Blossom’s Photo Gallery

611 Views – 26.4.2012

Stained Glass Window – Coptic Church

Featured in Elegant Stained Glass Art and Historic Churches

Saint Virgin Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church also known as the Hanging Church (El Muallaqa) is one of the oldest churches in Egypt and the history of a church on this site dates to the 3rd century AD.

The Hanging (Suspended) Church is named for its location above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress, the Roman fortress in Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo), its nave is suspended over a passage.

The Hanging Church is the most famous Coptic Christian church in Cairo, as well as possibly the first built in Basilican style. It was probably built during the patriarchate of Isaac (690-92), though an earlier church building may have existed elsewhere dating as early as the 3rd or 4th century. However, the earliest mention of the church was a statement in the biography of the patriarch Joseph I (831-49), when the governor of Egypt visited the establishment.

The Hanging Church

Canon PowerShot A650IS

Hand-held
Shutter Speed: 1/80sec
Aperture: F4.0
ISO: 200