Nader Habib discovers that praying Christmas mass in the heart of Cairo is as good as in the Holy Land Egyptian Copts celebrated the birth of Christ on 7 January. But for nearly 40 years, they haven't been able to pray in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Christ. Coptic Pope Shenouda III repeatedly said the Copts will only go to the Holy Land when their Muslim brothers can do so freely. A second best to Bethlehem, I discovered, is not too far. The Virgin and Bethlehem Church, known also as the "Jerusalem League" is situated in the Faggalah section of downtown, not far from the site of the old patriarchate on Clot Bey Street. "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those who have his good will," the words rang in my ear as soon as I set foot in the Faggalah church. The priest, Father Ibrahim Boutros, told me that the church was founded in 1944 to serve as a headquarters for the Jerusalem parish in Cairo. "Therefore, any religious needs of the Jerusalem parish can be supplied here through the church as well as through the monks who manage the properties of the Egyptian church in Jerusalem." The priest noted that the properties of the Egyptian church in Jerusalem are vulnerable to appropriation, as happened when the Ethiopian monks seized Deir Al-Sultan in 1967, with the assistance of the Israeli authorities. Since that time, the church has been trying to defend the properties of Copts in Jerusalem. The Faggalah church provides assistance to Coptic refugees, facilitates pilgrimage to Jerusalem, providing funds for the upkeep of Coptic Churches, monasteries, and schools in Jerusalem. The church also has programmes for orphans both in Egypt and Jerusalem. Since pilgrimage stopped in 1967, the Faggalah church made a point of acquiring features that resemble those of Church of the Nativity. "We've named it the Virgin and Bethlehem Church because it has a model of the manger in which Christ was born in Bethlehem as well as of the Golgotha, or the place in which Christ was crucified in Jerusalem," the priest said. Christmas services in Bethlehem, and especially at the Church of Nativity, follow the tradition of Saint Mark the Apostle in the first century AD. According to the status quo arrangement, which regulates the rights of communities in worship in churches in the Holy Land, his beatitude Anba Abraham leads the prayers in the Church of the Nativity on 5 January and also the Christmas mass on 6 January. The altar of the church, dedicated to the three kings, is now under the custodianship of the Armenians. According to Father Ibrahim, many worshippers, including foreigners, come to Faggalah from all over the country, to pay homage to the memory of its namesake in the Holy Land. One month before Christmas, the service in Faggalah changes. The choir begins singing different hymns, known as the Kiahk (Coptic calendar) songs. For the four weeks before Christmas, masses are held from midnight Saturday till 4am Sunday. The Bethlehem Church of Nativity was built in 326 by Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena. Having been damaged by fire in 529, during a revolt by the Samaritans, it was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian in 534. In 614, an invading Persian army refrained from destroying the church because of a relief showing the Persian king on its façade. The church also escaped destruction in 1009 by Egypt's zealous Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakem. On Christmas day 1101, Baldwin was crowned as the first king of Palestine by the crusaders. The church was handed over to the Franciscans in 1347, who conducted necessary repairs to the original structure in 1480. When Palestine came under Ottoman rule, the Greek Orthodox acquired custodianship of the Church of Nativity, and renovated it in 1670. Later on, the Armenian Orthodox gained certain custodianship rights over the church, which they renovated in 1842. In Bethlehem's church, the Cave of the Nativity is reachable by stairs on both sides of the altar. A silver star pointing to the nativity site bears the Latin words Hic de Maria Vergine Jesus Christus natus est (Here, Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ). Until not so long ago, the Bethlehem Church of Nativity had four altars, allowing Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Assyrians, and Copts to perform prayers at all time. Now the altars of both the Copts and the Assyrians are in Armenian custodianship, although Copts have full access to services. For those living in Egypt, however, Bethlehem is out of bounds till further notice.
