| Virgin Mary Coptic Orthodox Church | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Zeitoun, Cairo |
| Country |  Egypt |
| Denomination | Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria |
| History | |
| Founded | 29 June 1925 |
| Dedication | Saint Mary |
| Consecrated | 29 June 1925 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Tawfik Kalil Ibrahim |
| Architectural type | Byzantine architecture |
| Style | Byzantine architecture |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Pope Tawadros II |
The Church of the Virgin Mary at Zeitoun (The Apparition Church) is a Christian church in Cairo, Egypt, built in 1924.
The church was built by Tawfik Khalil Ibrahim, in memory of his father. It was designed as a miniature of the Hagia Sophia church in Istanbul, Turkey and built under the supervision of the Italian architect Leomingelli. [1]
Allegedly based upon a vision Ibrahim had seen, it is said that the Virgin Mary told him that she would appear in her church at Zeitoun after forty years. [2] [3] The church was consecrated during a mass on June 29, 1925. According to tradition, the site is one of the locations where the holy family stayed during their flight into Egypt. [4]
Some of the icons in the church were donated by the Emperor Haile Selassie. [5]
On the evening of Tuesday, 2 April 1968 (24 Baramhat 1684 in the Coptic calendar), sightings of the Virgin Mary and associated phenomena were reported by a group of individuals at the church. Luminous scenes were reported to be seen over the domes of St. Mary's church at Zeitoun. The first apparition was seen by the workmen of a garage belonging to the Public Transport Authority opposite the church. Among them was the watchman, Abdul Aziz Ali, who saw a luminous body of a young lady kneeling next to the cross located on the largest dome of the church. [6]
Ali started shouting, "A light over the dome!" Then he called upon his fellow workers to look at the lady on the roof of the church. Some of them thought it was a young lady trying to commit suicide, so they shouted a warning to her. She was standing over the dome in her white robe, and she was holding in her hand what appeared to be an olive branch. Then they saw her moving, and a light was emanating from her body all around her. After identifying her as the Virgin Mary, they began shouting, "It is the Virgin... It is Virgin Mary." [7] [6]
This apparition was reported to be accompanied by various spiritual phenomena including: [8] [9] [10]
The apparitions lasted for three years. They were investigated by the Coptic Church and Roman Catholic Church and were accepted by both. [11]
In 1971, after the "miracle of Zeitoun", the Egyptian artist Yacoub Fanous painted additional icons on the walls of the church. He adorned the apse with a painting of Jesus Christ Pantocrator and, on the dome that had been arranged with stars on a blue background, he painted the Virgin Mary with outspread arms. [12]
Every year on 2 April, the church celebrates the apparition in a gathering of thousands of believers who wish to honor Mary, seeking her blessing and intercession.
The church runs a hospital and accommodation for the elderly. [5]
A Marian apparition is a reported supernatural appearance by Mary the mother of Jesus, or a series of related such appearances during a period of time.
Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria also called Abba Kyrillos VI, Coptic: Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲕⲩⲣⲓⲗⲗⲟⲥ ⲋ̅ ; was the 116th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark from 10 May 1959 to his death.
Our Lady of Zeitoun, also known simply as El-Zeitoun, Zeitun or rarely Our Lady of Light, was a mass Marian apparition that was reported to have occurred in the Zeitoun district of Cairo, Egypt, during a period of about 3 years beginning on 2 April 1968.
Koiak, also known as Choiak and Kiyahk, is the fourth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lasts between 10 December and 8 January of the Gregorian calendar, or between 11 December and 9 January of the Gregorian calendar in Coptic calendar years immediately following a Coptic calendar leap year. The month of Koiak is also the fourth month of the Season of Akhet (Inundation) in Ancient Egypt, when the Nile floods historically covered the land. They have not done so since the construction of the High Dam at Aswan.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock, commonly referred to as Knock Shrine, is a Roman Catholic pilgrimage site and national shrine in the village of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland, where locals claimed to have seen an apparition in 1879 of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saint John the Evangelist, angels, and Jesus Christ.
Menas of Egypt, a martyr and wonder-worker, is one of the most well-known Coptic saints in the East and the West, due to the many miracles that are attributed to his intercession and prayers. Menas was a Coptic soldier in the Roman army martyred because he refused to recant his Christian faith. The common date of his commemoration is November 11, which occurs 13 days later on the Julian calendar.
Zeitoun, also al-Zeitoun, is one of the eight districts that make up the Northern Area in Cairo, Egypt. It has been made famous for its Marian apparitions at the Coptic Church of the Virgin Mary of Zeitoun during the years 1968–1971.
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Saint Virgin Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Hanging Church, is one of the oldest churches in Egypt which dates to the third century. It belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
The Church of the Virgin Mary in Haret Zuweila is the oldest church in the district of Haret Zuweila, near the Fatimid section of Cairo. It was probably built around the AD 10th century, though it is first mentioned in writing in the early 12th century on the occasion of the consecration of the new bishop of Cairo under Macarius' Papacy. The Church of the Virgin Mary in Haret Zuweila was the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria from c. 1400 AD to 1520 AD.
Saint Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Haret el-Roum or the Church of the Virgin of Relief is a Coptic Orthodox church in al-Ghūrīya, Cairo near the Convent of Saint Theodore.
Mary, the mother of Jesus in Christianity, is known by many different titles, epithets, invocations, and several names associated with places.
Our Lady of Assiut is the name given to a series of reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 2000 and 2001 in Assiut, Egypt.
Mourad Wahba Pasha (1879–1972) was an Egyptian politician and high court judge. He served as Vice President of the Court of Cassation, then Egypt's highest court from 1931 to 1937 after which he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture in 1937 and Minister of Trade and Industry in 1938. He was then appointed as senator from 1939 to 1945. He also served in the Board of Directors of various companies and was a leading figure in Coptic communal affairs.
Our Lady of Warraq is believed, by some, to be a mass apparition of the Virgin Mary that occurred at the Coptic Orthodox Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael church, in Warraq al-Hadar, Giza, Egypt, in the early hours of Friday 11 December 2009.
The Monastery of Virgin Mary in Koskam or Deir el-Muharraq, also known as the Muharraq Monastery, Virgin Mary monastery and Mount Koskam Monastery, is a monastic complex of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in Egypt.
The Holy and Ancient Archdiocese of Jerusalem, All Palestine, and All the Near East or the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem, is a Metropolitan Archdiocese of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which is part of the wider communion of the Oriental Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Coptic Orthodox Metropolitan Archbishop of Jerusalem, the incumbent being Metropolitan Archbishop Antonious of Jerusalem since 2016. Its jurisdiction covers those Coptic Orthodox Christians living in the Near East; with churches and monasteries in the State of Israel, State of Palestine, the State of Kuwait, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Lebanese Republic, the Syrian Arab Republic, and the Republic of Iraq. The adherents are largely of Coptic Egyptian descent, mainland Coptic migrants and their descendants. The archdiocese is based at St Anthony's Monastery, in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, beside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Paremhat 23 – Coptic calendar – Paremhat 25