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Coptic Architecture

Coptic architecture is generally associated with the Copts or the Egyptian Christians, dating from about 3rd to 12th century. Coptic churches include great cathedrals like Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral and other less prominent churches in villages. In fact, ancient churches like the Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo carry vital historical significance to the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Copts in general.

After Muslims captured Egypt, one could see the influence of Coptic art and architecture on Egyptian Islamic architecture and the inclusion of some Coptic features in Islamic building in Egypt. In fact, it has been found out that in the later centuries, Coptic art and architecture actually included motifs motivated by the Islamic styles.

The major remains of Coptic architecture include monasteries and churches that are sprinkled throughout the country and built of unbaked brick on the basilica plan taken or copied from the Greco-Roman world. The Churches generally have heavy walls or columns which end in a tripartite apse. Such churches were left plain outside, to escape attention in a Muslim country and, after a destructive Persian invasion in the 7th century, were heavily fortified. The churches are opulently ornamented with murals and relief carving on the inside or interiors.

Some of the archaeological sites are El-Bagawat, Oxyrhynchus, Sakkara, Bawit, and Antinoe. Representative examples of Coptic art are in sculpture, textiles, ivory, and illumination. Coptic architecture, as shown in the 5th-century White and Red monasteries near Sohag, showed traces of local Egyptian traditions.

Some examples of modern Coptic Churches include St. Mary Church in Zamalek; Cairo designed by famous Coptic architect Ramses Wissa Wassef, and other examples include Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Cairo constructed in 1968 and Archangel Michael’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral Aswan that was consecrated in 2006.

Tags: Ancient Churches, Archangel Michael, Art And Architecture, Aswan, Coptic Orthodox Church, Copts, Egyptian Christians, Egyptian Traditions, Great Cathedrals, Greco Roman, Islamic Architecture, Muslim Country, News Bureau, Orthodox Cathedral, Oxyrhynchus, Persian Invasion, Representative Examples, Roman World, Sakkara, Zamalek