Abuna Yemata Guh, a remote and ancient church in a very difficult to access location

Ethiopia is one of the first countries in the world where Christianity took root, already during the time of the Roman Empire.

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In 325 or 328, the Kingdom of Axum, which disappeared in the 7th century and is located in present-day Ethiopia, became the second country to adopt Christianity as its official religion (the first was Armenia). This is why some of the oldest Christian temples in the world can be found in this African country.

Disagreements within Ethiopian Christianity began very early. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church was founded in 341. Today, it represents a third of the country's population and retains Ge'ez as its liturgical language, a dead language that was the language of the ancient Kingdom of Axum and also of the former imperial court of Ethiopia. The Bible was translated into this language in the 4th century.

Ethiopia has churches with a fascinating appearance and located in the most unusual places. These locations are due, in part, to the persecutions suffered by the Myophysite and Monophysite Christians after the Council of Chalcedon in 451. One of the most extreme churches in Ethiopia is Abuna Yemata Guh, built in the 6th century into the rock face of a mountain in the north of the country. The church is carved into the rock and its access is at an altitude of 2,580 meters.

This church is named after Abuna Yemata, one of the Nine Christian Saints of Jewish origin who evangelized Ethiopia and are venerated by the Orthodox Church in that country. Yemata lived in the 5th century, although little concrete information is known about his life. Ethiopian Orthodox Christians celebrate his feast day every November 2nd.

The church has beautiful paintings inside, very well preserved thanks to the low humidity in this area. The paintings depict the Twelve Apostles and the Nine Saints, as well as various episodes from the Old and New Testaments. They are believed to have been painted in the 15th century.

One of the most unique aspects of Abuna Yemata Guh is that this church is only accessible on foot, and the climb is very dangerous, involving a 45-minute walk across a cliff face, as you can see in this video posted by Great Big Story:

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Main photo: David Samuel Santos.