The rock-hewn Churches of St. Lalibela, carved out of a single stone and inscribed on the World Heritage List of UNESCO, were built over 800 years ago and still now they are the talk of the world.
They are also decorated with different shapes and do not look like each other. The churches chained together and highlighted the city by their beauty. They are divided into three by a small valley called “Jordan”. The churches were hewn from the living rock of monolithic blocks. These blocks were further chiselled out, forming doors, windows, columns, various floors, roofs etc. This massive work was further completed with an extensive system of drainage ditches, trenches and ceremonial passages, some with openings to hermit caves and catacombs.
The town of St. Lalibela is located about 645 km north of Addis Ababa. It is named after St. Lalibela, one of the four saints who combined monarchy with priesthood and led the country in the 12th century.
St. Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, still today a place of pilgrimage and devotion. Christmas (the birth of Christ) is one of the most celebrated holidays in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) and in St. Lalibela Churches, it is celebrated in a special way. The main reason why Christmas is celebrated in St. Lalibela Churches is because St. Lalibela was born on the same day Jesus Christ was born. It is becoming one of the colorful internationally recognized religious festivals. The celebration in the city of St. Lalibela, anciently called Roha, is even more spectacular, vibrant and unique.
This has many meanings for the followers of the EOTC faith: It is a great day of rejoicing, in which the heavens and the earth are reconciled, humans and angels sing together, the fulfillment of Adam’s long-awaited five thousand five hundred years, the glorious birth of the Son of God in the flesh and soul of the Blessed Virgin Mary and more. The Rock-Hewn Churches of St. Lalibela are still preserved in their natural settings. The intangible heritages associated with the church practices are still preserved.
Today, Priests and other sections of the community under St. Lalibela Monastery are suffering from lack of tourism. Due to Covid-19 and the post-war situation in the area, the priests and other sections of the society in charge of St. Lalibela Monastery are in a difficult situation.
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Currently, no tourists are coming to the area. The economy and revenue of the area is highly dependent on tourism. A lot of priests and their families have been affected due to this situation. As per recently circulating reports, thousands of staffs, model students (የአብነት- ተማሪዎች), and elderly people, as well as orphans, were in trouble. The government and other stakeholders are requested to support the monastery in good time. The current situation of the monastery should be supported by all.
Infrastructural facilities like electricity and water supply in the area should get proper attention by the government which is causing further damage to the tourism.
To support the priests and ministers of St. Lalibela Monastery, A fund-raising event was held at the Sheraton Addis Hotel under the motto: “Look at St. Lalibela!”. About 8 million birr was collected during the fund-raising event. However, this alone is not enough and all stakeholders (local and international), tourists, UNESCO and the government of Ethiopia need to set a rapid implementation plan on the way to boost the tourism so as to recover the tourism activities of this holy place.
