Hanging Church (El Muallaqa, Sitt Mariam, St Mary)

The Hanging Church of Saint Mary sits in the heart of the Old Cairo district. It is located amongst a concentration of Christian churches and other sites that date from the centuries between the decline of the pharaonic religion and the arrival of Islam when Egypt had a Christian majority back then. This community has been established and preserved since the 10th Century. The district is also known as ‘Coptic Cairo.’ It is the first settlement of Christians in central Egypt with some records suggesting an earlier period. This historical neighborhood is largely built around the fort of Babylon upon the remains of its walls. 

Location: 

   Since the church is in the center of Cairo, so you can easily get there from Downtown; it’s around 30 minutes. If you wish to come and visit from Luxor, Aswan or Hurghada, it is only a one-hour flight to Cairo. 

Significance:

   After you take the first few steps into the main gate, they will lead you to one of the most beautiful churches in the Middle East; the Hanging Church or Al-Muallaqa Church as known in Arabic. It is located just south of the Coptic Museum in Cairo. The church is built on top of the ruins of two Roman towers from the old roman fortress of Babylon built in 98 A.D by Emperor Trajan. The nave of the Hanging Church is suspended over the passageway. The church has witnessed a lot of important events over the years starting from the general elections to the different religious ceremonies. It has been the residence of the Coptic patriarch from the 7th century to the 13th century AD after the ruling power moved from Alexandria to Cairo which marks it as one of the Christian highlights in Cairo, Egypt till now. 

   Inside the Hanging Church, there are 110 Christian icons mostly from the 18th century. In the center, there is the icon of enthroning the Christ with Virgin Mary and the Archangel Gabriel to the right side and John the Baptist, St. Paul and Archangel Michael on the left side with more icons that describe the martyrdom of St. George. This church also conveys a great message from the Muslim rulers back then as we can see that the commander Amr Ibn El-As has written a message to all the Muslims after the Islamic conquest of Egypt asking them to treat this church with respect and honor depicted by the French monk Vansleb.

Construction:

    The Hanging Church is not only of a great religious historical importance, but also is a piece of art when it comes to its architecture. The church was originally built in the 7th century; however, there have been many reconstructions later including the one under the supervision of Patriarch Abraham back in the 10th century. Firstly, the construction of the church was considered to be humble. Logs of palm trees and layers of stones were used to be like a fundament for the church above the ruins of the fortress ruins. Now, it reaches 23.5 meters in length, 18.5 meters in width and 9.5 meters in height.

    You can see the two bell towers above the church with the wooden roof that have been built to recall Noah's ark. It is believed that this is the first church in Egypt to be built in the distinguishing shape of a basilica. Surprisingly, the hallway of the church is still also in a good condition despite the processions through centuries. Although the beautiful Lotus-shaped inlaid wooden panels decorate the walls of the church in a well-crafted Coptic style, you can significantly see the Islamic art touch clear in the outer facade of the church. These panels are filled with descriptions for the main Christian events such as Baptism, Nativity and Pentecost.

   After you enter from the main gate of the Hanging Church, you will find the courtyard which leads to a staircase of 29 steps; they will take you to the interior part of the church. The 5-century impressive pulpit is surmounted by 13 magnificent pillars in its interior, representing Jesus and his 12 apostles. There is a cross on each side of the pulpit found above three steps that should represent the days that Jesus Christ spent in his tomb and his resurrection. One of the pillars is grey which represents Thomas the oldest icon in the 18th century and another one is black that should represent Judas. Moreover, there are three main sanctuaries inside. They are dedicated to Virgin Mary (the middle one), St. George (the left one), and St. John the Baptist (the right one). The iconostasis (sanctuary screen) is made of cedar wood and ebony inlaid with ivory and is decorated with crosses and geometric crafts. 

   Moving into the church, you will find a baptistery from the 5th century inside a smaller church. In addition, there are seven alters in the Hanging Church; three of them can be found in the main sanctuary, other three in the right sanctuary, and the last one is dedicated to the Ethiopian Saint Tecla Hymanot. Many other artifacts from this church were no longer of service so they are moved and displayed in the Coptic Museum now, including a “lintel” showing Christ’s entry into “Jerusalem” that dates from the 5th or 6th century.

   Since you are interested in such sacred places, you can’t miss the opportunity of visiting other religious nearby churches in Coptic Cairo. You can take a tour inside the St. George Church that narrates the story of his martyrdom. You can pay a visit to the Fortress of Babylon and St. Sergius and St. Bacchus Church (Abu Serga Church). It is believed that it have been built where the holy family rested at the end of their journey into Egypt. You can also see the Coptic Museum which holds the largest collection of Coptic Christian artwork and artifacts in the world and it records the Coptic history from the arrival of Christianity in Egypt up through the Ottoman era, displaying a mixture of artwork influenced by Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman traditions.