Home > Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion

The church, in the ancient town of Axum in Tigray Province, claims to possess the original Ark of the Covenant. According to tradition, Menelik I brought it to Ethiopia after visiting his father King Solomon. Only the head priest of the Church may view the Ark, in accordance with the Bible accounts of the dangers of doing so for non- Levites. This lack of accessibility has led foreign scholars to express doubt about the veracity of the claim.

Since its founding during the episcopacy of St. Frumentios (known in Ethiopia as "Abune Selama Kesatay Birhan" or "Our Father of Peace and Revealer of Light") the Church of Mary of Zion has been destroyed and rebuilt at least twice. Its first destruction occurred at the hands of the Felasha leader Gudit around the 11th century. Its second destruction occurred several centuries later at the hands of the great Muslim warrior of Harer Mehamed/Ahmed Gragn, after which it was rebuilt by the Emperor St. Fasiledes during the 1500s.

In the 1900s the Emperor Hailay Silasay built a new, much grander cathedral next to the original Church 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 resting in its chapel, is the only woman allowed within its compound).

Reportedly, the Ark has been moved to the recently built Chapel of the Tablet adjacent to the old church because a divine 'heat' from the Tablets had cracked the stones of its previous sanctum. It remains a significant center of pilgrimageA pilgrimage is a journey by a religious person to a place that is sacred according to his or her religion. Pilgrimage in Hinduism There are several holy places with great significance to Hindus. Some of these (in India) include: Badrinath Kedarnath Gango for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, especially during the main Festival of Maryam Zion on 30 NovemberNovember 30 is the 334th day (335th on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 31 days remaining. Events 1782 American Revolutionary War: In Paris, representatives from the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign prelimina (21 Hidar on the Ethiopian calendar).