Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Alexandria)

Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral is a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt. It is the historical seat of the Pope of Alexandria, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The cathedral is said to stand on the site of the church founded by St. Mark the Evangelist in AD 60. St. Mark the Evangelist (author of the second Gospel) has been connected with the city of Alexandria since earliest Christian tradition. Coptic Christians believe he arrived in Alexandria around AD 60 and stayed for about seven years. During this time, Mark converted many to Christianity and performed many miracles. He is considered the founder of the church in Alexandria and the first Bishop of Alexandria. According to tradition, St. Mark was arrested during a festival of Serapis in AD 68 and martyred by being dragged through the streets. He was buried under the church he had founded.

Relics of Saint Mark

In 828, relics believed to be the body of St. Mark were stolen from Alexandria by Venetian merchants and taken to Venice. Copts believe that the head of St. Mark remains in a church named after him in Alexandria, and parts of his relics are in St. Mark's Cairo's Cathedral. The rest of what are believed to be his relics are in the St Mark's Basilica in Venice, Italy. Every year, on the 30th day of the month of Paopi, the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates the commemoration of the consecration of the church of St. Mark, and the appearance of the head of the saint in the city of Alexandria. This takes place inside St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria, where the saint's head is preserved.

The head of St. Mark was moved around a great deal over the centuries, and has been lost for over 250 years. Some of the relics from the body of St. Mark, however, were returned to Alexandria from Rome in 1968 during the papacy of Coptic Pope Cyril VI.

The present St. Mark's Coptic Cathedral is of recent date, but is said to stand on the site of church founded by St. Mark himself.

History

In AD 311, before the martyrdom of Pope Peter the Last of Martyrs, he prayed a last prayer on the grave of Saint Mark, the church was then a little chapel on the eastern coast, and it contained bodies said to be of Saint Mark and some of his holy successors. The church was later enlarged in the days of Pope Achillas, the 18th Pope.

The church was greatly ruined in 641 when the Arabs invaded Egypt. In 680 Pope John III rebuilt the church. In 828, the body of Saint Mark was stolen by Italian sailors and was taken from Alexandria to Venice in Italy. However, Saint Mark's head remained in Alexandria.

The church was destroyed again in 1219, during the time of the crusades, then it was rebuilt once more. Sixteenth-century French explorer Pierre Belon mentions the founding of the church in 1547.

The church was pulled down during the French invasion of Alexandria in July 1798. The church was rebuilt and opened in 1819 by Pope Peter El Gawly in the time of Mohammed Ali Pasha. The church was renewed in the time of Pope Demetrius II and by the supervision of Bishop Marcos of El Behira in 1870. Between the years 1950–1952, in the time of Pope Yusab II, the church building was pulled down and another, larger building was built with reinforced concrete after the basilique style. The six marble pillars were transferred into the outer entrance of the church. The icon carrier was accurately cut into parts, each part given a number, and then it was cautiously returned to where it was originally. The two bell tower were not pulled down as they were reinforced with concrete and were decorated with beautiful Coptic engravings. Two new bells – brought from Italy – were provided, one for each bell tower.

Between 1985 and 1990, the church was widened from the western side after the former style with great accuracy, keeping the two bell tower in their places, so the entire area of the church was doubled. The six pillars were transferred to the new western entrance of the church supervised by Pope Shenouda III.

All Saints' Cathedral, Cairo

All Saints Cathedral, the mother church of the diocese, is one of the most-used Cathedrals within the Anglican Communion. In the heart of the Middle East and in the centre of a city with 26 million people, not far from Al Azhar, the hub for Sunni Muslims in the world, All Saints’ Cathedral, Cairo is located in a strategic and prosperous area, surrounded by crowded, underdeveloped areas.

As the spiritual centre of the Diocese, it is committed to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in “words and deeds.” It is a “house of prayer for all nations.” It  is  the  centre  for  our Arabic, English and Sudanese congregations, youth ministry, children’s ministry,  women’s  ministry,  Alpha,  interfaith  dialogue,  ecumenical relations,  prison  ministry,  Boulac  community  development,  Tukul crafts, the Wady craft shop, a library, Refuge Egypt, and the Alexandria School of Theology.

