African Art： Ethiopian Art： The Church of Saint George, Part 3 Created by Angels

The rock-cut churches of Ethiopia, including the Church of St. George, are architectural marvels. In fact, many Ethiopian Orthodox Christians believe that this implausible structure wasn't even made by human labor. Tradition holds that this sanctuary was miraculously carved out of the living rock by angels. For some modern skeptics, the suggestion that this church was created by a team of angels might have the same charming incredulity as the fairy tale about the old shoemaker who received the magical aid of elves. However, we should not be too quick to dismiss the value that this creation narrative of supernatural intervention has for helping us understand what this church has meant to countless Ethiopian Orthodox believers. But if we consider the Church of St. George from a perspective of faith, from a perspective of belief in the presence and power of miracles, then perhaps this creation narrative is more than just a myth. While I can't confirm or disprove the participation of angels in the carving of St. George, the suggestion that this structure was supernaturally created can be directly connected to its sacred meaning as well as its liturgical purpose. In every work of art, the process by which it was created proceeds from its purpose. In the Church of St. George, the material process proceeded from a sacred purpose. In the Church of St. George, the purpose was to create a house of God that emerges from the rock, a material that had been present since the Genesis creation. Standing outside of human time, this structure of faith appears to have been miraculously created. If the design and carving of this sacred sanctuary is ascribed to the supernatural, this rock-cut church might be perceived as an architectural parallel to the icons of the Orthodox Church. The belief in miraculously created icons, icons not made by human hands, has been central to the liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church. While the first icons are lost to history, copies of these icons are still venerated today. Even without ascribing the creation of St. George to the participation of angels, conceptualizing this rock-cut church in the spiritual context of miraculous icons answers many of the questions concerning both its purpose as well as the highly unusual process that gave it form. The Church of St. George was commissioned sometime between 1187 and 1221 by an Ethiopian king named Lalibela. King Lalibela was a devout Orthodox Christian. His spiritual imagination was formed by Orthodox theology. If King Lalibela's faith proceeded from a liturgical practice that venerated sacred icons, then the church in which he worshipped also needed to be supernatural in design. For many visitors, this rock-cut church is an awe-inspiring structure. But for King Lalibela and for the Christians of Ethiopia, this church was evidence that God had taken residence here. By crediting the creation of this church to angelic labor, the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian proclaims it to be a sacred sanctuary, fit to be the residence of the divine. A God who cannot be constrained by human achievements has ordained his own creation, the rock itself, as the material for his residence. Perhaps the belief that St. George was miraculously created is more than just a myth. This creation story consecrates this structure in the spiritual imagination of the Ethiopian Orthodox Christian for its liturgical purpose. The narrative that the Church of St. George was excavated from the living rock by angels unites its design and process with its identity as the dwelling place of the uncreated God.