Monolithic church

Beta Giyorgis (Church of St. George), Lalibela, Ethiopia

A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. They are one of the most basic forms of monolithic architecture.

The churches are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain and can be of comparable architectural complexity to constructed buildings.

Lalibela

For other uses, see Lalibela (disambiguation).

The term primarily refers to the complex of eleven churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia believed to have been created in the 12th century, the most famous of which is the cross-shaped Church of St. George (Beta Giyorgis). Tradition credits its construction to King Lalibela, who was a devoted Christian.

The 11 medieval monolithic churches of this 12th-century 'New Jerusalem' are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of Ethiopia near a traditional village. Lalibela is an important center of Ethiopian Christianity, and even today is a place of pilgrimage and devotion. Lalibela is one of the world's precious heritages registered by UNESCO.

Outside of Lalibela in Ethiopia, many other churches were hewn from rock. This practice is very common in Tigray, where the outside world knew of only a few such churches until the Catholic priest Abba Tewelde Medhin Josief presented a paper to the Third International Conference of Ethiopian Studies in which he announced the existence of over 120 churches, three-quarters of which were still in use.^[1] Despite Dr. Josief's death soon after his presentation, research over the next few years raised the total number of these rock-hewn churches to 153.^[2]

Other churches

Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki

There are a number of monolithic churches elsewhere in the world. However, none have the free-standing external walls of the Lalibela churches and more closely resemble cave monasteries in that they consist of tunnels into a single rock. Examples include:

• the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo, Bulgaria near Ruse
• St. Jean Church in Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, France
• Church in Saint-Émilion, France
• Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki, Finland
• The rock churches in Cappadocia, Turkey which number beyond one thousand and contain some superb examples of Byzantine wall-paintings, representing both the academic classicizing trend in Byzantine art, and some archaic popular styles

References

1. ^ Ghelawdewos Araia, The Magnificence of Aksum: Revisiting Ethiopian Civilization
2. ^ Philip Briggs, Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide, 5th edition (Chalfont St Peters: Bradt, 2002), p. 278

See also

• rock cut architecture and monolithic architecture
• Bochnia
• Cave monastery
• Petra
• Ellora Caves

External links

• Article about Saint-Roman abbey
• Saint-Roman abbey website (in French and a part in English)
• Website about monolithic monuments (in French)

Coordinates: 12°01′54″N 39°02′28″E / 12.03167°N 39.04111°E / 12.03167; 39.04111