Monolithic church

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Beta Giyorgis (Church of St. George), Lalibela, Ethiopia

A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. They are one of the most basic forms of monolithic architecture.

The churches are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain and can be of comparable architectural complexity to constructed buildings.

1 Lalibela
2 Other churches
3 References
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Lalibela

The term primarily refers to the complex of eleven churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia believed to have been created in the 12th century, the most famous of which is the cross-shaped Church of St. George (Beta Giyorgis). Spurious tales that the Lalibela churches were constructed by the Knights Templar in the 13th century were started by European explorers who did not believe that the Ethiopian civilization could have created structures of such complexity and beauty.

Other churches (outside of Lalibela) in northern Ethiopia were also hewn from the rock during the Zagwe dynasty, especially in Tigray, where Abba Teweldemedhin Yosief (in The Monolithic Churches of Tigray) counts over 120, three fourths still in use.^[1]

[edit] Other churches

Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki

There are a number of monolithic churches elsewhere in the world. However, none have the free-standing external walls of the Lalibela churches and more closely resemble cave monasteries in that they consist of tunnels into a single rock. Examples include:

the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo, Bulgaria near Ruse
St. Jean Church in Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, France
Church in Saint-Émilion, France
Temppeliaukio Church in Helsinki, Finland
The rock churches in Cappadocia, Turkey which number beyond one thousand and contain some superb examples of Byzantine wall-paintings, representing both the academic classicizing trend in Byzantine art, and some archaic popular styles