Coptic Cairo

Monday Nov. 1 -  Egypt is part of our Christian history.  Shortly after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt to escape persecution and they spent 3 years wondering around and along the Nile.  The Cave Church is built over and around a cave where they supposedly stayed in Cairo.  The church was originally built in 400 AD and has been refurbished many times, sometimes re-using pillars from Roman monuments.

Next door is the Greek Orthodox Saint George Church.  It is not Coptic, but very Egyptian none the less.  It is famous for it bell tower and monastery.  Along with the Hanging Church, it was built over a Roman fort and garrison called Babylon which housed over 10,000 soldiers. The one of the two towers that protected the fort is still visible, the other is covered by the Greek church.

The Hanging Church is literally built over a part of the fort.  They layered wood beams over the walls and built the church on top. It’s a Coptic church with some catholic design.

Our last stop was the smallest, but oldest museum in Coptic Cairo area and that is the Coptic Museum located in what was once a private home.

Now for a bit of history.  Coptic describes Egyptian Christians.  Between 600 and 900 AD when the Arabs invaded Egypt, the Christian community was divided between two factions.  The Alexandrian believed that Mary was the mother of the Lord Jesus and was fully Devine while the followers of Friar Nestor believed that Mary was the mother of Jesus and therefore human.  The Coptics of Alexandria stayed neutral during the invasion, and since they were the larger faction, they did nothing to prevent the followers of Nestor from fighting the Arabs which allowed the Arabs to over run the country.  That’s a very short history lesson!