On Friday, I went with my Amharic teacher and colleague, Ato Brahan, to visit St. George Cathedral and Museum in the Piazza area of Addis Ababa. Ato Brahan has been describing the importance of the St. George Cathedral to me for a number of weeks and said that we must visit before I leave Addis.
Emperor Menelik commissioned the construction of the present-day Cathedral to commemorate his defeat of the Italian forces in Adwa in 1896 and to replace the thatched roof structure that stood in its place. He dedicated the church to St. George, Ethiopia’s patron saint. The Cathedral was completed with the assistance of Indian, Armenian and Greek architects in 1911. In fact, Emperor Haile Selassie’s coronation took place within St. George’s Cathedral in 1930. The church is constructed in an octagonal shape and boasts vivid paintings on the interior walls by famous artists such as Afewerk Tekle. Our tour guide shared with us that typically, in the paintings, the four gospels are represented in the following manner: Matthew – man, Mark – lion, Luke – cow, and John – Eagle.
Next door to the Cathedral is the St. George Museum which includes a vast collection of religious and regal artifacts including a range of ceremonial crosses, scrolls, ceremonial umbrellas and the coronation robes, crowns, jewels and thrones of Emperor Haile Selassie and his wife Queen / Empress Mennon. Thank you Ato Brahan for taking me to St. George’s Cathedral!
[Source of Some Background Information and Quotes: Lonely Planet Ethiopia and Eritrea – 3rd Edition – Published November 2006]
