The Church of Mary of Zion is built of gray stone. In front of it is the traditional site of the coronation of Ethiopian emperors, consisting of several granite stones shaped like shallow chairs. A copper cannon stands at the gates of the temple.

Inside, the church is adorned with bright frescoes. The ceilings are supported by four massive columns, on which hang paintings with biblical themes. In the center of the hall, a bronze chandelier is suspended. The altar is usually covered with a multicolored cloth.

The walls of ancient churches, such as Debra Berhan Selassie, are typically decorated with paintings. Artists of that time had a different understanding of proportions and were unaware of perspective and volume, reminiscent of Russian icon painting.

The main relic of the temple, a chest known as the Ark of the Covenant, is kept in a special chapel built in 1965, ten meters from the northeast corner of the old church. According to tradition, the chest contained a golden vessel with manna from heaven, Aaron's rod, and two of the ten tablets with the commandments of the Old Testament, received by Moses on Mount Sinai. In earlier times, the Ark, covered with a cloth of green and red velvet, would leave the temple at the head of a procession during major church holidays.