All Saints was not the first Episcopal / Anglican church to be built in Egypt. St. Mark’s Church in Alexandria (later St. Mark’s Pro-Cathedral) was erected on land given by Mohammed Ali Pasha in 1839.

The presence of All Saints in Cairo goes back to 1862 when the Governor of Egypt, Mohammed Said Pasha, agreed with Prince Albert (later King Edward VII of Britain) to donate a land for the building of an Episcopal / Anglican church in Boulaq, Cairo. Before that date, the Anglicans worshiped in a room at the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate.

On 23 January 1878, All Saints Church was consecrated by The Rt. Rev. Samuel Gobat, the Bishop of Jerusalem.

In 1909, as All Saints became too small for the congregation, St. Mary’s Church in Garden City was consecrated. St. Mary’s was used by the Bishop as the Pro-Cathedral until 1938.

In 1928 King Fouad I of Egypt approved the sale of a piece of land to the Anglicans for the construction of a new Cathedral. In 1935 the land was handed over and in 1936, King Fouad I officially granted permission for the Anglicans to build their Cathedral at Maspero, along the banks of the Nile in Cairo (this is why she is called “The Cathedral on the Nile”).

The foundation stone was laid on 20 November 1936 by the Rt. Rev. Llewellyn Gwynne.

It is said that in response to the generosity of King Fouad I to the Anglican Community in Cairo, land was donated by King George VI to the Muslim community of London on which the Islamic Centre at Regent Park is now located. The land was given to the Egyptian Ambassador Nashaat Pasha at that time.

Dignitaries present at the opening of the Cathedral in 1938On 25 April 1938, the Feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, the patron saint of Egypt, The Rt. Rev. Llewellyn Gwynne, the Bishop of Egypt and Sudan, opened the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Cairo. The Most Rev. & Rt. Hon. Dr. William Temple, the Archbishop of York and Primate of England, consecrated All Saints Cathedral. It is worth mentioning that King Farouk I donated two copper doors to the Cathedral.

In 1956 when the British left Egypt, the Egyptian Anglicans (Archdeacon Adeeb Shammas, Mr. Habib Said, and Mr. Ibrahim Wakid) continued to worship in the church.

Under President Anwar Sadat the project of 6th of October Bridge necessitated the transfer of All Saints Cathedral in Maspero to another place. Therefore, the Governor of Cairo made an agreement with Archdeacon Isaaq Mussad, the representative of the Diocese at that time, to demolish the All Saints Cathedral in Maspero and for the Government of Cairo to build the new Cathedral on another piece of land.

President Anwar Sadat issued a decree in 1974 to rebuild the Anglican Cathedral at the present site in Zamalek. On 1 July 1977, the foundation stone of the new Cathedral Church of All Saints was laid by Bishop Isaaq Musaad.

On 25 April 1988, All Saints Cathedral in Cairo was consecrated by The Rt. Rev. Ghais Abdel Malek.

Since then, All Saints has become not only a house for prayer but also a home to many ministries, such as The Alexandria School of Theology, Refuge Egypt, The Episcopal Training Centre, EpiscoCare, The Wady Shop, the Cathedral Library, Ecumenical Relations, Interfaith Office, and the Prison Ministry. Many of these ministries serve the whole community, Christians and Muslims, Egyptians and Expatriates. It is truly a house for all nations and it fulfills our aim to provide holistic service.

Archbishop of York in his colourful robes at the 75th anniversary celebrationsToday, and at the end of the story of the first 75 years, we remember with joy and affection this great heritage of faithfulness, devotion and generosity.

The cathedral compound also houses the Diocesan and Bishop's offices and projects and services – including the Diocese NGO EpiscoCare and Refuge Egypt, which serves Cairo's refugee communities. The church hosts a variety of congregations – with Arabic, English and Sudanese being the largest, although other communities also use the premises for worship.

The church is constructed in concrete and was designed in the shape of a cross at ground level and a crown at the top. Its roof is visible around Zamalek and was described by the Cairo Observer as reminiscent of a lotus flower. It was designed by Egyptian architects Dr. Awad Kamel and Selim Kamel, who also created the design for Cairo's Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Cathedral of Abbasiya).

Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church (Abu Serga)

Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church, also known as Abu Serga, in Coptic Cairo is one of the oldest Coptic churches in Egypt, dating back to the 4th century. The church owes its fame to having been constructed upon the crypt of the Holy Family where they stayed for three weeks during their sojourn in Egypt.

According to a biblical narration by evangelist Matthew (Chapter 2), Virgin Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus fled from Palestine to Egypt out of fear from the persecution of the Jewish King Herod the Great. The Holy Family traveled as far as Assiut (“Deir el Muharraq”) and on their way back home spent some weeks in Old Cairo.

Abu Sarga is dedicated to the two Saints Sergius and Bacchus who served as soldiers in the Roman Army. They were faithful followers of the Lord Jesus and refused to worship the Roman gods. For their Christian belief, Sergius and Bacchus eventually suffered martyrdom in Syria in 296 during the reign of the Roman Emperor Maximinus. Their relics are partly kept in Abu Sarga and others are buried in Syria.

From the 9th to the 12th century, significant patriarchs were elected and several bishops consecrated in Abu Sarga until the 11th century. The building was probably constructed during the 5th century. It was burned during the fire of Fustat during the reign of Marwan II around 750. It was then restored during the 8th century, and has been rebuilt and restored constantly since medieval times (11th and 17th century, the last restoration was undertaken in 2000), it still preserves its Medieval charm.

It is still considered to be a model of the early Coptic churches and its basilican style is easily recognizable. This church resembles religious structures in Constantinople and Rome. It has two aisles with a western return aisle (a passage at the west end of the church), along with a tripartite sanctuary that measures 17 x 27 meters and is 15 meters high. Within the sanctuary is an altar surmounted by a wooden canopy supported by four pillars. On the east wall of the sanctuary rises a fine, semi-circular tribune with seven steps. There was probably a khurus, a transverse room preceding the sanctuary, in front of the sanctuary but which no longer exists.
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In much the same style as the Hanging Church, two rows of six columns each separate the aisles from the nave. Eleven of these unique columns, with faint painted decorations of probably apostles or saints, are marble, while one is of red granite. While the pulpit was replaced by a copy of the ambon (a pulpit) in the church of Saint Barbara, some of the older wooden pulpit now reside in the Coptic Museum in Cairo, while a few others are in the British Museum. Also, the oldest wooden altar in Egypt was found in the church, but it too is now in the Coptic Museum.

 However, the sanctuary iconostasis, a screen separating the sanctuary from the rest of the church on which icons are usually displayed, is a beautiful work of art which probably dates to the 12th or 13th century. The several panels are inlaid with ivory and ebony, and covered in a wonderful relief that features arabesque designs. The apse is encrusted with strips of marble and decorated with mosaics. There are some wooden panels within the church that are of earlier date, and depict fine scenes of saints on horseback, the Nativity and the Last Supper. There are any number of other relatively old icons that date, perhaps, to the 17th century. They show various scenes depicting the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary and some of the saints.

 This crypt contains the remains of the original church where tradition says the Holy Family lived. Unfortunately, this area of the church has sometimes been inaccessible due to the presence of subterranean water. Originally this crypt, which is under the modern sanctuary, was itself the sanctuary of the church, but became the crypt after the larger church was built. It measures six meters long, by five meters wide and is 2.5 meters high. Within its north, south and east walls are niches. Sometime after the crypt was originally built, two rows of slender columns were erected to form a nave with two aisles.

 Left: The stairs leading down into the crypt where it is believed the Holy Family stayed during the flight to Egypt;

Above Right: The floor plan of the crypt below the main sanctuary of the more modern structure

Abu Sarga is based on a basilican structure with a nave and two side aisles. The west end of the church is occupied by a return aisle. Twelve columns are set between the nave and the aisles, eleven of which are made of white marble and only one is of red granite. Some of the marble columns show clear traces of figures most likely representing saints. Corinthian capitals originating from older buildings are placed between the column shafts and the wooden architraves. On the east side of the church, a tripartite sanctuary is separated from the congregation hall by an impressive wooden screen which is beautifully decorated with ebony and ivory and whose oldest part dates back to the 13th century. Exceptional icons with various scenes from the life of Christ, Virgin Mary and diverse saints embellish the walls of Abu Sarga. Inside its main sancturary a wooden canopy supported by four pillars is placed above the altar and painted with biblical scenes, among them are Jesus Pantocrator and Archangel Gabriel appearing to Virgin Mary. The apse behind the altar is richly decorated with strips of marble and mosaics. A clerical seat is incorporated into the apse and can be reached by seven steps. 

