Thursday, July 30, 2015

The Churches and Monasteries of Lalibela

I am sitting in a covered area of our hotel looking out over Lalibela. You can almost see the churches...I know they are directly in front of me, but hard to know. It is a perfect 72 degrees and the birds are singing. The birds here are enough to make me a birder...many, many beautiful birds both large and small.

Asneka has just brought me coffee and bread with raw honey. 

We've spent the last three days touring churches and monasteries and we are a bit weary of it, although they are of course stunning and interesting. I may know more about Ethiopian Orthodox than I do any other at this point!

I really love the situation of Lalibela with the mountains all around and the sounds of nature. The countryside, too, is remarkable for its round thatched huts and farmlands nestled in the hills. It is storybook beautiful.

Yesterday we started with the south(?) collection of churches and ended with the stunning St. George church, which is shaped like a cross (cruciform!) and is carved out of the rock as a monolith.  It is not covered for protection as the other churches, so is more enjoyiable to look at.

Yesterday we went in and today we got up early to observe the worshipers outside the church -- today is St. George Saint's Day. The worshipers were mostly covered in the white scarves so prevalent here. They are very gauzy and almost seem like shrouds. The mean and women were mostly in separate sections, but due to the hilly landscape, there were folks stationed everywhere. Many of the people carried staffs -- a lot the Bible. I actually said to Peggy the other day that you have to love a country where people dress like Jesus and Mary in the countryside.

There was a sermon being preached and the throngs listened. A bit later they did a call and response at which everyone bowed (somewhat like davening) when it was time for the response.

Many of the men carried staffs, again a la Jesus. I asked Masresha and he told me that the staffs are used to lean on during long, standing prayers.

One thing that alarms me about all of the churches is the general condition of the insides..paintings on canvas, wall paintings, books, kept in damp, humid conditions with many people touching them. I guess this is consistent with the openness and friendliness of the place, but it is not good for the artifacts. Mas says that some people have tried to restore some of the insides, but have botched it...scary!














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