© Wikimedia Commons | Evan Williams. CC BY-SA 4.0 International.
Location: Megab, Ethiopia
Belief: Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity
Era: 5th Century CE
For thousands of years, humanity has climbed mountains to be isolated from everyday life, to reach out to its Creator, and to contemplate its role and status in the natural world.
One such site is the Abuna Yemata Guh Church, which lies in the Gheralta Mountains of northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region at a whopping height of 2,580 metres. The church is one of 30 rock churches in this chain of mountains, and its remote location allows worshippers to pray in peace and seclusion.
In ancient times, worshippers would make a perilous one-hour climb barefoot up the mountain in order to reach the church, which dates back to the 5th century CE, shortly after Ethiopia had adopted Christianity as the state religion. It was carved out of the rock from the yellow sandstone by Saint Abuna Yemata, who was known as one of the Nine Saints.
In the centuries that followed, the inside of the rock-cut church was decorated with a number of painted frescoes depicting scenes from Biblical stories and key personalities such as Abraham (as), Jacob (as), Isaac (as), Moses (as), Jesus (as), and various saints. For over 500 years, the paintings have been shielded from the climate and direct sunlight, and have never needed to be repainted.
The Abuna Yemata Guh Church adheres to Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity. They use the Ethiopian Tewahedo Bible, which is longer than European Bibles and is written in the local Ge’ez and Amharic languages. Some versions contain 88 books, unlike the King James Version in Europe, which has just 66 books. This version is at least 800 years older than that.
Today, the High Priest climbs up every day to serve and assist visitors, and to lead prayers. Due to its location and the effort required to reach it, the church is one of the most inaccessible places of worship anywhere in the world.
References:
Abuna Yemata Guh, Brilliant Ethiopia. Accessed: February 4, 2025.
P. Briggs, Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide (UK: Chalfont St Peter, Bucks, 2019), 8th Edition.
