Editing Tabot (section)

==Description==
The ''tsellat'' is usually a {{convert|6|in|cm|abbr=off|adj=on|order=flip}} square, and may be made from [[alabaster]], [[marble]] or wood from an [[acacia]] tree, although longer lengths of upwards of {{convert|40|cm|in|abbr=in}} are also common.<ref>[[David Roden Buxton|David Buxton]], ''The Abyssinians'' (New York: Praeger, 1970), p.&nbsp;162</ref>  This tablet is inscribed with the name of [[Jesus]], and that of the saint to whom it is dedicated.<ref name="mk-2023" />  

A bishop consecrates the ''tabot'' (not the church building itself),<ref name="folarin" />{{Rp|135}} and every church must have at least one ''tabot'' in order to conduct the liturgy.<ref name="E_Af1868-1001-21">{{Cite web | title=tabot | url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_Af1868-1001-21 | access-date=2024-01-31 | quote=Curator's comments… The Tabots remain in the Qeddest Qeddusan and are only brought out of the churches at festival times or in times of calamity, in order to pray for divine help. When they leave the Queddest Qeddusan they are carried on the heads of priests, veiled from public view by richly decorated cloths. Ornate silk umbrellas are held over the Tabots as a sign of respect.|website=[[British Museum]]}}</ref>  The ''tabot'' is kept in the church's [[Holy of Holies]] (''Qidduse Qiddusan'' or ''Bete Mekdes''), where only the clergy may enter, and it is wrapped in ornate cloths to conceal it from public view.<ref name="E_Af1868-1001-21" />  Only bishops and priests are allowed touch or handle a ''tabot'', or see it without its coverings.<ref name="mk-2023" /><ref name="lisantewahdo" /> If a layperson touches a ''tabot'', a bishop must reconsecrate it before a church may use it again.<ref name="mk-2023" />

The [[Eucharist]] is administered from the ''tabot''.<ref name="mk-2023" /> During church festivals, such as the patronal feast day or during [[Timkat]] (known as [[Epiphany (feast)|Epiphany]] in English), the priests carry the ''tabot'' around the church [[courtyard]] in an elaborate procession reminiscent of [[2 Samuel]], chapter 6, in which King [[David]] leads the people dancing before the Ark.<ref name="E_Af1868-1001-21" /><ref>For example, Ullendorff, ''Ethiopia and the Bible'', p.&nbsp;83; Buxton, ''The Abyssinians'', p.&nbsp;32.</ref><ref>Donald N. Levine, ''Wax and Gold: Tradition and Innovation in Ethiopian Culture'', (Chicago: University Press, 1972), p.&nbsp;63.</ref> [[David Roden Buxton|David Buxton]] describes one such procession, on the festival of [[Gebre Menfes Kidus]]:
{{quote|To the uninstructed onlooker the climax of the service came at the end, when the ''tabot'' or ark was brought out, wrapped in coloured cloths, carried on the head of a priest. As it appeared in the doorway the women raised the ''[[ululation|ilil]]'', a prolonged and piercing cry of joy. When the tabot goes out of the Bete Mekdes ቤተ መቅደስ, everyone goes down to the floor and says a prayer. At first the ''tabot'' remained motionless, accompanied by several processional crosses and their attendant brightly colored canopies, while a group of cantors (''[[dabtara]]'') performed the liturgical dance so beloved of the Abyssinians. The dancing over, a procession formed up, headed by the ''tabot'', and slowly circled the church three times in a counter-clockwise direction. Finally the ''tabot'' was carried back into the sanctuary; all was over and the assembly broke up. Now in modern times Tabot comes out each time there is a celebration, for example on [[Baptism of Jesus|Jesus' Baptism]] all churches from the area come together with their tabot and celebrate.<ref>Buxton, ''The Abyssinians'', p.&nbsp;65</ref>}}