The most sacred shrine in Ethiopia is the 17th-century Church of St. Mary of Zion in Axum, which stands next door to the chapel housing the Ark of the Covenant. The original church is believed to have been built during the reign of Ezana, the first Christian emperor of Ethiopia, during the 4th century AD, and has been rebuilt several times since then.

Although the present building is relatively new, the Church of St. Mary of Zion has impressively ancient roots. The Church of Our Virgin Mary of Zion of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the most important church in Ethiopia.

It was around this time, in the 300s AD, that a Church of St. Mary was first built in Axum. Since its founding during the episcopacy of Frumentius (known in Ethiopia as Abune Selama Kesatay Birhan or "Our Father of Peace the Revealer of Light") the Church of Mary of Zion has been destroyed and rebuilt at least twice. Its first putative destruction occurred at the hands of Queen Gudit during the 10th century. Its second, confirmed, destruction occurred in the 16th century at the hands of Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, after which it was rebuilt by the Emperor Gelawdewos, then further rebuilt and enlarged by Fasilides during the 17th century.

St. Mary of Zion was the traditional place where Ethiopian Emperors came to be crowned. And indeed, if an Emperor was not crowned at Axum, or did not at least have his coronation ratified by a special service at St. Mary of Zion, he could not be referred to by the title of "Atse".

In 1635, St. Mary of Zion was reconstructed by Emperor Fasilidas on the ruins of the church that had been destroyed by the Muslims, and this is the church that stands today. In the mid-1500s, the forces of Ahmed Gragn "the Left Handed" had swept across the Horn of Africa from Harar in the east, for a time threatening the extinction of Ethiopian Christendom.

The destruction and rebuilding of the church has become an important part of its meaning for Ethiopians. Surrounded by Islamic countries, overrun several times, and brought to the brink of extinction, Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity regards itself as a bastion against Islam.

St. Mary of Zion's rise from the ashes symbolizes the struggles and triumphs of not only the church, but the nation of Ethiopia. The emperors of Ethiopia were all crowned here. Until the 1930s, criminals could receive sanctuary in the church precincts by ringing the bell on the porch.

The dome and bell tower of the new Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion, built by Emperor Haile Selassie in the 1950s. In the 1950s the Emperor Haile Selassie built a new modern Cathedral next to the old Cathedral of Our Lady Mary of Zion that was open to both men and women. The old church remains accessible only to men, as Mary, symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant allegedly resting in its chapel, is the only woman allowed within its compound.
Reportedly, the Ark was moved to the Chapel of the Tablet adjacent to the old church because a divine 'heat' from the Tablets had cracked the stones of its previous sanctum. Emperor Haile Selassie's wife, Empress Menen paid for the construction of the new chapel. It remains a significant center of pilgrimage for Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, especially during the main Festival of Zion Maryam on 30 November (21 Hidar on the Ethiopian calendar).