days in August 1520.[7] The one contained in the title Priest-King John is a legendary regent, even if the author would like to locate him in Ethiopia. The church had 200 manuscripts in Álvares' time. The monastery was run by a ruler, but had no monks.

It was not until 1939 that another European, the Italian Alessandro Augusto Monti della Corte, attended the church.[8]David Roden Buxton (1910–2003) visited it in the 1940s and left a description and photos.[9] In 2001 Ewa Balicka-Witakowska and Michael Gervers published a detailed study of this church. They said that the representations carried out here can already be found in Coptic art of the 7th century. In their opinion, the paintings date from the end of the 12th century and were probably made by Coptic (Egyptian-Orthodox) Christians.[4] A renewed start of construction was carried out in 2007-2008 by researchers from Canada, Sweden, Poland and France.

getting there

The journey is via a partially paved, 45-kilometer-long slope. For this you rent in Lalibela a taxi or minibus to get to the church. Make sure that the driver waits and also carries out the return journey. From the parking lot in the village, a somewhat arduous 700-meter path leads to the church, which was created in 2008 and where you also pass the ticket booth.

Tourist Attractions

Admission to the Yemrehana Krestos Church costs 30 US dollars, that for children from 9 to 13 years of age is 15 US dollars, children under 9 years are free (as of 12/2019). Admission is to be paid in Birr at the daily rate at the cash desk before climbing to the church. You will receive a receipt for this. The video fee is 100 birr. You should bring a flashlight when visiting. After entering the church one should pause a little to get used to the darkness.

One enters that 2 Church areaYemrehana Krestos Church in the Wikipedia encyclopediaChurch of Yemrehana Krestos in the media directory Wikimedia CommonsYemrehana Krestos Church (Q8052169) in the Wikidata database by a wall erected in the 1980s to replace an earlier one.

The site is located in a large rock cave open to the front, in which the individual structures were erected. The cave measures about 50 meters in width and is up to 50 meters deep and 12 meters high. It is surrounded by quasi-hexagonal basalt columns. These pillars were created by cracking when the already solidified lava cooled.

To the left, in the south, you can see the actual church of Yemrehana Krestos. Behind the church is the tomb of Yemrehana Krestos, next to it is a small building that belonged to his slave Ebna Yemrehana Krestos. To the right, in the west, is another building called the palace or residence of Emperor Yemrehana Krestos, which is now used as the residence and archive / treasury of the priests. Behind this building is a cemetery, which has been used by former monks and other church members since the time of Yemrehana Krestos ’, the skeletons of which are exposed.

Inside the Yemrehana Krestos Church

The Yemrehana Krestos Church was built of stone and wood in the tradition of the fallen kingdom of Aksum. Only under the emperor Yemrehana Krestos from the Zagwe dynasty churches were built of stone. The outer walls of the 12 meter long, 9.5 meter wide and 6 meter high church consist of alternating layers of dark wood and whitewashed stone layers and have three doors. The door on the north side is for men, the one on the south side for women and the one on the east side for priests. In the walls there are two rows of wooden windows with differently designed window grilles.

The interior of the three-aisled basilica, especially the ceilings, the upper parts of the walls and the arches are painted in color. On the left, the east side of the church, there is the domed and separated from the church interior with an archway and a curtain, with a copy of the Ark of the Covenant and two adjoining rooms. The side aisles are covered with a flat roof, the central nave with a trapezoidal wooden roof. Three pairs of pillars (including the entrance to the Holy of Holies) separate the naves from one another. It is always reported that the reddish stone used in the church was made by angels Jerusalem was sent here. But Álvares already stated that this rock comes from a quarry in the vicinity.

In the mostly geometric Ceiling medallions A sailing ship, lions, an elephant with his mahout and two riders, a rider on his horse, a fire-breathing monster with a lion's head, a winged figure and a vulture have also been added.

The Mural are located in the upper part of the church on the north and north east wall. Immediately to the left (east) of the entrance door in the north wall was the Escape of the Holy Family to Egypt depicted, but not their return to the holy land. Joseph carries Jesus on his shoulders, the Virgin Mary rides a donkey in the presence of an angel. In the yoke to the east there are two more scenes. First one sees the baptism of Christ and below it the washing of the feet of the apostles by Christ. Next to the scene of the washing of feet are the depictions of the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection. The cross of Christ is already empty. The tomb of Christ is visited by the two Marys. An angel with a cross sits in front of the grave.

