St. Mark's

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

is the first Coptic parish that was built and established in the district of Heliopolis 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 ...

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 Mediter ...

. Being one of several Coptic Orthodox Churches in Heliopolis, St. Mark's Church is specifically located on Cleopatra Street, near the

Cleopatra Hospital Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

Early history

Establishment

The idea of establishing a church in Heliopolis started out in 1917. A committee was formed, and eventually, the cornerstone was founded on Friday, June 16, 1922, under the papacy of Pope Cyril V. Prayers were held in a temporary location and started in January 1925. This was the case until 1930, when the construction was finally complete. The late Fr. Ibrahim Luke served as the first priest, and was at St. Mark's Church until he died in 1950. Today, there are nineteen priests that serve Saint Mark's Church alone.English El Keraza
. ''Dated March 7, 2007.'' Accessed August 23, 2008

Endowment lands

Some of the adjacent land was purchased in 1948 to build the church hall and chapel. It was opened by

Pope Cyril VI ''This article uses dates and years written in the Coptic calendar, using the A.M. (Anno Martyrum) calendar era, in addition to the Gregorian calendar, using the A.D. (Anno Domini) calendar era.'' Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria also called Abba Ky ...

on June 5, 1964, and the new altar was consecrated, bearing the name of

Saint Menas Menas of Egypt (also Mina, Minas, Mena, Meena; el, Άγιος Μηνάς, ; 285 – c. 309), a martyr and wonder-worker, is one of the most well-known Coptic saints in the East and the West, due to the many miracles that are attributed to his in ...

Coptic TV

Father Daoud Lamei is a Coptic leader who has inspired others. He is married. He has been serving at St. Mark's Church in Heliopolis since he was sixteen years old. He is a prolific producer of videos and books of Coptic Orthodox teachings, and his sermons are presented on Coptic Television channels and online, on YouTube and other sites.

Papal visits

As Saint Mark's Church has had a long history, there were several occasions upon which there were Papal visits made by different Coptic Popes. Among them are: * Pope Joseph II: laid the cornerstone of the church hall. *

: in 1960 for prayer and in 1964 for the opening of the church hall. *

Pope Shenouda III Pope Shenouda III (; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ϣⲉⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲅ̅ '; ar, بابا الإسكندرية شنودة الثالث '; 3 August 1923 – 17 March 2012) was the List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria, 117th ...

: visited several times; in 1973 and 1981 for preaching, as well a more recent visit in 2000, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Fr. Ibrahim Luke's departure.

References

External links

*
The official website of St. Luke's Church

Fr Daoud Lamei Sermons
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Heliopolis Coptic Orthodox churches in Cairo Coptic history Coptic architecture Oriental Orthodox congregations established in the 20th century Churches completed in 1930 Church buildings with domes 20th-century Oriental Orthodox church buildings 20th-century churches in Egypt