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The Hanging
Church:
The
Hanging Church is considered the oldest church in the area of Al-Fustat
(Old Cairo).
It is
known as Al-Muallaka (the hanging) because it was built on the ruins of
two old towers that remained from an old fortress called the Fortress of
Babylon. It was dedicated to The Virgin Mary and St. Dimiana.
It
dates back to the end of the 3rd Century A.D and the beginning of the
4th Century A.D, but it has been reconstructed and renovated several
times since. Some historians believe that it was built earlier, and it
might have been a Roman Temple that was later converted to a Roman
Church, and at a later date still, it became a Coptic Church. This was
proved by the discovery, in 1984, of the scenes, on the western side of
the right aisle of the church, which contained pagan Roman Gods, but
layers of plaster had covered them.
This
church has played an important role in the history of the Coptic
Church because it became the seat of the Patriarchs after transferring
it from Alexandria to Al-Fustat. The 66th patriarch Anba Christodolos
(1039-1079 A.D) was the first Pope to chant the Holy Liturgy in
the church. This was maintained in El-Mullaka Church until the 14th
Century, when it was transferred to Abu Sefein church.
There
are 110 icons here, the oldest of which dates back to the 8th Century,
but most of them date to the 18th Century. Nakhla Al- Baraty Bey gave
some of them as gifts, in 1898 A.D, when he was the overseer of the
church.
The
French monk Vansleb, who was sent to Egypt in 1671 by King Louis XIV in
order to study the state of the churches and the monasteries of Egypt,
mentioned that he had seen on one of the walls of the Hanging Church,
inscriptions written by the hand of the great Muslim commander Amr Ibn
El-As, asking the Muslim people to treat this church with respect.
The Plan of the Church
It
takes the shape of a basilica and it has a wooden roof in the shape of
Noah's Ark.
The
church was once very spacious but it became much smaller, throughout the
ages, after several modifications. Obeid Bin Khozam did the last
modification in 1755 A.D. It now measures 23.5m in length, 18.5in width
and 9.5m in height.
It
consists of the following elements
-
Entrance.
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The
narthex.
-
The
nave and the two aisles.
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The three Sanctuaries (located to the east of the church, the most
important being the middle one, which is dedicated to The Virgin Mary)
Some
steps lead to the middle entrance. On both sides of this entrance there
is a door that leads to 2 upper floors, dedicated to the dwelling of the
priest.
In
front of the entrance there is a vestibule that was used as a resting
place for visitors.
Inside,
the southern aisle is separated from the nave by 8 marble columns,
linked from above with a wooden architrave, which is supported on
arches. The northern aisle is also separated from the nave by 8 marble
columns but there is no architrave.
Nearly
in the middle of the southern aisle there is a door, which leads to a
small church with a sanctuary. Inside this small church there is a
baptistery, which is a deep basin of reddish granite, which probably
dates back to the 5th Century. It is decorated for the sign of water in
Hieroglyphics.
Of the
three sanctuaries situated on the eastern side, the most important is
the middle one, which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the centre of
this main sanctuary there is an altar made of marble. Above it there is
a wooden dome, supported by 4 marble columns, and decorated with
religious scenes, such as Jesus on his throne surrounded by the four
evangelist saints, the disciples, and angels.
In front of the middle altar, in the nave of the church, is a pulpit
that stands on 15 columns, decorated with reliefs and mosaics,
symbolically representing Jesus, the 12 Disciples, John the Baptist and
the Virgin Mary.
There are 7 altars in the Church, 3 of them situated in the main
sanctuary, and 3 located in the right sanctuary, among which is the
altar of Tecla Hymanot, the Ethiopian Saint, and another that was
recently discovered in the northern side.
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