WATANI International
St Mark’s Church in
In his book on the history of the Alexandrian patriarchs, Anba Sawirus Ben Moqafaa, Bishop of Ashmonein and a major historian of the 10th century, wrote that a church had been in existence since AD62 at a place that since the pharaonic era had been called Bokalia, meaning ‘cow pasture’. Before Alexander founded the city in 331BC the small town nearby was named Rhakotis, and was surrounded by grazing land. The first Christians of Alexandria established their humble church in an area that had once been grassland but was then the eastern part of the city of
Rhakotis itself lives on, since the patriarchs of
First martyr
Father Youhanna Nassif, the priest of St Mark’s Church in
Following St Mark’s martyrdom, believers took the body to the church where they held Holy Mass and buried him in a grave on the east side of the Church. On that day, the first church in
The church was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the centuries. In AD311, when Pope Boutros, known in the Coptic Church as the last of the martyrs, prayed for the last time at the grave of St Mark, the church was a small chapel. In AD321 Pope Achillas expanded the church, which was then still called by its ancient name of Bokalia.
By the time the Arabs entered
The incumbent pope at the time of Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign in July 1798, was Markus VIII. On the pretext that the occupying British forces could use St Mark’s to set up a resistance, Napoleon’s troops broke up the church’s timbers and destroyed its steeples. The priests did their best to protect the church treasures and managed to save some icons, together with some altar utensils, candlesticks and books which they moved to St Mark’s Church in Rashid, 60km east of
The priests endeavoured to rebuild the church, and in 1818 they were able to obtain a faraman (Royal decree) from Mohamed Ali for the purpose. The church was rebuilt and was consecrated a year later by Pope Boutros Gawli.
The church was renovated again in 1870 by Pope Demetrious II, who remodelled it in the Byzantine style with domes suspended on six marble columns and with exquisite marble iconostases to hold 30 icons.
Use of concrete
Until 1935
The church was again widened on the eastern side between 1985 and 1990, when its total area was doubled and the six marble columns were moved once more to the new west entrance.
Six Coptic mosaic icons hang in the church, the four at the entrance depicting the Virgin Mary, the Archangel Mikhail, St Mark and St George, and the two in the nave depicting St Mina and Anba Antonious. These icons were designed by the famous Egyptian artist Isaac Fanous.
Today the church contains seven altars, among which is a special altar for children in the name of the young saint St Abanoub. In 1990 Pope Shenouda III held the Epiphany Mass on the occasion of the consecration of the widened church altar.
Icons
St Mark’s houses some icons of outstanding beauty.
Four mosaics at the forefront of the church depict the Holy Virgin, St Mark, St George, and St Michael, all of whom are patron saints in whose names the four altars in the church were consecrated. Midway down the nave are two icons of St Mina and St Anthony. The six icons were written by the late iconologist Isaac Fanous who pioneered the modern renaissance movement of Coptic icons.
Two old icons of the Lord Jesus and St Mary, embedded in silver and gold, hang at the entrance.
Reliquary
After the inauguration of the enlarged church in 1990, St Mark’s was one of the largest churches in
At the centre of the south side of the church is the entrance to a tomb that contains the relics of patriarchs of the first millennium after Christ. Their names are carved on a marble slab in Coptic, Arabic and Roman scripts. According to tradition, every new pope on assuming office takes a blessing from the head of St Mark. To prevent the relics from being stolen again, the corridor leading to the tomb of the patriarchs is completely off-limits.
On the north-east side of the church is a chamber containing part of St Mark’s relics, above which is an old icon covered with silver depicting the saint.
Surrounding the church are the new papal palace, service buildings including a library, a computer centre and a pre-school for children.