Coptic Cairo

On a recent holiday in Egypt John and I were privileged to spend a morning, with an Egyptian Guide in the Coptic Quarter of Old Cairo.

The Copts are the Christians of Egypt, a community of over 5 million people that proudly preserves its traditions, liturgy and calendar.

According to tradition St Mark, the Evangelist, arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, around AD 48. His preaching soon made many converts amongst the population.  When the Arabs conquered Egypt in AD 641 the Greek name, Aegyptioi, was transcribed in the Arabic alphabet, which lacks vowels and the letter ‘p’. The word became Qbt, pronounced qibt, from whence the word ‘Copt’ is derived.

Between the 4th and 10th centuries a large number of monasteries and churches were constructed.

The main characteristic of the Coptic churches is the presence of the iconostasis, a decorated wooden wall/screen, that separates the nave from the sanctuary. 

The Copts split front the ‘official’ Eastern Church in AD 453 after the Council of Chalcedon to form the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, headed since 1972 by H.H.Pope Shenouda 3rd, the 117th successor of St Mark and Patriarch of Alexandria.

The Copts use a calendar based on the pharaonic calendar, which is the oldest still in use in the world. Since the 4th century the Copts have adopted AD284, the year marked by major religious persecutions as the beginning of the ‘Coptic Era’. The Coptic year starts on the first day of the month of Tut (Sept 11th of the Gregorian calendar). It has 12 months of 30 days. At the end of the year a 13th month of 5 days called ‘intercalary month’ is added ie September 6th-10th.

Rich oral traditions and some apocryphal texts have told the story of the Flight to Egypt of the Holy Family as refugees. The Holy Family moved from the delta area to the Fortress of Babylon, today the oldest district of Cairo, where the Holy Family lived in a cave. Above the cave the church of St Sergius was built in the 5th century and the cave became the crypt.  Near this spot is the former river bank, where Moses, ‘abandoned’ in his basket on the waters of the Nile, was found and saved. At this place, a was built, which  is now the magnificent Synagogue of Ben Ezra. We visited both of these buildings, together with the Church of al-Mu’ allaqa or Hanging Church.

Coptic Cairo corresponds to the oldest part of the city known as Qasr al-Sham’a [Fortress of the Candle] which occupied part of the Roman fortress of Babylon and which was built around 30BC. The fortress offered refuge to the local Christian population and during the 4th century the first church of the city, the church of al-Mu’allaqa or the Hanging Church was built on the site. Within these Roman walls are also found the Greek Orthodox Church of St George, the Coptic Orthodox Nunnery of St George, the newly renovated Coptic Museum and many cemeteries.

A steep staircase leads to the most revered church ie the Hanging Church. The floor of the church is suspended several meters above the street level, as the edifice stands on one of the semi-circular bastions flanking the southern entrance to the old Fortress of Babylon. This church is believed to have been built in the 7th century and has suffered several renovations. The walls of the internal courtyard are covered with colourful modern mosaic pictures.  The 14th century iconostasis of cedar wood is inlaid with ivory and ebony and is finely carved with geometrical motifs.  Above it are 18th century icons of the Virgin Mary, archangels and saints. Behind it are three sanctuaries dedicated to the Holy Virgin, St John the Baptist [right] and St George on the left.

In the middle of the church is a huge marble pulpit supported by 15 graceful columns. These represent Jesus, the twelve apostles and the two evangelists St Mark and St Luke. To the right one may enter the Chapel of St Tekia Haymanut, the patron saint of Ethiopia who lived in the 13th century. The chapel was only discovered in 1984 during restoration work. Its wall decorations dating from the 13th century are very well preserved and depict the Holy Virgin surrounded by angels, while underneath are 24 bishops representing the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, part of the celestial court and having priestly functions.

We ended our visit with the Coptic Museum, founded in 1908 by Marcus Simaika Pasha. The most recent renovations were completed in 2006. It consists of two stories around two large courtyards. Wide space is given to mural paintings from monasteries, manuscripts, icons, wooden boxes inlaid with silver and coloured glass to contain the Gospels and bronze lamps. Of greatest appeal to me were the collection of textiles and tapestries dating to the 2nd -5th centuries. They still retain their rich  colours.

Had time permitted I should have liked to visit some of the monasteries, home to the Desert Fathers, most of which are thought to have been placed close to the sites visited by the Holy Family, before their return to Nazareth. This short visit was to us a wonderful revelation into the ancient Christian Church of Egypt.

Margaret Symonds