Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral is a
Coptic Orthodox
The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي ...
church in
Azbakeya
Azbakeya ( ar, أزبكية; also spelled Al Uzbakeya or Auzbekiya) is one of the central districts of Cairo, Egypt. It contains many historically important establishments. One of these is the Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, which was in ...
,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
. It was the seat of the
Coptic Pope
The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ, translit=Papa; ar, البابا, translit=al-Bābā), also known as the Bishop of Alexandria, is the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, with ancient Christian roots in Egypt. The ...
from 1800 to 1971.
Due to
Ibrahim El-Gohary
Ibrahim El-Gohary (, ar, إبراهيم الجوهري, died 31 May 1795) was Egypt's chief scribe and prime minister during the second half of the 18th century.
Biography
Ibrahim El-Gohary was born to poor Copts in Egypt, Coptic Christian parent ...
's influential position in the government and his great favor to the
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
rulers, he was able to issue
fatwas
A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...
that permitted the Copts to rebuild the destroyed
churches and
monasteries
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
.
This was of particular importance because the
Copts
Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are C ...
were not allowed to build new churches or to repair old ones unless they got official government approval, which was rarely granted.
One of these churches that he built is Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Azbakeya in Cairo, that his brother completed and inaugurated by
Pope Mark VIII in 1800.
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Ibrahim El-Gohary also donated many endowment of good land and money for the reconstruction, that amounted to 238 endowments as documented in the Coptic Orthodox
The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي ...
Patriarchate.
The cathedral served as the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria
The Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria is historically based in Alexandria, Egypt. It is commonly known as the Holy See of Saint Mark, to whom the Coptic Pope claims to be the legitimate successor.
Ruling powers moved away from Alexand ...
between 1800 and 1971, after which it moved to 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 Coptic ...
in the Abbassia district.
References
Coptic Orthodox churches in Cairo
Cathedrals in Cairo
Coptic architecture
18th-century Oriental Orthodox church buildings
Oriental Orthodox cathedrals in Egypt
18th-century establishments in Africa
Establishments in Ottoman Egypt
18th-century churches in Egypt
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