Church of St. Mary of Zion

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The old St. Mery Cathedral, as seen from the east

The church also saved as a venue of secular activities. The location known at Tsef Thef was a site where royal judgments were passed, mediations were arranged and even protests were held. It was also a site of imperial function, where East Africa's powerful king of kings bowed, seeking blessing from the clergy and legitimacy from the polity. Several past East Africa's powerful emperors had to temporarily abandon their thrones and desert their capital cities so as to hold elaborate coronation ceremonies in St Mary of Zion — the mother of all churches!


CORONATION CEREMONY

The church of St Mary at Aksum is not just a site of Christian worship. It Is also a site for private contemplation, group mediation or conflict resolution, public gatherings and royal judgments. Most Important of all other events that had taken place here Is the coronation of the kings.

Coronation throne stones in Saint Mary Churchu Aksum

The coronation ceremony in Aksum is the stuff for Hollywood movies. Meticulously planned and extravagantly arranged, the epic royal function makes the crowned king feel symbolically placed at the center of the universe. In essence, it is a colorful religious ritual designed to legitimize a secular undertaking. Before being crowned as the king of kings, any would-be emperor had to endure an avalanche of arrogant questions, asked by ordinary women in a manner of interrogation. One writer described the beautiful coronation ceremony as follows:

As the king approached the cathedral, the priests, singing the chants composed by the legendary sixth-century musician Yared, declared 'May you be blessed, O king of Israel'. The 'daughters of Zion' (the young women of Aksum) gathered in two rows on their side of the pathway near one of the Aksumite inscriptions to the east of the cathedral. The women stood to the left and right of the road holding a cord, with two older women holding swords. As the king's horse approached, the women questioned arrogantly, 'who are you, and of what tribe and family?' The king answered, 'I am the Son of Solomon, the son in Hakim (Menelik I)...' He then used his sword to cut the cord, while the older women declaimed, 'Duly, you are the king of Zion, the son of David, the son of Solomon: Then the king was seated on the coronation throne, spread with precious clothes for the occasion, the throne was called 'the throne of David'. During the ceremonies the king also took on a new name, the throne name..."

King Zera Yakob in 15th century, King Sertse Dingle in the 16th century, Emperor Susnyos in the 17th century and Emperor Yohannes IV In the 19th century all are cases in point. Aksum saw its last coronation in 1930 when Emperor Halle Selassie became a king.

The new St. Mery Church