| Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral | |
|---|---|
 St. Mark's Cathedral in 2010 | |
 | |
| Location | Abbassia, Cairo |
| Country | Egypt |
| Denomination | Coptic Orthodox Church |
| History | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Founder | Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria |
| Dedication | Saint Mark |
| Consecrated | 25 June 1968 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Awad Kamel Michel Bakhoum (structural consultant) |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Coptic |
| Administration | |
| Division | Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop | Pope Tawadros II |
Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral (Arabic:كاتدرائية القديس مرقس القبطية الأرثوذكسية) is aCopticchurch located in theAbbassia District inCairo, Egypt. Thecathedral is theseat of theCoptic Orthodox Pope. It was built during the time whenPope Cyril VI of Alexandria was Pope, and was consecrated on 25 June 1968.[1]
The church is dedicated to St.Mark the Evangelist, anapostle ofJesus and founder of theCoptic Orthodox Church. Relics of his life are kept inside. It was, until 2019, (after the inauguration of the newNativity Cathedral) the largest cathedral inAfrica[2] and theMiddle East.[a]
The cathedral is located in the place of a village calledp-Sovt em-p-Hoi (Coptic: ⲡⲥⲟⲃⲧ ⲙ̀ⲡϩⲟⲓ "the wall of the moat") which had been given to the Coptic Church in 969 byJawhar.[3][4][5] This land was a replacement for the land that was taken from the church to be included in building the Palace ofAl-Mu'izz li-Din Allah as part of the planning of the new capital of Egypt,Cairo.[6]
During the twelfth century the area contained ten Coptic churches, but during the rule ofQalawun on 18 February 1280, the churches were destroyed by Muslims who persecuted the Copts. Two churches were subsequently built in the area under the rule of his son.[6]
In 1943, the governorate of Cairo attempted to expropriate the area for public use. This was opposed by theGeneral Congregation Council led by its secretary at the time,Habib Elmasry. The campaign proved successful as the Coptic Church maintained control of the land under the condition that a non-profit building be built on it in the following fifteen years. This condition spurred the building of the cathedral.[7]
The cathedral is wherePope Tawadros II of Alexandria has his office; thus, security is normally high here. However, on 11 December 2016, during the Muslim festival ofMawlid, the chapel near the cathedral was the venue of anIslamic terrorist attack that killed at least 25 people, most of them women and children. This attack is a copycat of various other earlier attacks against Coptic churches in Egypt.[8]
The cathedral is considered a unique example of architectural evolution which includes seven churches of which some have a great historic value such as the Church ofSt. Rewiss. The Cathedral represents the rapid development ofCoptic architecture,[9][10] as the famous Coptic civil engineerMichel Bakhoum contributed in its structural design. It has a capacity for 5,000 worshipers.[11]
Before the completion of the cathedral, theRoman Catholic pontiff of the time,Pope Paul VI, returned part ofSt. Mark'srelics,[citation needed] which were stolen from Egypt in the year 828 toVenice, Italy.[12][13] These relics were taken to the newly constructed Cathedral, where they were placed in a specially-builtshrine brightly decorated withCoptic icons, where they have remained until the present time.[citation needed]
The inauguration of the new Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral took place on 25 June 1968[14] in a ceremony hosted by Pope Cyril VI and attended byEgyptian PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser andEthiopian EmperorHaile Selassie, among other foreign clergy members from other churches.
Engineers Dr. Awad Kamel and Salim Kamel Fahmy won the competition for drawing and designing the cathedral. The structural design was prepared by Dr. Michel Bakhoum, Egyptian structural engineer.[15]The Nile General Company for Reinforced Concrete (SEPCO) implemented the cathedral’s giant building. The cathedral was designed in the shape of a cross.
30°04′20″N31°16′32″E / 30.07222°N 31.27556°E /30.07222; 31.27556