Hanging Church
The hanging church is said to be the oldest church in the Al-Fustat (Old Cairo) neighborhood. It was named Al-Muallaka (the hanging) because it was erected over the remains of two old towers that survived from the Fortress of Babylon. It was named for the Virgin Mary and St. Dimiana.
It was erected between the end of the third and beginning of the fourth centuries AD, although it has been repaired and modified multiple times since then.
Some historians say it was erected earlier and that it was a Roman temple that was subsequently changed into a Roman church and then into a Coptic church.
Why is it called the Hanging Church?
The name of the hanging church comes from the fact that its central nave was built over the south gate of what was once the Roman fortress of Babylon. Although the exact date of its construction is unknown,
there are references to it from the 3rd century AD. C. During the 14th and 15th centuries, it was known among pilgrims as “the church of the stairway” due to the 29 steps that have to be climbed to access its interior,
which allowed it to be identified by foreigners and which gives it a special touch to this church. At the end of the stairs of the Hanging Church, you come to three wooden doors that are decorated with geometric patterns and in frames that have carvings on the stone.
When was the hanging church built?
The church dates from the 9th century, but the site is believed to have been occupied by the church as early as the 3rd century AD, making it one of the oldest Christian religious sites in Egypt.
It is also considered the most beautiful of the ancient churches in the region, although a 19th-century portico built at the front obscures some of this beauty. Inside the portico, the church’s 13th-century façade is still visible.
This was shown in 1984 by the discovery of scenes on the west side of the right nave of the cathedral that depicted pagan Roman gods but had been covered up by layers of plaster.
This church was significant in the history of the Coptic Church since it became the seat of the patriarchs after the move from Alexandria to Al-Fustat. The first pope to sing the holy liturgy in church was the 66th Patriarch Anba Christodolos (1039-1079 AD). This was kept at El-Mullaka Church until the 14th century, when it was moved to Abu Sefein Church.
There are 110 icons here, the earliest dating back to the 8th century, while the majority originate from the 18th century. When Nakhla Al-Baraty Bey was the supervisor of the church in 1898 AD, he offered several of them as presents.
The French monk Vansleb, who was sent to Egypt by King Louis XIV in 1671 to study the state of Egypt’s churches and monasteries, mentioned seeing inscriptions written by the hand of the great Muslim leader Amr Ibn El-As, asking Muslims to treat this church with respect, on one of the walls of the hanging church.
History of the hanging church
The Hanging Church was built in the 1st century and finished its construction in the 3rd century at the gate of the southern wall of the Roman Babylonian fortress. From the 7th to the 12th century,
the Church was the place of Christian festivals and the first patriarchal seat. During the 11th and 12th centuries, the patriarchs were buried in the Church. It was the first seat of the Pope of Alexandria
in Cairo in 1047 when the Islamics moved the Egyptian capital from Alexandria to Cairo. The church was restored many times during the Islamic dynasties.
The first renovation during the Islamic dynasty was during the Haroun Al-Rashid dynasty by order of the Pope of Alexandria. The second restoration was in the dynasty of El-Moez Li-Din Allah,
who ordered the renovation of all the churches in Egypt. The Church was converted to a mosque in the Al-Hakim dynasty and returned to Christianity as a Church after his death. Original artifacts were removed.
Most of the screens were painted in the 18th century. The last restoration was in 1998 (renovation of lighting and wall paintings).
The Hanging Church Architecture
The Church was said to have been built over a cave where the Holy Family lived when they fled from the Palestinian king. It measures about 23.50 meters long, 18.50 meters wide, and 9.50 meters high.
Outside the church:
The Church was built on 13 m of the ground. There is a fountain in front of the Church. There are two iron gates; one is the entrance door, and the other is the exit door.
There is a passage after the entrance decorated with biblical mosaics. The passage leads to a staircase of 29 steps. At the end of the stairs, there are the doors of the Church and the facade.
The 3 doors are made of wood carved with geometric patterns. The two-tower façade is modern from the 19th century.
Inside the church:
The Church is rectangular at 18 m and 23 m, and its height is 9 m. divided into three parts at its ends, there are three sanctuaries; one of the Virgin Mary
(central), of Saint George (in the north), and Juan Baptista (in the south). Each one is decorated with an ivory screen. Above the shrines, you can see seven icons: in the middle, Jesus Christ sits on the throne;
to the left of him are Mary, the Archangel Gabriel, and the Apostle Peter; to the right are John the Baptist, the Archangel Michael, and the Apostle Paul.
The ceiling is made of wood in the shape of Noah’s Ark and is decorated with small icons representing the life and work of Saint John the Baptist. These icons were made by the Armenian artist Orkhan Karabedian in 1777.
The walls are decorated with icons representing life and death. 13 pillars support a marble pulpit. The 13 white marble pillars represent Jesus and his 12 disciples.
One of the pillars is black basalt representing Judas’ betrayal, and the other is gray, representing Thomas’s doubts. The Mona Lisa icon depicting the Virgin Mary is the most famous in the Hanging Church.
The church also preserves 110 icons, the oldest of which dates from the 8th century, but most date from the 18th century.
The iconostasis is made of ebony, worked in ivory, and covered with icons of the Virgin Mary and the Twelve Apostles. The relics of various saints are also kept in the church.
The Mona Lisa icon depicting the Virgin Mary is the most famous in the Hanging Church. The church also preserves 110 icons, the oldest of which dates from the 8th century, but most date from the 18th century.
The iconostasis is made of ebony, worked in ivory, and covered with icons of the Virgin Mary and the Twelve Apostles. The relics of various saints are also kept in the church.
The Mona Lisa icon depicting the Virgin Mary is the most famous in the Hanging Church. The church also preserves 110 icons, the oldest of which dates from the 8th century, but most date from the 18th century.
The iconostasis is made of ebony, worked in ivory, and covered with icons of the Virgin Mary and the Twelve Apostles. The relics of various saints are also kept in the church.
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