ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Orthodox Church displays rare and ancient artwork as part of celebrations to mark the new millennium

Throngs of Ethiopians have lined up to see various extremely rare and ancient works of art preserved by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Some of the pieces date back to the sixth century. On September 12, Ethiopia, which follows the Julian calendar and not the conventional Gregorian format, marked the start of the year 2000. The last century in Ethiopia saw a king deposed, the ousting of a military dictator whose "Red Terror" purges terrorised the nation and a troubled experiment with democracy. Celebrations were held around the country on the day, but a series of commemorative events will run through out the year. The exhibition by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one such event. Monks and deacons explained the history and the importance of each of the pieces to groups that were allowed in 20 at a time for security reasons. Ancient manuscripts, paintings and photographs of religious sites and sacred crosses made of pure silver and gold were among the items displayed. The exhibition cost over 200,000 US dollars to organise at a church hall in downtown Addis Ababa. "This exhibition is very historical and it is important for the Ethiopian people and as well as for Africa and the other world because the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is a source of skill and art and different types of spiritual as well as secular ideologies," said Apo Philipo, an Orthodox monk. Some of the more famous pieces were replicas of the Ark of the Covenant, referred to in the Bible as a sacred container in which the Ten Commandments are stored. The public is usually only allowed to view them on special religious occasions. "Our forefathers have preserved these precious things for us so we have the responsibility to pass it on to the next generation and I thank God that these things have been kept up to this time," said Enkenyalesh Terefe, a student in Addis Ababa. Some of the people at the exhibition challenged the Orthodox Church to use more modern methods to educate people about the history of the religion. "To facilitate the church's development and to connect it with other technology we have at the moment. You don't need to come and visit all across from every corner of the world and you can see it on the internet very easily," said Berhanu Dagessa, a businessman in the capital. The exhibition will last for three months.

ITN Source | September 22, 2007

Tags:. .connect. .among. .troubled. .hall. .century