Ethiopia
Saint Mary of Zion of Axum
By Daniel Teklu
Mar 23, 2007, 03:58

Saint Mary of Zion [Axum Tsion Church ] of  Axum

At the other side of the archaeological museum at Axum, or as one stands in the Axum Stelae Park , across the road , one notices a grand walled compound where two churches are visible-One old and the other recent.

The New church ,which has a domed roof and a lofty bell-tower fashioned after the Stelae, had been built in the 1960s by the last king from the Solomonic dynasty-Emperor Haileselassie-a king much more famous in the present western world than any of his successors.

The older one was the work of Emperor Fasilidas-who is belived to have started  the 17th Century capital of Ethiopia -Gondar. It was a tradition that Ethiopian Emperors most of the time got crowned at Axum. And the king , at around the mid of the 17th century, bult the church there and received his kingship blessings in the very church.

A closer study of the interior of the Old church reveals several striking murals. One of the murals tell the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ ; the other elaborates the story of the life of St. Mary;the third about the legend of St. Yared-the originator of Ethiopian Church Music yet used in the present Orthodox Church.

At a few yards from this old church there is a ruin of an even older church. At the momment only the foundation of the church remain. Also a platform and a wide stone steps from the earlier structure is visible. This church is believed to have been constructed at about 372 AD. This makes it one of the earliest churchs ever built in Africa.

Even today as many lives and resouces  are victims of extrimism, Ahmed Gragn -A muslim extrimist of the first half of 16th century - burnt down this valuable resource in 1535. Two partcular events (destructive wars)  of similar nature  in the Ethiopian History have played role ( a negative role ) in destroying many of the historical resources that would have made the record of Ethiopian history even more clearer to the present generation.

Thanks to Francisco Alvarez-the portuguese visiter- who have arrieved there just before its destruction. He has left us a descriptive account of how the church looked like. I mention a part of it below:

"It is very large and has five naives of a good width and of a great length,voulted above,and all the vaults are covered up , and the ceiling and sides are all painted ; it also has a choir after our fashion... This noble church has a very large enclosure, and is surrounded by another large enclosure like the wall of a large town or city"

History tells us that this church was regarded as the most sacred place in all Ethiopia. Because , it is believed , that this church was built to house the great Ark of the Covenant, which , according to historians, must have arrived in Ethiopia long before the birth of Jesus christ.

Another interesting historical record tells us that by the time Alvarez visited the church in 1520s the Ark was in the Holy of Holies of this church. But when the news of the the invading Ahmed Gragn (who is said to have brought Ethiopian Christianity at the verge of extinction) at about 1530s got closer, this sacred relic ( the Ark) escaped the destruction by being removed to some other secret place, about which, we hear , so much is being written.

After one hundred years in "exile" the Ark was installed back to Axum and the St. Mary church-built by Fasilidas- housed it. It remained there until 1965 ,then Haileselassie had it moved to the New Building,then to another small chapel near it where it is believed is residing.