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Axum Rose

That ancient Christian obelisk, looted by Mussolini from Ethiopia, is being re-erected in its homeland — an archeologically delicate operation:

The site is sensitive because the obelisk is the second of a group of six that may have been carved when Christianity first arrived in Ethiopia in the first half of the fourth century. Believed to be enormous tombstones, they range from 17 to 33 metres in height, each one unique, but all carved to resemble a block of dwellings several storeys high. Archaeological excavations of the site revealed a dense underground network of burial chambers and connecting tunnels.

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While at RBTE in Chicago, I bought a lovely, small Ethiopian cross that’s now a constant in my line of sight, right by the computer.

2 thoughts on “Axum Rose

  1. Is it true that the Church gave her blessing to the aggressive, non-defensive Italian conquest of Ethiopia?

  2. That sounds as loaded as the classic wife-beating question.

    I’ve seen no evidence that “the Church” gave any official approval to the Italo-Abyssinian War, though certainly there were churchmen who supported it. In every act of war — including the German invasions of the 1930s and the U.S. Civil War — you’ll find churchmen on both sides of the conflict, and you’ll find ample instances of chaplains and bishops blessing troops, blessing arms, etc. That’s not the same thing as “the Church” giving “her blessing.” The papers are now abuzz over some Chicago priest who transgressed all boundaries of charity and propriety as he dissed Hillary Clinton. That hardly means The Church Has Given Her Blessing to Barack Obama.

    In fact, it’s hard for me to imagine what form any official approbation might take. If it’s anything like the Vatican’s current China policy — which many Catholics oppose — then it’s certainly “non-infallible” teaching.

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