Abu Sarga once kept Egypt’s oldest altar which was transferred to the Coptic Museum. The roof is one of the most interesting features of the church and said to have been constructed in the shape of Noah’s ark. On the northwest side of the church is a baptistry. The marble ambon is a modern copy of the one in the neighbouring church of St. Barbara. Parts of the original wooden pulpit were brought to the Coptic Museum, and also to the British Museum in London. Above the side and return aisles is a gallery with two chapels (one dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus, the other to Ibraham, Isaac and Jacob) that are used for private service and during the fasting of Easter.

Being tied to the Holy Family, the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus continues to be a draw for Christian visitors, as it has since medieval times. On the 24th day of the Coptic month called Bachons, which corresponds to the first day of June in the western calendar, the Coptic Church commemorates the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. A mass is still held on that day in this ancient church.

The Church of St. George - Cairo

The Church of St. George was built in the 10th century, but a fire destroyed the original structure. The present church dates only from 1904.

The unique Church of St. George is the only round church found in Egypt. Built in the 10th century on top of a Roman tower of the fortified town called Babylon, the church is connected to the Monastery of St. George and is the seat of the Greek Patriarchate of Alexandria. Ascend the steps along the Roman towers and see a relief of St. George slaying a dragon on the outer brickwork of the wall. Inside, the austere ancient artwork grace the church with depictions of St. George and his quest to defend Christianity.  The church can be reached through a flight of stairs and is crowned by an impressive dome. Tradition has it that St. George was kept in a prison close to the church and martyred there.

The first doorway north of the Coptic Museum gate leads to the Greek Orthodox Monastery and Church of St George. St George (Mar Girgis) is one of the region’s most popular Christian saints. A Palestinian conscript in the Roman army, he was executed in AD 303 for resisting Emperor Diocletian’s decree forbidding the practice of Christianity. There has been a church dedicated to him in Coptic Cairo since the 10th century; this one dates from 1909.

The origins of the monastery are obscure but are believe to date from the seventh century. The main hall of the monastery dates from the tenth century and displays a tall door, some 7.6 meters, that leads to the interior of the building. Off the main hall is a room, set aside as a shrine, that according to tradition contains the chains that were placed on St. George as part of the tortures to which he was sentenced after his trial under the Persian King Dadianos.

Although St. George is the only round church in Egypt, but unlike the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre and its many imitators (such as Rome's Santa Stefano Rotondo and London's Temple Church), this is only for practical reasons - it is built atop the foundations of a Roman round tower.

Inside, the dark interior is heavy with incense and pierced by sunbeams that filter through its stained glass windows. A (closed) flight of steps leads down into the old Roman tower, once believed to be "peopled by devils."

Next door, the Monastery of St. George is now the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. The monastery rarely admits tourists. Only the chapel which is dedicated to St. George and the large room with an anteroom offer any historical and artistic interest. The chapel is said to have originally been a palace dating from the Mamluk period, which was transformed into a church probably in the fourteenth or fifteenth century. Here, St. George's icon is venerated. The large room with an anteroom is separated from the chapel by a double door of surprising height measuring some seven meters. Animal figures adorn the door.

The nuns in charge of the chapel offer for the veneration of the faithful an iron collar and chain. This wonder-working chain, some 4.2 meters long, is attached to the south wall of the inner room of the shrine. Normally the chain is applied to women, though men sometimes seek the blessings of the saint through the chain. Whomever places the halter of the chain around his neck and winds the chain around his body, kissing the chain piously and offering prayers to Saint George, is considered to be in a state of exceptional grace.

