Virgin Mary Cathedral
The Cathedral of Virgin Saint Mary
In the era of the late Pope Shenouda III, the 117th of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and under the reign of His Grace Bishop Metaous (the Bishop and Abbott of the Monastery), a huge cathedral was built in the name of The Virgin Mary . It was built according to the Coptic style. A small Church is located beneath the altars. On the ground floor, there is a Cathedral dome-top surrounded by half-domes, and the domes are in the shape of the Cross. There is also a yard in front of the Cathedral. The Cathedral has two lighthouses 29 meters high, they are marvelous in their structure and form, as they maintained the style of the monastery’s ancient lighthouses. There are large crosses in the upper part of these lighthouses. The following are some facts about the cathedral:
• The office of dc, the engineer / Mounir Abdou Fam created the architectural designs. The office of dc, the engineer / Sabry Samaan created the constructional designs of the Cathedral.
• The Cathedral has been inaugurated on Saturday, 23 February 2008 AD - 15 Amshir 1724.
• The senior fathers: Fr. Abd El Messeh-El Souriany and Fr. Karas-El Souriany supervised the steps of implementation in all its stages.
• Consulting engineers / Mandaloun Mina Mandaloun and Theodore Nassif Morcos, supervised all stages of constructions from the foundation of the cathedral, all the way to the lighthouses and their crosses.
The cathedral was built by NCC Company (National Construction Company) which was recommended by Mr. Tarek Samir. This company were involved in making the concrete, mortar, construction of the columns, the church ceiling, the church basement, as well as the baptism basin. These were completed by Mr. Shenouda Ekladious Mesak in March of the year 2005.