St. Sergius Kanisat Abu Sardja, Kanīsat Abū Sarjah (Abu Sarga) - the oldest Cairo church dating back to the 4th or 5th century, located in Qasr el-Shama in Old Cairo. According to tradition, it is built on the site of the Holy Family's stay in Egypt. The church belongs to the Archdiocese of Alexandria of the Coptic Orthodox Church and is dedicated to the Christian martyrs of St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, soldiers of the Roman army. Some of their relics are kept in this church.
The tradition of the local Coptic Church links the location of the church with the three-week stay of the Holy Family in Egypt. The crypt located in the lower part of the church, which was supposed to be their place of residence, is to prove it. The conducted geophysical research of the underground part of the building excludes that it could be an original "sacred crypt" and is probably a building from the 2nd century. At a depth of 5 meters below the current bottom of the sanctuary, scientists recorded anomalies of seismic reflections, which indicate the existence of a buried ceiling of the original crypt at this depth.
In 1164 (24 pachons 880 A.M.), the martyr, saint of the Coptic Church, Bashnouna (Bashnuna al-Maqari) was also buried in the church.
Architecture
St. Sergius was erected on a rectangular plan, in the form of a basilica with a nave and two aisles (north and south), and a narthex. The church is oriented, with the main nave covered with a gable roof, while the side aisles are covered with flat, horizontal roofs. The characteristic roof of the building is to resemble Noah's Ark. The aisles are separated by two rows of columns - eleven are made of white marble and only one is made of red granite. Above the aisle there is a gallery with two chapels that are used for private worship and the practice of fasting before Easter. The first is dedicated to the patrons of the church - the martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, and the second to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
On some of the columns there are images of saints. The icons show scenes from the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints. The sanctuary located in the eastern part of the building is separated from the main nave by a wooden higab, beautifully decorated with ebony and ivory. Its oldest part comes from the 13th century. The wooden canopy over the altar of the sanctuary is supported by four pillars. It is decorated with biblical scenes, including the Pantocrator and Archangel Gabriel. The apse behind the altar is decorated with mosaics and stripes of marble. The roof over the main central altar dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus has the form of a barrel vault and is topped with a conch. Side sanctuaries - northern (dedicated to Archangel Gabriel) and southern (in honor of Archangel Michael) are covered with shallow domes. There is a baptistery in the north-west part of the church.
In the church of St. Sergius, there was a well-preserved, oldest altar in Egypt. It was transferred to the Coptic Museum created by the church. Part of the original wooden pulpit was also placed there.
Coptic Museum
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Coptic Museum was established at the church. It was founded in 1908 by the Coptic leader, Pasha Marcus Simaik, with the approval of Patriarch Cyril V, and inaugurated in 1910. It was located on the floor of the former monastery, with an entrance from the vestibule of the church. In addition to the above-mentioned artifacts from the Church of St. Sergius and numerous architectural fragments from the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, many richly illuminated medieval codes, icons referring to medieval Byzantine painting, as well as everyday utensils, costumes and jewelery have been collected. In 1931 the museum was nationalized
The tradition of the local Coptic Church links the location of the church with the three-week stay of the Holy Family in Egypt. The crypt located in the lower part of the church, which was supposed to be their place of residence, is to prove it. The conducted geophysical research of the underground part of the building excludes that it could be an original "sacred crypt" and is probably a building from the 2nd century. At a depth of 5 meters below the current bottom of the sanctuary, scientists recorded anomalies of seismic reflections, which indicate the existence of a buried ceiling of the original crypt at this depth.
In 1164 (24 pachons 880 A.M.), the martyr, saint of the Coptic Church, Bashnouna (Bashnuna al-Maqari) was also buried in the church.
Architecture
St. Sergius was erected on a rectangular plan, in the form of a basilica with a nave and two aisles (north and south), and a narthex. The church is oriented, with the main nave covered with a gable roof, while the side aisles are covered with flat, horizontal roofs. The characteristic roof of the building is to resemble Noah's Ark. The aisles are separated by two rows of columns - eleven are made of white marble and only one is made of red granite. Above the aisle there is a gallery with two chapels that are used for private worship and the practice of fasting before Easter. The first is dedicated to the patrons of the church - the martyrs Sergius and Bacchus, and the second to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
On some of the columns there are images of saints. The icons show scenes from the lives of Christ, the Virgin Mary and the saints. The sanctuary located in the eastern part of the building is separated from the main nave by a wooden higab, beautifully decorated with ebony and ivory. Its oldest part comes from the 13th century. The wooden canopy over the altar of the sanctuary is supported by four pillars. It is decorated with biblical scenes, including the Pantocrator and Archangel Gabriel. The apse behind the altar is decorated with mosaics and stripes of marble. The roof over the main central altar dedicated to Sergius and Bacchus has the form of a barrel vault and is topped with a conch. Side sanctuaries - northern (dedicated to Archangel Gabriel) and southern (in honor of Archangel Michael) are covered with shallow domes. There is a baptistery in the north-west part of the church.
In the church of St. Sergius, there was a well-preserved, oldest altar in Egypt. It was transferred to the Coptic Museum created by the church. Part of the original wooden pulpit was also placed there.
Coptic Museum
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Coptic Museum was established at the church. It was founded in 1908 by the Coptic leader, Pasha Marcus Simaik, with the approval of Patriarch Cyril V, and inaugurated in 1910. It was located on the floor of the former monastery, with an entrance from the vestibule of the church. In addition to the above-mentioned artifacts from the Church of St. Sergius and numerous architectural fragments from the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, many richly illuminated medieval codes, icons referring to medieval Byzantine painting, as well as everyday utensils, costumes and jewelery have been collected. In 1931 the museum was nationalized
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