The Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion (Amharic: Re-ese Adbarat Kidiste Kidusan Dingel Maryam Ts’iyon) of the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church is the most important church of Ethiopia. The original church is believed to have been built during the
reign of Ezana, the first Christian emperor of Ethiopia, during the fourth century AD, and has been rebuilt several times
since then.
History
The church is in the town of Axum in the Tigray Province. Since its founding during the episcopacy of Frumentius (known in
Ethiopia as Abune Selama Kesatay Birhan or "Our Father of Peace the Revealer of Light") the Church of Mary of Zion has been
destroyed and rebuilt at least twice. Its first recorded destruction occurred at the hands of Queen Gudit during the 10th
century. Its second destruction occurred in the 16th century at the hands of Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, after which it was
rebuilt by the Emperor Gelawdewos, then further rebuilt and enlarged by Fasilides during the 1600s.
St. Mary of Zion was the traditional place where Ethiopian Emperors came to be crowned. And indeed, if an Emperor was not
crowned at Axum, or did not at least have his coronation ratified by a special service at St. Mary of Zion, he could not be
referred to by the title of "Atse".
The dome and bell tower of the new Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, built by Emperor Haile Selessie in the 1950sIn 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. Emperor Haile Selassie's wife, Empress Menen paid for the
construction of the new chapel. It remains a significant center of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, especially
during the main Festival of Zion Maryam on 30 November (21 Hidar on the Ethiopian calendar).
Ark of the Covenant
St. Mary of Zion claims to contain the original Ark of the Covenant. According to tradition, the Ark came to Ethiopia with
Menelik I after visiting his father King Solomon. Only the guardian monk may view the Ark, in accordance with the Bible
accounts of the dangers of doing so for non-Kohanim. This lack of accessibility, and questions about the account as a whole,
has led foreign scholars to express doubt about the veracity of the claim. 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. Agreeing with ancient sources about a magnificent
light emitted from the Ark, the History Channel in a 2008 special claimed that many of the guardian monks have died in short
time, mostly with cataracts having formed in their eyes.