al-Mu‘allaqah - Page 2 of 3

Ambo

AMBO Derived from the Greek word ¥mbwn, ambon, the ambo (Arabic, anbil) is a raised pulpit that stands at the northeast side of the nave. It is built of white or colored marble, stone, or wood, supported on pillars, and is reached by a staircase. It is sometimes carved with crosses and flowers, finely sculptured …

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Church Of Al-Mu‘Allaqah

Places / By Arsanious Adel

CHURCH OF AL-MU‘ALLAQAH (Old Cairo) الكنيسة المعلقة This church is called in Coptic manuscripts “the church of Saint Mary, Mother of God, at Babylon in Egypt” (Amélineau, 1893, pp. 577-79). Texts in Arabic describe it as the “church of our Lady Mary, surnamed the hanging.” European travelers have called it “the church of the …

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Pope In The Coptic Church

History / By Armia FAYEZ

POPE IN THE COPTIC CHURCH From the Latin papa and the Greek pappas, diminutive for “father”; the Coptic apa is from the Aramaic abba (hence the Arabic baba after the Arab conquest). In medieval Arabic literature, the term also appears as al-Bab. The title “pope” has been in use in the Egyptian church from the …

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Qasr Al-Sham‘ (The Fortress Of Candles)

Places / By Armia FAYEZ

QASR AL-SHAM‘ (the Fortress of Candles) A name given by the Arabs to the Roman fortress of Babylon following the ARAB CONQUEST OF EGYPT. According to al-MAQRIZI, candles burned every month at the top of the tower of the fortress when the sun entered a new constellation of the zodiac. This conveyed the event to …

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Gabriel II, Ibn Turayk

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

GABRIEL II, ibn Turayk The seventieth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1131-1145) (feast day: 10 Bavamudah). Gabriel ibn Turayk was one of three laymen selected to occupy the Coptic patriarchate in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries during the late Fatimid caliphate and the early Ayyubid sultanate. He had the rather anomalous name of …

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Gabriel V

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

GABRIEL V The eighty-eighth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1409-1427). Born probably in the province of GIZA, south of Cairo, Gabriel became a government functionary charged with collecting taxes. At an unknown age, he abandoned his official responsibilities in his province in order to become a monk. He entered the monastery of Anba …

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Patriarchal Residences

Culture / By Armia FAYEZ

PATRIARCHAL RESIDENCES From the time of Saint MARK, the first patriarch of the Egyptian church, the Coptic patriarchs resided at Alexandria, the cradle of Egyptian Christianity. This was the first patriarchal seat in Egypt, but there were also others, depending on historical circumstances. Eutychius (877-940), Melchite patriarch of Alexandria, in his masterwork, the Annales (PG …

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Mark IV

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

MARK IV The eighty-fourth patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (1349-1363). Mark’s biography in the HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS is confined to a few lines stating his dates and the general remark that his days were peaceful. He was a native of Qalyub in the Delta of Lower Egypt. Little else is known about …

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Clerical Ordination

System / By Armia FAYEZ

CLERICAL ORDINATION The right of a bishop to ordain Christians of his diocese as deacons and priests is so generally recognized that the canons of the Coptic church (see CANONS, ECCLESIASTICAL) relate only to abuses: for instance, the ordination of Christians from another diocese or the acceptance of a gift for the ordination. The bishop’s …

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Murqus Simaykah

Eminent / By Armia FAYEZ

MURQUS SIMAYKAH (1864-1944) A public servant and founder of the COPTIC MUSEUM in Cairo. Born to an old Coptic family of clerks and magistrates, he had a distinguished career in the government service, but this was not enough to occupy his time after he reached middle age. He then devoted himself to public affairs in …

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