From the time members of the 1868 British Expedition to Abyssinia reported its existence until the early 20th century, it was the only rock-hewn church known to the outside world.

[1] Wukro Chirkos is dedicated to the child martyr Cyricus of Tarsus of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.

[2] Although the structure's interior is divided into three or five aisles -- "depending on how one describes the intermediary supports in the transverse section" according to Ruth Plant -- its cruciform layout is emphasized by the barrel vault in line with the apse and the sanctuary containing the tabot.

[3] Like the other Ethiopian cruciform churches mentioned above, the entrance porch of Wukro Chirkos is distinguished by a central pillar that forces the priests and congregants to enter on either side, rather than a direct line.

[6] The church's walls and ceilings show signs of damage from fire, which local tradition attributes to a 16th-century sack by Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi.