Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, is the ideal residence for the head of the Orthodox Church.

Where is Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral located?

Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Located in the bride of the Mediterranean, the picturesque city of Alexandria, the far north of Egypt, was the headquarters of the Pope of Alexandria at that time and the head of the Orthodox Church. While there is also Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo at Abbassia District, the current seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope, this article focuses on the iconic cathedral in Alexandria.

 

When was Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral founded?

It is said that in the first century AD, when Saint Mark came to Alexandria, he built Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, specifically in the year 60 AD, and it is said that he resided there for seven years.

 

Who is Saint Marcus?

 Saint Mark was one of the first saints in the history of Christianity. It is said that he arrived in Egypt sixty years after the birth of Christ and stayed for seven years before his martyrdom. He taught many people Christian teachings and was famous for his many miracles his love for his religion and the teachings of his faith.

He was the one who founded this church, which is considered the first church in the history of Egypt and Africa. His body was stolen after his death, but his head remained in Egypt and is often used by the Popes. It is said that before his body was stolen, he was buried under the church that he founded himself. Which gives great luster to the history of Christianity in Egypt.

Saint mark’s coptic orthodox cathedral

St. Mark’s Church is one of the best attractions in Alexandria and the oldest church in Egypt and all of Africa. It was known as a church “Bocalia,” and its location is in the middle of ancient Alexandria.

It is the first house church in Egypt and Africa. It was used for prayer for the first time around the year 62 AD with the entry of Christianity when it came to Egypt through Mark, where the Churches at the beginning of Christianity were house churches, such as the upper room of Mar Markus in Jerusalem, which is the home of Mary, the mother of Mark, where the sacrament of the Eucharist was established and in which The Holy Spirit descended on the disciples and the Apostle Peter took refuge in Him After the angel took him out of prison.

 

The church was subjected to vandalism and rebuilt many times over the long centuries, and St. Mark’s house remained used for prayer Until the beginning of the fourth century, after which it was demolished and a church was built In his position and in the year 302 AD, before the martyrdom of Pope Peter The Seal of the Martyrs prayed a final prayer over the grave of Mark, At that time, the church was a small place of worship located at The eastern coast of the port, where the body of Mark was located And some of his pure successors.

 

Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral went through many expansions, demolition, and rebuilding several times. This church was expanded in 321 AD during the reign of Pope Archelaus the 18th, and it was severely destroyed in 641 AD during the Islamic conquest of Egypt.

 

Pope John Samnoudi, the fortieth patriarch, in the year 644 AD rebuilt the church again. It is funny that in the same year, 644 AD, an attempt was made to steal the head of Saint Mark, but the attempt did not succeed, But there was another attempt to steal the entire body of Saint Mark, the whole body got stolen by Italians in the year 828 AD, The body was transferred from Alexandria to Venice, Italy, but the saint’s head remained in Alexandria, Egypt.

In the year 870 AD, Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral was behind the eastern gate of the city of Alexandria. It was known as the “Monastery of St. Mark.” Monks lived there and it contained the tomb of St. Mark. But the history of demolishing the church and rebuilding it again did not end to this point. In the year 1219 AD, the church was demolished during the Crusades and was rebuilt again.

 

Several centuries passed until the Ayyubid era came. Saladin al-Ayyubi demolished St. Mark’s Church under the pretext that its location was considered a great fortress that the Crusaders could benefit from if they attacked Alexandria. The Christians tried to pay two thousand dinars as a ransom for the church, but he refused and the church was demolished. Also, the Church of St. Mark was demolished again, and the Jewish temple facing it was demolished by the French campaign in 1798 AD, for fear that the British would seize them and fortify themselves in them.

 

An icon of Saint Mark, an icon of an angel Michael, and the remains of the martyr George were smuggled into Alexandria St. Mark’s Church in Rashid, and they are still there today.

In 1805 AD, Muhammad Ali Pasha issued a decree to rebuild the church. The church was rebuilt and inaugurated by Pope Peter Al-Gawli in 1819 AD, But the church was demolished in 1869 AD and was rebuilt in 1870 AD during the reign of Pope Demetrius II, under the supervision of His Eminence Bishop Markus, Bishop of Beheira. In the year 1947 AD, the church was demolished after cracks spread and its domes became destined to collapse, so Pope Joseph The second is to rebuild the current church in its luxurious appearance using reinforced concrete, He opened it on St. Mark’s Day in November 1952 AD.

 

 

Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral was rebuilt in 1952 AD, had a nave and was covered by a large dome supported by columns, The six marble tiles in the facade of the current church were, It has only one altar, which is an altar with the name of Mark in front of it, A beautiful marble icon stand in the Byzantine style, It is equipped with more than thirty icons and this holder comes with Its icons still exist today.

 

The new church, built in 1952, has three altars in the names of St. Mark Marks, the Archangel Michael, and St. George, and it has two minarets, but they were strengthened so that they could bear the burden, In 1990, with the increase in the number of churchgoers, its area was doubled to accommodate the huge numbers.

 

Conclusion

There is not much to say, as Egypt is known for its valuable history in all religions and all its governorates. On today’s topic, the Church of Saint Mark, we talk about the beginnings of Christianity in Egypt and in the whole world, as Egypt is considered one of the pioneers of countries that converted to Christianity, especially since the family of Christ came to Egypt on the run From the oppression of the unjust ruler who wanted to kill Christ.

 

Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral was one of the people who most believed in his religion and loved his religion and Christ, as he spread his teachings, his miracles spread, and the number of Christians in Egypt increased. His church went through many repairs, demolition, and rebuilding, but it is still standing, Well-known and the main headquarters of the church in Alexandria, and also the saint’s name was engraved in letters of gold in Christian history in Egypt.