Debre Berhan Selassie: l’unica chiesa di Gondar sopravvissuta al saccheggio del 1888, secondo la leggenda salvata da uno sciame d’api
La chiesa di Debre Birhan Selassie fu costruita a Gondar nel tardo XVII secolo, durante il regno dell’imperatore Iyasu I (1682-1706), che personalmente riportò il Tabot in città e usò la terra sacra per livellare il terreno attorno al nuovo edificio, dandogli il nome. Nel 1888, Gondar fu saccheggiata dai dervisci mahdisti del Sudan, guidati dal generale del Califfo, Zaki Tamal, che ordinò l’incendio di tutte le chiese della città. Sorprendentemente, Debre Birhan Selassie fu l’unica a sopravvivere. Secondo la leggenda, quando i soldati mahdisti si avvicinarono al recinto della chiesa, uno sciame d’api scese improvvisamente su di loro, tenendoli a distanza; altre versioni raccontano che l’arcangelo Michele in persona apparve davanti ai grandi portoni di legno, spada fiammeggiante sguainata. Oggi la chiesa è famosa in tutto il mondo per il soffitto, interamente dipinto con i volti vigili di 135 cherubini — gli “Elf Alaf Melaekt”, innumerevoli angeli che guardano in tutte e quattro le direzioni, a simboleggiare l’onnipresenza di Dio.
About Debre Berhan Selassie Church
Debre Birhan Selassie Church in Gondar, Ethiopia, was built during the late 17th century, during the reign of Emperor Iyasu I, who ruled from 1682 to 1706. The Emperor personally carried the church’s Tabot (a sacred replica of the Ark of the Covenant central to Ethiopian Orthodox worship) back to Gondar and used sacred soil to level the ground surrounding the new church, naming the site Debre Birhan Selassie in the process. The church’s most dramatic historical moment came in 1888, when Gondar was sacked by Mahdist Dervish forces from Sudan under the command of the Khalifa’s general, Zaki Tamal, who ordered the systematic torching of the city’s churches as part of the wider assault. Remarkably, Debre Birhan Selassie was the sole church in all of Gondar to survive this destruction. Local legend offers two intertwined explanations for this singular survival: one holds that as the Mahdist soldiers approached the church compound, a swarm of bees suddenly descended upon them, driving the troops back before they could set the building alight; another version holds that the Archangel Michael himself appeared before the church’s large wooden gates, brandishing a drawn flaming sword to bar the invaders’ path. Whatever the true explanation, the church’s survival left it as the last complete example of Gondarine-era ecclesiastical architecture and decoration in the city, and it remains world-renowned today above all for its extraordinary painted ceiling, covered with the watchful faces of 135 individual cherubs — countless angels known in Ge’ez as “Elf Alaf Melaekt,” each gazing outward in one of the four cardinal directions, a visual expression of the belief that God’s presence extends everywhere at once. These distinctive cherubic faces have become the single most recognisable and celebrated feature of the church, making Debre Berhan Selassie one of the most photographed religious interiors in all of Ethiopia.
Key facts
- 1682-1706: church built during the reign of Emperor Iyasu I
- 1888: Mahdist Dervish forces sack Gondar, burning all its churches
- Sole survivor: Debre Birhan Selassie the only Gondar church to escape destruction
- Legend: a swarm of bees, or the Archangel Michael, drives off the attackers
- Ceiling: painted with the faces of 135 winged cherubs
- Defensive walls: ringed by twelve rounded towers, symbolising the twelve apostles
History
As the sole surviving church from Gondar’s golden age of ecclesiastical building following the 1888 Mahdist sack, Debre Berhan Selassie preserves an otherwise almost entirely lost tradition of Gondarine church decoration and architecture, making it an irreplaceable link to the artistic and religious culture of imperial Gondar at its height. The dual legend of the protective bee swarm and the Archangel Michael’s flaming sword situates the church’s survival within a broader pattern of Ethiopian Orthodox miracle traditions attributing dramatic wartime preservation to direct divine intervention.
The ceiling’s 135 cherub faces, among the most instantly recognisable images in all of Ethiopian religious art, exemplify the distinctive Gondarine painting style that flourished under royal patronage in the 17th and 18th centuries, blending indigenous Ethiopian artistic conventions with wider Christian iconographic traditions into a visual language found nowhere else in the world.
What you see
The church’s rectangular exterior is enclosed by a stone wall studded with twelve rounded towers, traditionally interpreted as representing the twelve apostles, forming a distinctive defensive perimeter typical of Gondarine-era religious architecture. Inside, the famous ceiling of 135 painted cherub faces dominates the visitor’s first impression, accompanied by further wall paintings depicting biblical narratives and Ethiopian saints across the church’s interior surfaces.
Practical information
- Opening hours: generally open daily with seasonal variation; admission fee applies; check current hours before visiting
- Address: Piazza Bilko area, Gondar, Amhara Region, Ethiopia
Getting there
Debre Berhan Selassie Church stands in the town of Gondar, in Ethiopia’s Amhara Region, reachable by domestic flight to Gondar Airport or by road, with the church a short walk from the town centre. GPS: 12.6126° N, 37.4805° E.
Nearby
- Fasil Ghebbi (Gondar Royal Enclosure) — UNESCO-listed royal castle complex, a short distance away
- Gondar town centre — surrounding the church
- Fasilides’ Bath — historic royal bathing pavilion, nearby
Sources
- Sacred Destinations — “Debre Birhan Selassie Church – Gondar, Ethiopia” (sacred-destinations.com)
- Travelationship — “Debre Birhan Selassie Church in Gondar the Lone Survivor” (travelationship.com)
- Sacred Sites — “Debre Berhan Selassie Church, Gondar, Ethiopia” (sacred-sites.org)
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