It is one of the most famous and oldest Coptic monuments in Egypt, as itis distinguished by the rare architectural style that makes it one of the most
beautiful churches in the Middle East

The church is located within the Old Cairo neighborhood, meters awayfrom the Amr Ibn al-Aas Mosque, the Jewish Ben Ezra Synagogue and the Church of
St. Mina, next to the Babelbon Fortress and the Church of Martyr Mercurius
known as Abu Sefin. It is also located south of the Coptic Museum.

The church was built in the late fourthand early fifth centuries AD.

It has 13giant columns representing Christ and the Twelve Apostles.

The standingof the outstanding church

1 - The churchis considered the first papal seat in Cairo

2- Many major Christianreligious ceremonies were held there

3 - It is a Coptic Orthodox Church

4 - It is considered a very important shrine forChristians, and this is because it is historically old and because it is
associated with the Holy Family.

It is famousfor the icons distributed on its walls, which amount to 90 icons. Therefore, the Ministry of Antiquities always seeks to preserve Egyptian antiquities and preserve its historical features.

The church is built at a height of 13 meters from the ground

It is 23 meters long and 18.5 meters wide

and 9.5 meters high

Why is it called the "Hanging Church"?

It is built on two ancient towers from the towers of the Roman fort known as the "Fort of Babylon", that fort that was built during the reign of Emperor Trajan in the second century AD.

The church form

The church is rectangular in shape, and is characterized by the basilica style consisting of 3 wings and a structure divided into 3 parts, which are the main nave and two small wings, including 8 columns on each side of the church.

The structures in the church

There are 3 temples in the church from the eastern side, the right temple bears the name “St. John the Baptist”, the left one bears the name “Saint Mary Gerges”, and the middle one bears the name “Saint Mary the Virgin” In addition to a group of column capitals that are characterized by the "Corinthian" style, an ornate column style developed in ancient Greece.

In some accounts, it says that this church was built on the ruins of a place where the Holy Family (Edra Maryam, Christ, and Saint Joseph the Carpenter) were hidden for the three years they spent in Egypt, according to what is mentioned in the Bible, in order to escape from the rule of Herod, the ruler of Palestine, who ordered the killing of children. Because of the prophecy

And there are other people who say that it is

It was the place of a cell in which one of the monks lived in one of the rock catacombs that were excavated in this place.

In the Islamic era, once during the reign of Harun al-Rashid, when the patriarch Anba Mark asked the governor to give him permission to renew it.

The covenant of Al-Aziz Billah Al-Fatimi, who allowed Patriarch Ephrem Al-Syriani to renew all the churches of Egypt

In the apparent era of the Fatimid religion of God

The church is the seat of the bodies of some of the patriarchs

It was the seat of many patriarchs from the beginning of the eleventh century, and Patriarch Christodoulos was the first one to build the Hanging Church as a seat for the Pope, and a number of patriarchs were buried in it in the eleventh and tenth centuries. Until now, they have pictures and icons, perhaps candles, and they were used in the courts of priests and bishops. And the heretics

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