The coming of the Apostle Mark in 62 AD to Alexandria was the beginning of the Coptic Church in Egypt, where he preached Christianity to its people, establishing the Apostolic See of Alexandria, known as the Coptic Church. The Coptic Church (Mark) has a great place in the global history of the church because it included the learned Coptic patriarchs of Alexandria who confronted various heresies.
The first believer in Christianity was an Egyptian shoemaker named Anianus, who transformed his house into the first church in Africa, which was known as the Church of Bukalia. Its location is the location of the current St. Mark’s Cathedral, and this place is in the middle of ancient Alexandria.
The St. Mark's Church became the seat of the Patriarch of the Church for a thousand years, then the headquarters moved several times until it is now in the land of Anba Ruwais in Abbasiya.
After the ordination of Christodoulos, Pope of Alexandria, he moved from Alexandria to Egypt, and took the Hanging Church in Zahir al-Fustat as his headquarters. He also renovated the Church of St. Mercurius and made it a major cathedral and a center for his see. He also made the Church of the Virgin Mary in the Al-Arwam neighborhood his headquarters where he could stay when necessary, with the consent of the Bishop of Babylon. The reason for this is the transfer of the greatness of the city of Alexandria to the city of Cairo, the large number of Christians there, and his connection to the government. So the Pope began to appoint a bishop of Alexandria in the name of the agent of the See of Saint Mark.
The beginning.
The cathedral is said to stand on the site of the church founded by Saint Mark the Evangelist in 42 AD. Saint Mark the Evangelist (author of the Second Gospel) has been associated with the city of Alexandria since the earliest Christian tradition. Coptic Christians believe that he arrived in Alexandria around 42 AD and stayed for about seven years.
During this time, Mark converted many people to Christianity and performed many miracles. He is considered the founder of the church in Alexandria and the first bishop of Alexandria. According to tradition, Saint Mark was arrested during the Festival of Serapis in 68 AD and martyred by being dragged through the streets. He was buried under the church he founded.
Church history.
In the year 68 AD, Saint Mark was martyred in Alexandria, and his body was placed in the church. In the year 311 AD, prior to the martyrdom of Pope Peter, the Seal of the Martyrs, he prayed a final prayer over the grave of Mark. At that time, the church was a small room for worship. The coast of the eastern port, where the body of Saint Mark and some of his successors were located. In the year 321 AD, the church was expanded during the reign of Pope Archelaus the 18th.
In the year 680 AD, Pope John of Samnoudi, the fortieth patriarch, rebuilt the church. In the year 828 AD, Mark’s body was stolen by Italian sailors, and it was transported from Alexandria to the city of Venice (Venice), Italy. The head remained in Alexandria. It was rebuilt again, and in 1527 AD the traveler Pierre Bellon de Mans mentions it. That the church exists.
The church was demolished and rebuilt more than once throughout history, and in 1870 AD it was built in the Byzantine style and decorated with a large number of beautiful icons. In 1952 AD, Pope Joseph II opened the new cathedral and prayed the first mass there.
Church building.
As soon as we enter the outer door of the church, we find on our left a building dating back to the last century that contains the headquarters of the Pope, his representative in Alexandria, and the halls of the Clerical College (which specializes in Christian sciences).
The marble icon stand, the iconostasis, and the papal chair were preserved along with the rest of the church’s antique icons. The six marble columns on which the church was based were also moved to the entrance. The lighthouses were preserved after they were raised and provided with beautiful Coptic inscriptions and pediments. In 1990, with the steady increase in the number of worshipers, the church was expanded from the western side, during the reign of Pope Shenouda III.
When entering the door, there are two antique icons on each side of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, covered with gold and silver, and an antique icon of St. Mark and St. George. Inside the church, we find two icons on the left of Anba Antonius and another of Anba Shenouda, and on the right an icon of Marmina, all of which are of Coptic art. In the middle of the church, on the southern side, is the entrance to the famous archaeological cemetery, which contains the remains of the patriarchs of the Alexandrian see in the first millennium. Their names have been written on a marble plaque in Coptic, Arabic, and English.