3_ Cairo Churches: The Hanging Church .

[Mody Ibrahem]

3_ Cairo Churches: The Hanging Church 
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The northern haikal screen has a design of squares with crosses that are alternately ivory and ebony, and across the top of it are seventeen icons representing different scenes from the martyrdom of Saint George. The southern screen shows a cruciform pattern and dates from the thirteenth century. Atop it are seven small icons that depict the life of Saint John the Baptist. However, all of these icons are the work of a single Armenian artist, Orhan Karabedian, and were executed in 1777.
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One of the icons within the church ,

Within the church's southern aisle is a small door of fine pine wood inlaid with translucent ivory plating. This leads to the "little church", actually a chapel, which represents the oldest section of the structure. To the left is the sanctuary of Teckle Haimanout (Takla Haymanot), a national Saint of Ethiopia, who lived during the 13th century. The haikal screen here dates to the 13th century. Faint traces of fine wall paintings on the east wall probably represent Christ flanked by the Apostles, and during a restoration that took place in 1984, a beautiful 14th century Nativity scene was also discovered. At one time, all of the columns of this chapel were adorned with paintings, but today, only the scene on the fifth column from the east in the southern row is visible. It probably depicts a female saint who was possibly either a queen or a princess. Just to the south of this sanctuary is the baptistery, which housed a deep round basin of red granite and a niche adorned with mosaic. Partiarch Michael IV extended this upper floor for use as accommodations for the patriarchs.
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Though now in the Coptic Museum, the oldest artifact unearthed in the church was a lintel showing Christ's entry into Jerusalem and dates from ether the 5th or 6th century. However, though there are many objects from the church in the Coptic Museum, inside the church are collections of over one hundred icons of which the oldest dates from the 8th century.

wish all the best .peace and love to all , Mody .