History of the location:

It is one of the oldest churches in Egypt. It was built on the ruins of two towers from the fortress of Babylon

It is a Roman fort built in a strategic location in the center in order to be able to control Upper and Lower Egypt and to be able to stop any rebellion

Its naming might have been after a capital of a neighboring country called Babylion or a derivative from the term pr HApy n iwn. HApy who is the ancient Egyptian god of the Nile

To the Arabs it is known as Kasr El Shama’a because at the beginning of each month the towers of the castle were decorated with lit candles

Now six Coptic churches, a convent and the Coptic Museum stands in this fortress

Titles of the church:

The suspended church because it was built on the ruins of two towers from the fortress

According to Copts it is the church of Saint Mary or Virgin Mary and Saint Dimiana when the relics of the saint was transferred there

According to the Arabs it is the Church of Our Lady Mary and also the hanging church

To European travelers it its the church of the column or the church of the staircase

Date of construction:

The church dates back to the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th century. It was suggested that it began earlier as an ancient Egyptian temple then converted into a Roman temple then finally a church. Evidence for this suggestion lies in the following:

There are remains of an ancient Egyptian temple under the church

Fragments of wood found during the restoration of the church date back to 140-150 B.C

A wooden sycamore lentil dating to the 5/6th century was found in the church may be it used to decorate the entrance. Now it is in the Coptic Museum. It depicts the entry into Jerusalem representing Jesus on a donkey beardless and a man spreading his cloak on the ground in front of him and behind him there is a man greeting him by waving a palm branch. The background represents Jerusalem

The description of the church:

The entrance leads to a garden which has three basins. The first basin contains two palm trees that the holy family might have ate from. Theories believe that these trees were planted later. The middle basin is the Mandatum tank which refers to the baptism of Christ. In the third basin there are remains of Roman statues of marine animals

After the basins there is a staircase leading to the church. It symbolizes the ascension to Jerusalem after baptism.  There are 24 steps leading to a door with a cross on top stating that the entry to Jerusalem will never happen without the cross

The nave of the church is divided into three aisles and contains three rows of columns. The two rows on the sides contain 8 columns each and the central row contains only three columns. All columns are made out of alabaster only one is made out of basalt. Some of the columns are engraved with crosses. These columns were removed during the restoration of the church and were put back after restoration. It was said that these columns were decorated with images of saints and martyrs. The columns are Corinthian type dating back to 1st century. They may have been brought from Roman temples. Numbers in Coptic religion have their significance as follows:

1 = one god

2 = Christ unifies earth and sky or life and heaven

3 = the holy trinity

4 = the four corners of the world

5 = the five senses

6 = the creation of the world in six days

7 = the number of completion

8 = after completion

The 8 columns in the hanging church refer to the seated people inside the church as they believe in the holy trinity which is signified by the row of three columns. The seats are arranged in rows and are made out of wood. There are two lecterns one for reading the Bible in Coptic and the other for reading it in Arabic. There were 110 icons discovered in this church. Most of them are in the Coptic museum

The Ambon:

It is located in the middle aisle and made out of alabaster. It dates back to 5th century. It is used in preaching and reading the Bible on certain occasion. It is resting on 15 columns with the following significance:

Two columns referring to Saint Mark and Saint Luke as they wrote the Bible although they are not apostles

Twelve columns arranged in pairs. Each two are identical and each pair is different from the other referring to the twelve apostles

One column colored in black referring to the one who betrayed the Christ

A leading column referring to their leader, the Christ 

There is a significant decoration on the ambon depicting the cross referring to pain, the circle referring to persecution, the tripartite base referring to the holy trinity and the surmounting shell referring to fish which is a symbol of Christ. The relics of Saint Abraham are located under the ambon  

This church has seven sanctuaries. The central one is dedicated to Virgin Mary. The southern one is dedicated to Saint George. The northern one is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Earlier it was dedicated to Saint Dimiana. On the right side of the church there are another three sanctuaries the most famous is dedicated to Saint Takla Haymanot. The oldest painting in Old Cairo lies in this part in the flat apse of the east wall. It is divided into two register by a horizontal line inscribed in Coptic. The upper register depicts the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ in her arms and angels on both sides in adoration. The lower register depicts the 24 saints haloed with full face holding a censer in the left hand and an unidentified object in the right hand. The seventh sanctuary is in the second floor and is dedicated to Saint Mark. The screens of the sanctuary are made out of wood and decorated with ebony and ivory.

Saint Takla:

He was born in 1214. He studied the Holy Books and became very pious. He refused to marry and lived in the service of God. He spent his life moving among monasteries. He visited Jerusalem and many holy places. He died when he was 99 years and his relics were sent to Ethiopia although some of them are in the church of Saint Barbara.

The importance of the Hanging Church:

The location of the church on the remains of the fortress

It is one of the oldest churches and is till performing

It is an excellent example of Coptic churches of the time  

It was the seat of the patriarch after the church of Alexandria

The miracle of Gabal El Mokatam:

Virgin Marry appeared to Anba Ibraham the 62nd patriarch of Alexandria after praying for three days because the Caliph El Moa’z Ldin Allah to prove that his faith is real by performing a miracle and moving El Mokatam Hill. An earthquake occurred and the miracle happened. The Caliph rewarded him by letting him restore the hanging church and the church of Abu Seifein. It is believed that the Virgin Mary appeared in her image on the fifth column in the south part of the nave.