Visual Representation in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church: Church Paintings and Conservation Problems

Visual representation has been an integral part of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church throughout its history. The walls of the Makdas (Holy of Holies) of each Orthodox Church are usually adorned with depictions of the trinity, the life of Christ on earth, St. Mary, as well as winged angels and saints in traditional Ethiopian artistic styles. The church presents different themes from the Holy Bible and other apocryphal texts to figure out an imagination of the believer's worship for two ways of seeing, ‘to see and to be seen’ or ‘intra-ocular’. However, these days, many of these paintings have lost their value due to poor conservation. Many of the church paintings and icons in churches and in markets have lost their themes due to external elements and a poor conservation system.