Ever since the fifth century, Western Christians have venerated the chains of the apostle Peter in the Basilica of Saint Peter of the Chains, on the Esquiline in Rome. However, in the Middle East, it is not the chains of St. Peter but of Saint George that are believed to posses miraculous powers to cure the demon-possessed and paralytics. The New Testament narrative of the Gadarene demoniac "who had often been bound with fetters and chains" (Mark 5:3-4) demonstrates that chains were used to restrain the mentally sick. A parallel story in the Coptic tradition tells of Theophanes (952-56), the sixtieth patriarch of Alexandria, who was so overcome by anger that he took off his vestments and the skhema (a four-meter long plaited leather girdle worn by monks), and an unclean spirit descended upon him and struck him down, so that he was bound with iron chains for the rest of his life. The origins of the Coptic attachment to the chains of Saint George are in the Byzantine tradition. Since the seventeenth century, the chains of Saint George in the Greek Orthodox Convent of Saint George have been used to tie up those suffering from nervous disorders, anxiety neuroses, conversion hysteria, obsessional neuroses and even schizophrenic psychoses.

Today, large numbers of Copts and even Muslims visit the Shrine of the Chains of Saint George in the Convent on Fridays and Sundays. The "Coptic chains" have assumed the function of the medieval chain-cult. At the convent, Greeks from Greece, Lebanon, Cyprus and Egypt used to assemble for the panegyris of Saint George on the night of April 22 to behold the apparition of the celestial rider on his white horse above the dome of the old church. Apparently the nuns of the old convent have continued the age-old cult.

Nearby the monastery is the Church of St. George. The Greek Church of St. George is one of the few round churches still in existence in the East, formed from it's placement atop a rounded Roman tower. The Holy Family is said to have taken shelter in a place now covered by the Church. There is a long set of steps that lead up to the church that are built on the outer wall of the Roman towers. As one ascend these steps, there can be found a relief of St. George and the dragon wrapped around the outer brickwork of the tower. The church had been burned many times. It burned in 1904 and the current structure was built in 1909, but still has some of the older structure's beautiful stained-glass windows. For centuries, the church alternated between ownership by the Copts and the Greek, but since the 15th century it has remained Greek Orthodox

Sadly, the original Church of St. George that burned was considered one of the most beautiful and richest in the Roman fortress of Babylon. Traditionally, the earliest church was built in 684 by Athanasius, who was a wealthy scribe. During the Papacy of Pope Gabriel (88th Patriarch) the relics of the saint were relocated to his well-known church in Old Cairo.

Confusingly, just down the road is another Church of St. George and a Convent of St. George, the latter of which opens its chapel to visitors (daily 9-4) and has some English-speaking nuns. Both of these institutions are Coptic Orthodox.

St. George's celebration of the Moulid of Mari Girgis (St. George's Day) on April 23 is one of the largest Coptic festivals in Cairo - despite the fact that the church is Greek, not Coptic.

Hanging Church- Cairo

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.hanging 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:

1- Entrance known as The narthex.

2- The nave and the two aisles.

3- 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.

Saint Sofia Church, Sofia

The Saint Sofia Church  is the second oldest church in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, dating to the 4th-6th century. In the predecessor building took place the Council of Serdica held most probably in 343 and attended by 316 bishops. In the 14th century, the church gave its name to the city, previously known as Sredets.

The church was built on the site of several earlier churches from 4th c. and places of worship dating back to the days when it was the necropolis of the Roman town of Serdica. In the 2nd century, it was the location of a Roman theatre. Over the next few centuries, several other churches were constructed, only to be destroyed by invading forces such as the Goths and the Huns. The basic cross design of the present basilica, with its two east towers and one tower-cupola, is believed to be the fifth structure to be constructed on the site and was built during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Justinian I in the middle of the 6th century (527-565). It is thus a contemporary of the better-known Hagia Sophia church in Constantinople.

During the Second Bulgarian Empire (spanning the 12th to 14th centuries), the structure acquired the status of a metropolitan church. In the 14th century, the church gave its name to the city. In the 16th century, during Ottoman rule, the church was converted into a mosque: the original 12th-century frescoes were destroyed and minarets were added. In the 19th century two earthquakes destroyed one of the minarets and the mosque was abandoned. Restoration work was begun after 1900.

The Saint Sofia Church is now one of the most valuable pieces of Early Christian architecture in Southeastern Europe. The present building is a cross basilica with three altars. The floor of the church is covered with complex Early Christian ornamental or flora and fauna-themed mosaics. The Saint Sofia Church stands in the middle of an ancient necropolis and many tombs have been unearthed both under and near the church. Some of the tombs even feature frescoes.

