Coptic heritage · Alexandria
Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral
The historic Coptic cathedral of Alexandria, traditional seat of the Pope of Alexandria and heart of the See of Saint Mark.
The story
Saint Mark's is a Coptic church in Alexandria and the historical seat of the Pope of Alexandria, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church. According to Coptic tradition, the arrival of Saint Mark the Apostle in the city in the early 60s AD marked the beginning of the Coptic Church in Egypt. The first believer is said to have been an Egyptian shoemaker named Anianus, who turned his home into the first church in Africa, the Bucalia church, which tradition places on the site of the present cathedral. Alexandria remained the patriarchs' seat for many centuries before the seat moved to Cairo in the 11th century.
Good to know
- It is the historical seat of the Pope of Alexandria, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
- By tradition it stands on the site of the Bucalia church, regarded as the first church in Africa.