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Lalibela
Photo: Wikimedia Commons · Lalibela

Lalibela

Churches cut from the rock · Ethiopia

Around 1200 King Lalibela of Ethiopia had eleven churches carved out of the red volcanic rock, as a new Jerusalem for Christians who could not travel to the Holy Land. Even the stream that runs through the site was named the Jordan. The churches are still in daily use by priests and by pilgrims dressed in white. Today the cross-shaped church of Bete Giyorgis, sunk deep into the rock, is the best known, and the whole site is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Did you know?

The churches were not built but carved: from the top down, out of a single piece of stone.

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An inspiring story

A Jerusalem cut from rock

What if you could not travel to the holy places?

Around the year 1200 King Lalibela had eleven churches carved out of the solid red rock of the Ethiopian highlands: not built up, but cut down into the earth, each from a single piece of stone. He wanted a New Jerusalem for his people, close to home. Even the stream that runs through it is called the Jordan. Why such an enormous effort? Because he wanted ordinary believers, who could never make the long journey to Jerusalem, to be able to walk where Christ is remembered.

Every Christmas, tens of thousands of pilgrims in white still fill these churches. Holiness was brought to where the people are.

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain.Psalm 127:1

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