Saint Mercurius Church (Coptic: ⲙⲁⲣⲕⲟⲩⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲧⲁⲧⲣⲁⲡⲩⲗⲱⲛ ⲙ̀ⲫⲓⲟⲙ)[1] (Arabic: كنيسة أبو سيفين, romanized: Kanīsat ʔabū Sayfayn) in Coptic Cairo is a Coptic Orthodox church situated just to the north of the Babylon Fortress in Old Cairo among a group of important churches, and within the area known as the Abu Sayfayn Cloister is to be found three churches and a convent. One of these churches, dedicated to Saint Mercurius, and is the largest in the district of ancient Babylon.[2]
The Church of Saint Mercurius served as the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria between 1300 and 1500 AD and is perhaps the only one in Cairo with its original foundation intact. It stands 31.5 meters long by 21 meters wide.
Many Coptic patriarchs resided in the church during the 11th through the 15th centuries, and later during the 16 and 18th centuries, others were consecrated in the Church of St. Mercurius. The church also came to be the final resting place for many church leaders.[2]
Church buildingedit
The Church of Saint Mercurius itself was demolished and turned into a sugarcane warehouse, but was rebuilt by Patriarch Abraham (974–979).[3] Afterwards, in 1080, 47 bishops met in the church by order of the Fatimid vizier Badr Al-Gamal to establish the Coptic canons.[2] A mob burned it to the ground in 1168, but by 1176, it had been rebuilt.[3]
Flanking the doorway are two Corinthian columns, while situated above it are two icons, one of Jesus Christ and the other the Holy Virgin.[3] The central sanctuary screen consists of ebony inlaid with crosses and squares of thin plated ivory.[3] The choir holds sixty-three icons made by Orhan Karabedian, while the nave contains a beautiful ambon consisting of mosaics which rest on fifteen columns.[3] The south sanctuary, which had been dedicated to Saint Gabriel, was converted into a baptistry, while the north sanctuary, decorated with ivory and wood, is consecrated to the Holy Virgin.[3] A stairway off the north aisle leads to an underground shrine.[3] Saint Barsum the Naked stayed here for twenty years, dying in 1317.[3] A service is held in the shrine on his feast day.[3]
The shrine of the former abbess and Saint of the monastery Mother (Tamav) Irini.
Like many other old Coptic Orthodox churches that were rebuilt and restored time and again over the centuries, often re-using wood and stone-work. For this reason some parts of a church maybe of earlier date than the structure itself. Although they differ in size and architecture features they bear the unmistakable stamp of a Coptic church.[4]
saint, mercurius, church, coptic, cairo, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, sc. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Saint Mercurius Church in Coptic Cairo news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message Saint Mercurius Church Coptic ⲙⲁⲣⲕⲟⲩⲣⲓⲟⲥ ⲧⲁⲧⲣⲁⲡⲩⲗⲱⲛ ⲙ ⲫⲓⲟⲙ 1 Arabic كنيسة أبو سيفين romanized Kanisat ʔabu Sayfayn in Coptic Cairo is a Coptic Orthodox church situated just to the north of the Babylon Fortress in Old Cairo among a group of important churches and within the area known as the Abu Sayfayn Cloister is to be found three churches and a convent One of these churches dedicated to Saint Mercurius and is the largest in the district of ancient Babylon 2 Monastery of Saint MercuriusLocation within EgyptMonastery informationOther namesDeir Abu SayfaynDedicated toSaint MercuriusConsecrated10th centuryDioceseCoptic Orthodox Church of AlexandriaSiteLocationCoptic Cairo EgyptCoordinates30 00 58 N 31 23 07 E 30 01611 N 31 38528 E 30 01611 31 38528Public accessYes Icon of St Philopater Mercurius in Saint Mercurius Church in Coptic Cairo The church is named after St Philopater Mercurius who is known as Abu Sayfayn double sworded Contents 1 Importance 2 Church building 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksImportance editThe Church of Saint Mercurius served as the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria between 1300 and 1500 AD and is perhaps the only one in Cairo with its original foundation intact It stands 31 5 meters long by 21 meters wide Many Coptic patriarchs resided in the church during the 11th through the 15th centuries and later during the 16 and 18th centuries others were consecrated in the Church of St Mercurius The church also came to be the final resting place for many church leaders 2 Church building editThe Church of Saint Mercurius itself was demolished and turned into a sugarcane warehouse but was rebuilt by Patriarch Abraham 974 979 3 Afterwards in 1080 47 bishops met in the church by order of the Fatimid vizier Badr Al Gamal to establish the Coptic canons 2 A mob burned it to the ground in 1168 but by 1176 it had been rebuilt 3 Flanking the doorway are two Corinthian columns while situated above it are two icons one of Jesus Christ and the other the Holy Virgin 3 The central sanctuary screen consists of ebony inlaid with crosses and squares of thin plated ivory 3 The choir holds sixty three icons made by Orhan Karabedian while the nave contains a beautiful ambon consisting of mosaics which rest on fifteen columns 3 The south sanctuary which had been dedicated to Saint Gabriel was converted into a baptistry while the north sanctuary decorated with ivory and wood is consecrated to the Holy Virgin 3 A stairway off the north aisle leads to an underground shrine 3 Saint Barsum the Naked stayed here for twenty years dying in 1317 3 A service is held in the shrine on his feast day 3 The shrine of the former abbess and Saint of the monastery Mother Tamav Irini Like many other old Coptic Orthodox churches that were rebuilt and restored time and again over the centuries often re using wood and stone work For this reason some parts of a church maybe of earlier date than the structure itself Although they differ in size and architecture features they bear the unmistakable stamp of a Coptic church 4 See also editList of Coptic Orthodox churches in Egypt St Mary and St Mercurius Coptic Orthodox ChurchReferences edit Casanova Paul Les noms coptes du Caire et localites voisines BIFAO 1 139 224 a b c Cairo Churches The Church of Saint Mercurius www touregypt net in Russian Retrieved 2018 03 14 a b c d e f g h i Otto Friedrich August Meinardus Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity American University in Cairo Press 1999 188 COPTIC CHURCHES IN OLD CAIRO www coptic net External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Mercurius Church in Coptic Cairo Saint Mercurius Church in touregypt nbsp This article about a church building or other Christian place of worship in Egypt is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This article on a Coptic Orthodox church building is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Saint Mercurius Church in Coptic Cairo amp oldid 1209591855, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
