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The Church of Saint Sergius and Bacchus, known in Arabic as Abu Serga, stands in the heart of Coptic Cairo.
It is one of the oldest churches in Egypt, dating to around the fifth century, built in the basilica style over an ancient crypt. That crypt, below the altar, is honoured as a place where the Holy Family rested during their flight into Egypt.
The church has long been a centre of Coptic Christian life and worship.
The flight into Egypt, when Joseph took Mary and the child Jesus to safety from Herod (Matthew 2), is one of the tender hidden chapters of the Gospel.
At Abu Serga pilgrims descend to the crypt and stand where the Holy Family is remembered to have sheltered, a refuge far from home. For Coptic, Ethiopian and all Christians, it is a place that honours the Lord as a refugee child whom Egypt welcomed.
Why is this church important? It is built over a crypt honoured as a resting place of the Holy Family during the flight into Egypt.
Where is it? In Coptic Cairo, the ancient Christian quarter of the city.
Can we go down to the crypt? Yes, when it is not flooded by seasonal groundwater.
Holy Sites
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