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,

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 ...

. 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 Coptic Christian parents in Qalyub. His ...

's influential position in the government and his great favor to the Muslim 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 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.shababchristian
/ref> Ibrahim El-Gohary also donated many endowment of good land and money for the reconstruction, that amounted to 238 endowments as documented in the

Patriarchate. The cathedral served as the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria 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 Co ...

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 {{CopticOrthodox-church-stub