The work of angels

The monolithic churches of Lalibela have to be seen to be believed. Hidden away in the central mountains of Ethiopia, and reputed to have been built in the 12th or 13th century by King Lalibela after his return from exile in Jerusalem.The churches were carved as a refuge, and a site of pilgrimage - instead of risking the life threatening journey across the Muslim lands on the way to Jerusalem, Ethiopian Christians could instead travel to the new Jerusalem. The churches are set against an incredibly beautiful back drop of an endless series of steep valleys, thin ridge lines and mesas that stretch along the horizon in all directions. The churches themselves are carved in to the rock - that is, the workers started with a flat stretch of rock and carved down 10 to 15 metres in to it, eking out a large hole in the ground with churches that are carved - rather than built - from the same rock, in the middle of the hole. Unfortunately photos don't really do justice, to the size, intricacy of the work and the unique nature of buildings that are carved rather than built.

As our guide led us around the churches he explained that they were built supposedly in the space of 23 years, following the plans that were divinely revealed to King Lalibella. They were all started and finished at the same time, and apparently at night angels would appear and work until morning when the mere mortals returned to work. The angel story, told in all earnest by the guide, was what got my incredulity meter going, but Ethiopian history is filled with stories that would give a Sceptics Association years of joy. The founding myth of Ethiopia, that Queen Sheba (reputedly an Ethiopian, although there is no historical evidence that she ever existed) headed off to Jerusalem, had a little dalliance with King Solomon to whom she bore a child, then headed back to Ethiopia after nicking the Ark of the Covenant (what Moses got when God gave him the Ten Commandments on Mt Sinai) The original ark is apparently in Axum in the north of Ethiopia but nobody is allowed to see it – apparently if you do you will burst in to a ball of flames. All churches in Ethiopia have a copy of the covenant, but again they are behind curtains and nobody is allowed to see it. Also each of the churches in Lalibella has its own cross, found in the waters surrounding each church and supposedly made from perfect gold.
After hearing all of these stories one's curiosity is peeked – it is difficult for an enquiring mind, to say nothing of a cheeky atheist's mind, not to start questioning things – especially when they are hidden away behind curtains. Particularly when there is no cogent reason for the curtains – if God revealed the rules to live by to Moses you would think that God would have wanted that everybody got to see these rules so they knew what they were supposed to do. And if angels really did help build the churches why are the churches now cracking and falling apart, surely the work of angels must be divinely perfect ? And why did the angels just work at night – they could have saved the workers a lot of effort and worked during the day as well ? And wouldn't the workers have organised in to a union and demanded that the scabs (angels who surely wouldn't have been paid) be excluded from working on the project ? If the crosses are divinely created can when test them to see their composition ?

Needless to say not many of these questions went down very well and everything reached a head with a bizarre conversation with one of the priests who guard the churches. When the Czech guy who was in our group asked a priest a seemingly innocuous question, the priest admonished him for inquiring too far, and said that it was not right for us to know all of the mysteries of God. He said that seeking to know is a lack of respect and that asking questions is blasphemous. He then told us all to leave.
Suddenly it all felt a little like the Wizard of Oz, all smoke, mirrors and curtains, no questions allowed. When questions are asked about why things can't be seen, or what the hidden things contain, no cogent explanations are ever presented. It feels like a game of hide and seek – every time you ask a question that reveals an inconsistency a new supernatural, and therefore unexplainable, answer is invented.
Those with faith, and religions in particular seem to think that any uncertainty arising from an inability to explain things has to be covered up and hidden away – as though if you find out that they don't have the answer then the whole system of belief will collapse - at some point somebody will come along and tug at the curtain to reveal the real truth. In the end the experience was ruined by these ridiculous explanations, in fact every time I entered a church or even saw an Orthodox priest from then on I couldn't help but think about the silly game they seemed to be playing. For me
the supernatural and fantastical explanations undermine the meaningful work that is created as an offering to God. It is wondrous enough to think that people alone created these buildings eight or nine hundred years ago there is no need for angels.