<p class="ql-block"> 关于这些教堂的由来众说纷纭。有人认为，它们是由基督教十字军圣殿骑士团在 13世纪雕刻而成，那时他们正处于权力的巅峰。</p><p class="ql-block">There are many theories about the origin of these churches. Some believe they were carved by the Knights Templar, a Christian crusader, in the 13th century, when they were at the height of their power.</p> <p class="ql-block"> 流传最广的说法是埃塞俄比亚君主拉利贝拉国王在12世纪末到13世纪初下令建造了这些教堂。</p><p class="ql-block">The most popular theory is that King Lalibela, the Ethiopian monarch, ordered the churches built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.</p> <p class="ql-block"> 据说，国王曾在公元1187年拜访过耶路撒冷，在埃塞俄比亚境内的约旦河附近建造这些教堂，目的是欢迎基督徒前来“新耶路撒冷”。</p><p class="ql-block">The king, who is said to have visited Jerusalem in 1187, built these churches near the Jordan River in Ethiopia to welcome Christians to the "new Jerusalem."</p> <p class="ql-block"> 比起“拉利贝拉岩石教堂”这个普通名字，人们更愿意用充满信仰和荣耀色彩的“新耶路撒冷”、“非洲的奇迹”来称呼它。</p><p class="ql-block">Instead of lalibela Rock Church, people prefer to call it "New Jerusalem" and "African Miracle" full of faith and glory.</p> <p class="ql-block"> 而世界各地成千上万的信徒们更愿意相信另有一种更加神奇的解释，拉利贝拉国王在一群天使的帮助下，一夜之间就建成了这 11 座岩石教堂。</p><p class="ql-block">Thousands of believers around the world prefer a more magical explanation: King Lalibela, with the help of a group of angels, built the 11 rock churches in a single night.</p> <p class="ql-block"> 经考证，这个世界上最大的岩石教堂群是5000名信徒在红色的山体上，花费24年的时间，人工雕刻出来的。</p><p class="ql-block">The world's largest rock church is believed to have been hand-carved by 5,000 believers over 24 years on a red mountain.</p> <p class="ql-block">（待续）</p>