Because Saint Sophia represents the Divine Wisdom along with a historical saint (Sophia the Martyr), icons within the church depict Sophia as Christ Emmanuel, a young figure of Christ seated on a rainbow. The church also displays icons of historical saints, including St. George and St. Vladimir. In modern times it is mistakenly considered by some that the church is named in honour of the 2nd-century Roman saint Sophia the Martyr, who has in recent years even become the city's patron saint, and not after the Divine Wisdom (Hagia Sophia).

According to popular lore, Saint Sophia's miraculous powers protected the building over the centuries, warding off human invasions and natural disasters to keep the church as an example of the elegant, austere, and symmetrical architecture of the age.

Church of Saint Alexander Nevskiy, Jerusalem

The Church of St Alexander Nevsky — named after a 13th-century Russian warrior-prince — is often overlooked because its façade resembles an elegant residence or hotel rather than a church.
The tall and narrow façade, with solid security doors bearing notices in Russian, is at 25 Souq al-Dabbagha, about 70 metres from the entrance to the Holy Sepulchre courtyard.

Excavations here in 1883 — before the church was built — attracted worldwide attention, leading to the site becoming known as the “Russian Excavations”.

Particular attention focused on the discovery of a gate threshold believed by the excavators to belong to the Judgement Gate by which Jesus left the city on the way to the hill of Calvary (now contained within the Holy Sepulchre church). Modern archaeologists consider the gate probably dates from the 2nd century.

The excavators also uncovered remains of the easternmost parts of Constantine’s 4th-century church, including the wide staircase that led to the church entrance.

As New Testament scholar Jerome Murphy-O’Connor put it, what was found “corresponds exactly to the eastern end of the Constantinian Holy Sepulchre as depicted in the sixth-century Madaba Map”.

The site on which the Church of St Alexander Nevsky stands was purchased in 1857 by the Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society, a lay organisation founded to assist faithful of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Holy Land.

The idea was to build a Russian consulate and a hostel for pilgrims, who were arriving in their thousands at the port of Jaffa and often walking the 70 kilometres to Jerusalem.

When workers digging the foundations uncovered historical remains, construction was halted. Eventually the consulate and hostel were built outside the Old City, at a site now known as the Russian Compound, and a church was built over the ruins in Souq al-Dabbagha.

Because the excavations and the church were funded by the Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, the property gained the popular name of the “Alexander Hospice”.

Entering the excavated area in the basement of the church, one descends stairs to an archway. The right-hand column is from the 11th century; the stonework on the left is part of an entrance to the main forum established by the emperor Hadrian when he rebuilt Jerusalem as a Roman colony in the 2nd century.

Descending through the arch and turning left, one sees on the left a reconstruction of the wide stairway that led to the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre — which was much bigger than the present basilica.

Straight ahead, under a glass covering, is the gate threshold once thought to have been where Jesus left the city on the way to Calvary. This threshold may have been part of an arch built by Hadrian, but it was later re-used as an entrance to the Holy Sepulchre.

Next to the threshold is a large piece of the rock of Calvary, purchased when the church was built. Above it a crucifix has been fixed.

In the Roman wall to the left is an opening called the Eye of the Needle, intended for travellers who arrived after the gate was closed for the night.

On the other side of the threshold are the remains of another entrance to the Holy Sepulchre, cut into a Roman wall by Constantine’s engineers.

(Massive remnants of the main entrance to the Holy Sepulchre are still further ahead, in the adjoining property of Zalatimo’s sweetshop on Souq Khan al-Zeit.)

At the top of the wide stairway is a sweeping depiction of Jesus carrying his cross. Behind it is a chapel, accessible from the ground floor.

The iconostasis, decorated in black and gold, dominates the chapel. Around the walls are hung paintings of Gospel scenes and, above these, a series of icons of Russian Orthodox saints.

The dedication of the chapel to St Alexander Nevsky honoured an exceptional leader of medieval Russia, who was accorded legendary status for his military victories over German and Swedish invaders. He was proclaimed a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1547.

Administered by: Imperial Russian Orthodox Palestine Society
Tel.: 02-627-4952
Open: 9am-6pm