Posted on 05/18/2014 7:25:10 PM PDT by NKP_Vet
“WHAT?” I thought. “Where is this?!”
And so began my research into the fantastic rock-cut underground churches in Lalibela.
In the twelfth century, King Lalibela, a member of the Zagwe dynasty which had seized the throne of Ethiopia around 1000 A.D., sought support from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. To garner support, he commissioned a series of twelve extraordinary churches in the small town of Roha (now renamed Lalibela). He hoped to create a New Jerusalem, a pilgrimage site for Christians who could not make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
(Excerpt) Read more at patheos.com ...
Nelson De Mille’s latest book, The Quest, takes place largely in Ethopia and goes into the Christian history there. Really quite interesting and surprising to me.
Besides, I love every single one of his books.
Fascinating.
Yes it is. Thanks for posting it.
Ping.
Wow! Amazing. Thanks for posting.
I would absolutely love to visit Ethiopia’s holy sights some day. Any Freepers have experience there?
These are amazing! I have several Ethiopian friends whom I met while working in Northern Iraq. Superbly good people and solid Christians with big hearts. The spicy traditional dishes for me were great. I have not been to Ethiopia, but aspire to visit and explore. Some years ago BBC did a special called the ‘Lost Kingdoms of Africa”. A segment on Ethiopia, which included these amazing churches and more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQfhWnPeG8g
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.