There are further representations on the east wall in the north aisle. On the left side of the upper picture strip (register) the entry of Christ and the twelve apostles into Jerusalem is shown. Next to the city is the prophet Zacharias in a tree. To the right is the enthroned Christ in one Mandorla with a book in his left hand. Among them are the adoring Virgin Mary, the twelve apostles and the Holy Spirit.

In the lower register there are four equestrian saints, including Abba Mina (St. Menas), which can be seen on the two camels.

Opposite the church is today's one residence and the archives / treasury of the priests. This building was built in the same architectural style as the church, 17 meters long, 8 meters wide, 4.5 meters high and has two doors and two rooms.

activities

Participation in church services is possible.

Kitchen and accommodation

Accommodation and restaurants can be found in Lalibela.

literature

  • Gerster, Georg: Churches in the Rock: Discoveries in Ethiopia. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1968, Pp. 112-114.
  • Balicka-Witakowska, Ewa; Michael Gervers: The church of Y ə mräḥannä Kr ə stos and its wall-paintings: a preliminary report. In:Africana Bulletin, ISSN0002-029X, Vol.49 (2001), Pp. 9–47, 16 fig.
  • Friedlander, María-José; Friedlander, Bob: Hidden treasures of Ethiopia: a guide to the remote churches of an ancient land. London [and others]: Tauris, 2015, ISBN 978-1-78076-816-8 , ISBN 978-0-85773-809-7 , Pp. 262-270.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑See among others: Conti-Rossini, C.: Lettera to J. Halévy sulla caduta degli Zague. In:Revue sémitique d’épigraphie et d’histoire ancienne, Vol.10 (1902), Pp. 373-377, especially pp. 374 f.
  2. ↑The dating to the 12th century goes e.g. B. to Carlo Conti Rossini (1872-1949), who postulated a temporal correspondence with the Egyptian Patriarch John V (reign 1146-1167). Please refer: Conti-Rossini, Carlo: La caduta della dinastia Zagué e la versione amarica del Be’ela Nagast. In:Rendiconti / Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche, ISSN0391-8181, Vol.31, Ser. 5 (1922), Pp. 279-314, especially p. 281.
  3. ↑The 40-year reign of the emperor is certain, but not the exact date or the end of the dynasty in 1270. The dates of the reign of Yemrehana Krestos differ by up to a hundred years, depending on the source. See also: Derat, Marie-Laure Derat: The Zāgʷē dynasty (11-13th centuries) and King Yemreḥanna Krestos. In:Annales d’Ethiopie: revue d’archéologie, de philosophie et d’histoire, ISSN0066-2127, Vol.25 (2010), Pp. 157-196, especially pp. 160-162. Derat explains the difficulties in defining the dates due to a lack of sources.
  4. ↑ 4,04,1See literature.
  5. ↑E.g. Marrassini, Paolo: Il Gadla Yemreḥanna Krestos: introduzione, testo critico, traduzione. Napoli: Istituto Univ. Orientals, 1995, Annali / Supplemento / Istituto Universitario Orientale di Napoli; 85.
  6. ↑Taddesse Tamrat: Church and state in Ethiopia: 1270-1527. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972, ISBN 978-0-19-821671-1 , P. 58.
  7. ↑Álvares, Francisco: Brief and warranted description of all thorough knowledge of the lands of the mighty king in Ethiopia, whom we call Priest John: Also of his spiritual and secular regiment .... Egg life: Brighter, 1567. Chapter 53 from p. 193.
  8. ↑See also Monti della Corte, Alessandro Augusto: Lalibelà: Le chiese ipogee e monolithiche e gli altri monumenti medievali del Lasta. Roma: Società Italiana arti grafiche ed, 1940.
  9. ↑Buxton, David: Travels in Ethiopia. London: Drummond, 1949. — Buxton, D. R.: The Christian Antiquities of Northern Ethiopia. Oxford: Batey, 1947.
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