Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church also known as the Hanging Church (El Muallaqa) is one of
the oldest churches in Egypt and the history of a church on this site dates to the 3rd
century AD.
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| Barrel shaped roof |
The Hanging (The Suspended)
Church is named for its location above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress, the Roman fortress in
Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo); its nave is suspended over a
passage. The church is accessible by twenty-nine steps; early travelers to
Cairo dubbed it "the Staircase Church." The land surface has risen by
some six meters since the Roman period so that the Roman tower is mostly buried
below ground, reducing the visual impact of the church's elevated position. The
entrance from the street is through iron gates under a pointed stone arch. The
nineteenth-century facade with twin bell towers is then seen beyond a narrow
courtyard decorated with modern art biblical designs. Up the steps and through
the entrance is a further small courtyard leading to the eleventh-century outer
porch.
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| The virgin Mary church (Hanging church) |
Importance
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| Yuhanna-Mercurius |
The Hanging Church is the most
famous Coptic Christian church in Cairo, as well as possibly the first built in
Basilican style. It was probably built during the patriarchate of Isaac (690–92), though an earlier
church building may have elsewhere existed dating as early as the 3rd or 4th
century. However, the earliest mention of the church was a statement in the
biography of the patriarch Joseph I (831–49), when the governor of Egypt visited the establishment.
The church was largely rebuilt by the Pope
Abraham (975–78) and has seen many other restorations
including an extensive repair and restoration of the church and its
surroundings completed in 2011. Objects of historical interest that were no
longer of service went to the Coptic Museum.
Seat of Coptic Pope
The Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria was, historically, Alexandria, Egypt. But as ruling powers moved away from Alexandria to Cairo after the Arab invasion
of Egypt during Pope Christodolos's tenure, Cairo became the fixed and official residence of the
Coptic Pope at the Hanging Church in 1047.
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| the Sanctuary |
Infighting between the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus and the El Muallaqa Church broke out due to the wishes of that
patriarch's desire to be consecrated in the Hanging Church, a ceremony that
traditionally took place at Saints Sergius and Bacchus.
Holy icons
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| Revered Icons |
The Hanging Church has 110 icons, the oldest of which dates back
to the 8th century, but most of them date to the 18th century. Nakhla Al-Baraty
Bey gave some of them as gifts, in 1898, when he was the overseer of the
church. The iconostasis of the central sanctuary is made of ebony inlaid with ivory, and is surmounted by icons of the Virgin Mary and the Twelve Apostles. The main altar (Egyptian Arabic: haikal) screen
is made of ebony inlaid with ivory that is carved into segments showing several
Coptic Cross designs
that date back to around the 12th or 13th century. Over the altar screen lies a
long row of seven large icons, the central one of which is Christ seated on the
Throne. On one side, the icons of the Virgin Mary, Archangel Gabriel and St
Peter are lined up. On the other side icons of St. John the Baptist, Archangel
Michael and St. Paul.
