All Saints' Cathedral,

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

was consecrated in 1988 and is the home of the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

with

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and the Horn of Africa. The cathedral is located close to the

Marriott Hotel Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 ...

Zamalek Zamalek ( ar, الزمالك , ''al zamalek'') is an affluent district of western Cairo encompassing the northern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River. The island is connected with the river banks through three bridges each on the east ...

, a residential area of the city that sits on an island in the middle of the

River Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

. The building and land were donated by the Egyptian government. 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 ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often re ...

. 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 St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral is a Coptic church located in the Abbassia District in Cairo, Egypt. The cathedral is the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope. It was built during the time when Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria was Pope of the Co ...

(Cathedral of Abbasiya). The first All Saints' in Cairo was completed in 1878. The second opened in 1938 and was sited overlooking the Nile and behind the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum or the Cairo Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display a ...

. Designed by

Adrian Gilbert Scott Adrian Gilbert Scott (6 August 1882 – 23 April 1963) was an English ecclesiastical architect. Early life Scott was the grandson of Sir Gilbert Scott (George Gilbert Scott), son of George Gilbert Scott, Jr. (founder of Watts & Company in 1 ...

(grandson of Sir George Gilbert Scott), it was demolished 40 years later to make way for the 6th October Bridge.

References

External sources

Diocese of EgyptCathedral of Cairo blogspotPictures of All Saints' Cathedral
{{coord, 30.0580, 31.2237, type:landmark_region:EG, display=title Cathedrals in Cairo Anglican church buildings in the Middle East Gezira Island Anglicanism in Egypt Adrian Gilbert Scott buildings

See also

References

External sources