Churches in Egypt

---

When thinking of Egypt, you are unlikely to think of churches or Christianity, but with an estimated 10% of Egyptians being Christian, this means there's a good 8 million of them. Tradition holds that St Mark brought Christianity to Egypt, making his first convert in Alexandria in 45 AD. Christianity appealed to Egyptians on many levels, its message of resurrection offering ordinary folk eternal life that was previously available only to those who could afford elaborate funerary rituals and much of its symbolism fitted the old myths and legends. Egyptian Christians became known as Copts, and with the adoption of Christianity by Constantine as the imperial religion, persecution continued as the Romans practised an orthodox faith that differed from the Copts, leading to them establishing their own Patriarchate (The Coptic Pope). The same period saw the emergence of monasticism in the Egyptian deserts. Egypt remained under Byzantine rule until Islamic armies invaded in the 7th century. Egyptian Christians like to think of themselves as more Egyptian than Egyptian Muslims, since they didn't intermarry with the Islamic invaders.

One of the most famous Egyptian saints is St Mina, who was martyred in the time of Diocletian. Another highly venerated saint is St George, also martyred under Diocletian, whose legend was brought back to Europe by the Crusaders.

We are working for the Anglican Diocese and are staying near All Saints Cathedral in Zamalek, Cairo. The Deaf Unit has its own church on site, where Erin attended the ordination of the first minister for the deaf congregation. Erin says he is one of the nicest people he has ever met.

Erin also visited the church in the Menoof Hospital complex. It was damaged in an earthquake and had to be rebuilt. In Egypt, in order to undertake repairs of churches, permission must be sought from the President himself, and this is not always forthcoming. When permission was granted, the Bishop decided that if they were going to build a new church, to build a big one, as the opportunityy was unlikely to arise again. So they built a three-storey church.

Enroute to Hurghada on the Red Sea coast, Erin visited St Mary & Archangel Michael Church. It stands by itself just out of town.

---

Photos

The Bishop
The Bishop of North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Jerusalem and the Middle East

Qena
Church of St Peter and St Paul

Coptic Cairo
Entranceway to the Hanging Church

Comments

[Sharon]

interesting! is that erin's friend the bishop?

[kiwibyrd]

Yes it is his friend, the one who invites him to ride in his Bishopmobile.

[Sue D]

Wow! The church is so grand. It is lovely to see Christ honoured all over the world