Axum is most famous for being one of the supposed sites of the Ark of the Covenant, in the care of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Supposed to have been brought to Ethiopia by the Queen of Sheba, it is currently in the care of the patriarch of the Ethiopian Church in a vault at the church of. St Mary of Zion. It is occasionally brought out for ritual processions. Most of the time, however, it is under guard in the church