Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of St. Mark (Alexandria)
The Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of San Marcos is a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt. It is the historical headquarters of the Pope of Alexandria, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The cathedral is said to be located on the site of the church founded in 60 A.D. by Mark the Evangelist. Mark the Evangelist (author of the second gospel) has been connected to the city of Alexandria since the earliest Christian tradition. Coptic Christians believe that he arrived in Alexandria around 60 years after Christ and stayed there for about seven years. Meanwhile, Mark converted many people to Christianity and did many miracles. He is considered the founder of the church of Alexandria and the first bishop of Alexandria. According to tradition, San Marco was arrested during a Serapis festival in 68 A.D. and tortured by dragging him through the streets. He was buried under the church he had founded.
The head of San Marco has changed over the centuries and has been lost for more than 250 years. However, some relics of the body of Mark were brought from Rome to Alexandria during the papacy of Pope Cyrillus VI in 1968. The present Coptic St. Mark’s Cathedral dates from a recent period, but is said to be located on the site of the church founded by St. Mark himself.
History of the company
In the year 311, before the martyrdom of Pope Peter the last of the martyrs, he prayed one last prayer in the tomb of Mark, the church was then a small chapel on the east coast and contained bodies that would have come from Mark and saints some of his successors. Later, at the time of Pope Achilles, the 18th Pope, the church was enlarged.
The church was severely destroyed in 641 when the Arabs invaded Egypt. In 680 Pope John III rebuilt the church. In 828 the body of San Marco was stolen by Italian sailors and brought from Alexandria to Venice, Italy. However, the head of San Marco remained in Alexandria.
The church was destroyed again in 1219, during the Crusades, when it was rebuilt. The French explorer Pierre Belon from the 16th century mentions the foundation of the church in 1547.
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