The Debre Berhan Selassie Church of Gondar

When Gondar was the capital of the Kingdom of Ethiopia (1638 – 18 55), it had many beautiful churches. Not all of them withstood the attack of marauding Sudanese dervishes that took place in the 1880s, but miraculously, one of the finest of Gondar’s churches, Debre Berhan Selassie or ‘Light of Trinity’ survived.

Legend has it that when the invaders showed up outside the church gates, a giant swarm of bees descended from the juniper trees on the ‘un-believers’, stinging them so furiously that they turned and fled.

Debre Berhan Selassie Church is a jewel in its own right.

A long, grey stone wall, lined with ancient trees, surrounds the church compound. In the month of March, the afternoon heat is already quite suffocating. An occasional slight breeze brings a momentary relief, filling the air with the soft sound of rustling leaves and the refreshing smell of juniper and eucalyptus trees. The wall is adorned with 12 round towers symbolizing the apostles. A 13th tower at the entrance gate, in the shape of a lion – the Lion of Judah – represents Christ, though some imagination is necessary to discern the lion, since time and weather have eroded the sculpture beyond recognition. A small building next to the entrance gate houses the church library, where a few original handwritten manuscripts of the Holy Books are preserved.

The church itself is small. Nonetheless, it has an imposing rectangular basement, thick walls of basalt slabs, arched doors and a two-tiered thatch roof. Inside it is decorated with the colorful biblical paintings typical of Orthodox churches. Among them, a Geronimo Bosch like representation of hell is hauntingly realistic. But the decoration of the ceiling is absolutely astonishing and exquisite. Row after row, the whole ceiling is covered with winged angel faces.

135 angel faces, some of them damaged through water seepage, look down on the visitor. 135 brown, childlike angel faces, framed by a crown of curly, thick black hair, look down with a sweet, sometimes sorrowful, sometimes vigilant expression in their huge, brown, almond shaped eyes. It does not matter where you stand, the eyes of the angels will contemplate you. The dim light inside the church and the idea of being protected “from above” create a very special atmosphere of comfort and peace.