Ethiopia 24, Gondar, Debre Birhan Selassie Church

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ETHIOPIA
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Gondar, Debre Birhan Selassie Church
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Gondar (also spelled Gonder) is a royal and
ancient historical city of Ethiopia. It was the
home of many emperors and princesses who led the
country from the 12th century to the last decade
of the 20th century, including Emperor Suseneos,
Emperor Fasiledes, Empress Mentwab, Iyasu I,
Tewodros II and Empress Taitu. It is the home of
the highest mountain in Ethiopia, Ras Dashen
(4,550 metres), and the Simien Mountains National
Park.
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A short way out of town, Debre Birhan Selassie
(Trinity and Mountain of Light) Church seems more
like a fortress than a church at first glance.
This is because the local churches were once
vulnerable to attacks by the Sudanese. There are
twelve towers guarding this church, each
representing one of the twelve apostles.
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The seven ostrich eggs on the cross mean that
you're supposed to be in church seven days a
week. Why ostrich eggs? Because ostriches never
leave their eggs and you should never leave the
church!
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The Debre Birhan Selassie (Trinity and Mountain
of Light) Church is famed for its beautiful
examples of Ethiopian church art. Built by an
emperor and preserved by an archangel, it is also
among the most important churches of Ethiopia.
Churches like this were once quite common in the
area, but this is the only church to survive the
Sudanese attacks, making it even more of a
treasure.
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Purple Jacaranda tree in blossom (Jacaranda
mimosifolia)
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The outside of Debre Birhan Selassie is rather
plain, but its interior has made it one of
Ethiopia's top tourist attractions
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Icons of the Holy Trinity (three identical men
with halos) and the Crucifixion have pride of
place above the entrance to the Holy of Holies
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The walls depict biblical scenes and saints and
the ceiling is covered with the faces of 80
Ethiopian Cherubs. All the faces have a different
expression
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Debre Birhan Selassie was built by Emperor Eyasu
II (also known as Birhan Seged, "He to Whom the
Light Bows") in the 17th Century (1682-1706). It
was named Debre Birhan, "Mountain of Light,"
after the Emperor's nickname as well as in honor
of the church of the same name in Shewa
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At the Debre Birhan Church in Shewa, a miraculous
apparition of the Holy Light of God is said to
have occured in the Middle Ages during the reign
of Emperor Zera Yacob the Great. In exchange for
the right of using its name, the Gondar church
paid the Shewan church an annual tribute.
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The mequamia is the ubiquitous Ethiopian prayer
stick, which is used by elderly priests, monks,
nuns and churchgoers, but also used during
chanting and other liturgical events. The
beautiful shape of the head is actually a single
branch of a cross whose apices curl into "ram's
head" shapes (reference to "the lamb of God),
unique to the country.
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The Debteras or cantors sing hymns and praise
God to the accompaniment of musical instruments,
drums, prayer-sticks and sistra
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The Church of Ethiopia is one of the few Churches
of Christendom where the worship of the primitive
church has been preserved The kebero is a large
hand drum used in the Orthodox Christian liturgy
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When the Mahdist Dervishes of the Sudan sacked
the city of Gondar in 1888, they burned down
every church in the city except Debre Birhan
Selassie.
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According to local legend, when the Mahdist
soldiers approached the church, a swarm of bees
decended on the compound of the church and kept
the soldiers back, and the Archangel Michael
himself stood before the large wooden gates with
a flaming sword drawn
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Among the many ethnic groups in Ethiopia, the
Amhara are the most populous, representing about
one-fourth of the population. Their language,
Amharic, is the official language of Ethiopia
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The Amhara people are Coptic Monophysite
Christians. The population was converted to
Christianity in the fourth century AD and their
form of the religion has changed very little
since its beginnings in Ethiopia
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Ancient Amhara culture had a writing system, and
therefore, there is a wealth of texts that have
preserved the ancient teachings of Christianity
in a language that is not spoken by people today
but remains the language of the church. This
language is Geez. Since Geez is used only in the
context of Amhara Christianity, its function is
similar to that of Latin in the Roman Catholic
Church
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African white-backed vultures at Debre Birhan
Selassie Church
Big eagle in Gondar
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Text Internet Pictures Sanda Foisoreanu
Sanda Negrutiu Jean
Moldovan Alin Samochis
Daniel Scradeanu
Internet All  copyrights  belong to their
 respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu
2014
Sound Zerfe Kebede - Amanuel
Ethiopian Orthodox Mezmur