St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church Massarra
Encyclopedia
St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church Massarra is a church located in Shubra District, Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

.It was built during the time when Pope Cyril V of Alexandria
Pope Cyril V of Alexandria
Pope Cyril of Alexandria V) was the 112th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...

 was Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church
Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church
The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, which has about 16 million members worldwide, including about 12 million in Egypt...

 and inaugurated in 1924

History of the land

Search began for land in an appropriate place and there were a lot of lands offered for sale but there was an agreement on a land owned by Saada Kanary pasha located in Massarra street. The purchase contract was signed on 3 April in 1923. The Royal Decree No.56 dated 11 July in 1923 was signed by his Majesty Fuad I king of Egypt
authorized building the church. A preach wooden chamber was temporarily constructed on the land. It was inaugurated by his eminence Pope Cyril V of Alexandria
Pope Cyril V of Alexandria
Pope Cyril of Alexandria V) was the 112th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...

 on Tuesday, 6 November 1923.
The preach in the chamber continued until the architectural drawings and designs were completed. Archbishop Sidrus Gahli prayed the first mass in the church on Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in all four Canonical Gospels. ....

 on 12 April, in 1925 while the constructing was still going.

Church Services

the church rite
Rite
A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act. Rites in this sense fall into three major categories:* rites of passage, generally changing an individual's social status, such as marriage, baptism, or graduation....

 service is establishing the Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

 mainly on Sunday, Friday. Also the church other services includes Bible studying , and Sunday schools.

Church Icons

the church has a fascinating collections of icons located in every corner of the church represent some of the events that happened in St. Mary's life and also some icons of Jesus Christ and his disciples

Church Extensions

the church has a lot of extensions like:
  1. the Services Building.
  2. St.Mary's Hall.
  3. Saint.George
    Saint George
    Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...

    's Club.
  4. Libraries.
  5. St. Mary's Computer Center.
  6. Marcelino's Puppets Theater.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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