The Hanging Church - Explore the Historic Landmark in Old Cairo
Its name, Al-Muallaka (the hanging), was given to it since it was built on the ruins of two old towers belonging to an ancient fortress known as the Fortress of Babylon. It was dedicated to The Virgin Mary and St. Dimiana.
The Church was initially built at the end of the 3rd Century A.D. and the beginning of the 4th Century A.D., although it has been reconstructed and renovated several times. Some historians believe that it may be older than most think and was possibly an ancient Roman Temple that was later converted to a Roman Church and then later still a Coptic Church. Historians believe this to be true because of a 1984 discovery. At this time, it was noticed that the plaster over the western scenes, near the right aisle of the Church, hid images of pagan Roman Gods.
This Church has played an essential role in the history of the Coptic Church because it was once the seat of the Patriarchs after it was transferred from Alexandria to Al-Fustat. The 66th Patriarch, Anba Christodolos (1039-1079 A.D), was the church's first Pope to chant the Holy LiturgChurchs tradition was preserved 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. In 1898 A.D., the overseer of the Church, Nakhla Al-Baraty Bey, bestowed some of them as gifts.
The French monk Vansleb, who was sent to Egypt in 1671 by King Louis XIV to study the state of the churches and monasteries of Egypt, saw inscriptions on one of the walls of the Hanging Church. They were written by the great Muslim commander Amr Ibn El-As, asking the Muslim people to treat this ChurcChurchectfully.
The Plan of the Church:
It takes the shape of a basilica with a wooden roof resembling that of Noah's Ark.
After several modifications, the original spacious ChurcChurchually became smaller over time. Obeid Bin Khozam made the last change in 1755 A.D. It now measures 23.5m in length, 18.5 m in width, and 9.5m in height.
It consists of the following elements:
1. The entrance, also known as the narthex.
2. The nave and the two aisles.
3. The three Sanctuaries (located to the east of the ChurcChurch most important being the middle one, which is dedicated to The Virgin Mary)
A series of steps leads to the middle entrance. On both sides, doors lead to 2 upper floors, which are used as the private quarters of the priest commanding the church. In front of the hall is a vestibule used as a resting place for visitors.
Eight marble columns separate the southern aisle from the nave, and above them is a wooden architrave supported on arches. Eight marble columns separate the northern corridor from the center, but no architrave exists.
Offset, in the middle of the southern aisle, is a door that leads to a small church with a sanctuary. Inside this small church is a church baptistery, a deep basin of reddish granite believed to date from the 5th Century. It is decorated with Egyptian hieroglyphics for water.
The middle is the most renowned of the three sanctuaries on the eastern side, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In the center of this main sanctuary is an altar made of marble. Above it is a wooden dome supported by four marble columns and decorated with religious scenes, including Jesus on his throne, surrounded by the four evangelist saints, the disciples, and angels.
In front of the middle altar, in the name of the Church, is a pulpit on 15 columns decorated with reliefs and mosaics symbolizing Jesus, the 12 Disciples, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary.
The church has seven altars: three in the main sanctuary and three in the proper cover, among which is the altar of Tecla Hymanot, the Ethiopian saint. Interestingly, an altar was recently discovered on the north side.
