Trinity Cathedral is one of the highly ranking Cathedrals in Addis Ababa. It venerates Ethiopia's liberation from five years of Italian occupation. It is located next to the Parliament Building near the Arat Kilo.
Emperor Menelik II founded the church, after he moved his imperial capital from Mt. Entoto to Addis Ababa. The Church of the Holy Trinity was founded then. Menilik built the church with wood with intricate carvings. It was constructed with the help of artists from India.
Empress Zewditu placed a foundation stone in 1928. The construction was paused due to the invasion of the Italian army from 1936-1941. Emperor Haile Selassie completed the Cathedral after he returned back from exile in 1942. It is built in a European in style. There are Statues of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on its courtyard walls and wall paintings and stained glass windows, all in the distinctive Ethiopian style.
The Cathedral has been the spot of a number of church and state ceremonies. This includes the enthronements of the Patriarchs of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the consecration of all Archbishops and Bishops.
It is a burial ground for those who have lost their lives fighting against the Italians both inside the country and abroad. Other than patriots high clergy, are allowed to be buried on the grounds of the Cathedral. There is also a cemetery of the public. There is and a public mausoleum behind it. A mausoleum was built in the crypt under the Cathedral by Emperor Haile Selassie for his family. The Imperial family continues to use it as their tomb. Emperor Haile Selassie and his wife, Empress Menen, are buried in a special chapel in the north transept.
In front of the Cathedral there is a burial ground which is reserved for those entitled the highest respect by church and exceptional permission of the Patriarchate is needed. Patriarch, Abune Tekle Haimanot, Ras Imiru Haile Selassie Mrs. Sylvia Pankhurst a British suffragette and champion of the Ethiopian cause, and Lt. General Merid Mengesha have their tombs in this space.
The remains of the massacred by the Italians are found in two tombs to the North and south of the Cathedral. To the south is a memorial and mausoleum of 60 officials of the Imperial government who were massacred by the Derg on November 23, 1974.
The old Church of the Holy Trinity remains a part of the cathedral complex and still functions as a church. It is now called Bale Wold (Church of the Feast of God the Son)