Bet Merkorios house of Saint Merkorios, This church is accessible via a long, narrow, pitch-black tunnel from Bet Gabriel-Rufael side. It may be larger than the current size. The front and roof parts of the buildings collapsed and were neglected for a long time until local people raised funds for reconstruction work in 1982. The Ark named after the saint and church came from the church of Bete Amanuel. The church is not oriented or customarily planned with the Ethiopian Church’s Church Functioning section. Some information and objects, such as ankle shackles found in trenches, show that the building may have been used for secular purposes as a prison and court. Therefore, its Dedication to St. Mercoreos was much later than other surrounding churches of Lalibela. There seems to be a lack of fines and decorations inside the church.
One thing to mention is a stunning 15th-century mural painted at the bottom of a column, depicting saints in royal costumes, holding a Gondarean processional cross in their hands. They plastered cotton fabrics on the walls of the churches mixed with straw, cow blood, and mud before painting on the wall. It’s hard to imagine what the Church of Mercoreos would look like when it was still covered with its beautiful paintings that once adorned the walls.
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