THE “STAIRCASE CHURCH” OR THE HANGING CHURCH

Egypt possesses one of the oldest civilization history. My kids and I were blessed enough to travel to the country. One of the places we saw that struck us the most was our visit to “the staircase church” or the hanging church in Mar Guirguis, Cairo, Egypt.

WHY WAS THE PLACE SO SIGNIFICANT?

It was the place where Joseph and Mary kept Jesus from Herod's plan to destroy all the children below two years old (Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. (Matthew 2:16 NKJV).

WHAT LED JOSEPH AND MARY TO BRING THE YOUNG CHILD JESUS TO EGYPT?

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him." When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son." (Matthew 2:13-15 NKJV)

WHY WAS IT CALLED THE HANGING CHURCH?

Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church also known as the Hanging Church is one of the oldest churches in Egypt and the history of a church on this site dates to the 3rd century AD.

The Hanging (The Suspended) Church is named for its location above a gatehouse of Babylon Fortress, the Roman fortress in Coptic Cairo (Old Cairo); its nave is suspended over a passage. The church is approached by twenty-nine steps; early travelers to Cairo dubbed it "the Staircase Church." The land surface has risen by some six meters since the Roman period so that the Roman tower is mostly buried below ground, reducing the visual impact of the church's elevated position. The entrance from the street is through iron gates under a pointed stone arch. The nineteenth-century facade with twin bell towers is then seen beyond a narrow courtyard decorated with modern art biblical designs. Up the steps and through the entrance is a further small courtyard leading to the eleventh-century outer porch. (Wikipedia)