THE BEAUTIFUL ENTRANCE TO THE HANGING CHURCH FROM ITS NARTHEX – TESTIMONY TO REAL COPTIC CRAFTSMANSHIP
I would like to share with my readers two photographs that show the great skills of the Coptic artist and architect which one can see manifest at various sites in Egypt’s churches and monasteries. The recent restoration works have revealed treasures which have hitherto been concealed. What we see restored at St. Antony’s Monastery, St. Paul’s Monastery, the White Monastery, the Red Monastery, the Hanging Church, etc., etc., is great indeed. One can now see the beauty of the Hanging Church in full. I have already posted two articles about this church,[1] which reveal part of its splendour. Here, I post pictures that show the great entrance to the church from its narthex with its real craftsmanship; but before I do that, I post a plan of the church, which was published by Alfred J. Butler in his The Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt:[2]
Figure 1: Plan of the Hanging Church, showing the position of the narthex (after Alfred J. Butler).
Figure 2: The beautiful entrance to the Hanging Church from its narthex (Photo: Mahmoud El-Kholy)[3]
Figure 3: Detail of the craftsmanship of the entrance to the Hanging Church from its narthex with the beautiful ceiling and lanterns also shown (Photo: Muir).[4]
[1] See:
- Coptic Lantern (14 July 2012): http://copticliterature.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/coptic-lantern-%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B7%D9%8A/
- The Beautiful Internal Entrance Door to the Hanging Church Basilica in Coptic Cairo (22 July 2012): http://copticliterature.wordpress.com/2012/07/22/the-beautiful-internal-entrance-door-to-the-hanging-church-basilica-in-coptic-cairo/
[2] Volume 1; p. 211 (Oxford, The Clarendon Press, 1884).
Nice writing and pictures.
Thank you. Appreciate your comment.