The Church of Saint Barbara

Located on the eastern part of the Babylon Fortress[1], this church was founded in the fourth or fifth centuries, according to art historians. Nevertheless, ancient sources, and particularly the annals of Eutychius, who was the Melkite Patriarch of Alexandria (877–940), indicate that it was created by the secretary of ‘Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Marwān, governor of Egypt between 685 and 705. It was dedicated to Saint Cyrus (‘Abu Qīr) and, according to certain sources, Saint John. Destroyed during the fire of Fustāt in 750, it was rebuilt in the eighth century[2] and then restored in 1072–1073, during the transfer of some of Saint Barbara’s relics. This is when the church’s name changed, although mention of the church’s former name can still be found in texts written prior to this. The church was destroyed and restored on several other occasions, notably during the reign of the Mamluk Sultan al-Nāsir Muhammad ibn Qalāʾūn (1309–1340), and in the twentieth century.

Saint Barbara, also known as Saint Barb, was a young woman of great beauty, who was born in Asia Minor at the beginning of the third century. Having secretly become a Christian, she was executed by her father because she rejected an offer of marriage that she received through him.  

The church is similar to the churches of Saint-Serge and Saint-Bacchus, which is nearby. Rectangular in shape, it has a basilical plan with three naves, separated by marble columns with Corinthian capitals, except for two large cruciform pillars at the entry of the nave. The non-projecting transept opens onto a large central apse corresponding with the main nave, and two side chapels covered with semidomes. This plan, which was commonly used in Christian architecture, originates from Roman basilicas.

The building has a two-storey elevation: the columns support a beam on which rest on raised pointed arches; above is a gallery, supported by columns. The ceilings are in wood: there’s cradle vault above the main nave, and flat ceilings above the lateral naves.  

The iconostatis is currently in the Coptic Museum in Cairo. Made of sycamore and cedar, it dates from the Fatimid period and is in a style similar to other works in wood from the same period. These were mainly produced in Coptic workshops, and included hunting scenes, and representations of musicians and monks. During the restoration work by the Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l’Ancien Caire, a double-leaf door was discovered embedded between two walls. Currently kept in the Coptic Museum in Cairo, it dates from the fourth or fifth centuries, and has decorations that give it an antique appearance: gushing vases and a bust of Christ presented in a garland held by two angels, who are flanked by two people holding the Gospels. A marble ambo (pulpit), stands in the nave; it comprises a set of steps and a small platform resting on ten columns.

[2] Father Paul du Bourguet believed that restoration work also took place in the tenth century.