Vol.I - The Coptic Orthodox Church

124 Ancient Coptic Churches. [CH.HI.
The cedar-wood of which it is composed is un-
fortunately so much decayed that the figures cannot
easily be identified. The haikal is entirely roofed
with a small dome, the south dome of the main
building as seen from without. The wall-niche
behind the altar contains a fresco of Christ in an
aureole 1
throned, holding a gospel in the left, and
raising the right hand in benediction. North of the
altar, in a small irregular chamber which opens out of
the sanctuary, and may have been used to guard the
sacred vessels, the curved wall of the main apse
may be seen starting.
HISTORICAL NOTE ON THE CHURCH OF
ABU-'S-SIFAIN.
The materials for the history of Abu-'s-Sifain are
very scanty, and to separate the true from
legendary
the
would require much fine winnowing. But
there can be little doubt that Makrizi is mistaken in
stating that the church was built by the patriarch
Christodulus 2
, c. 1060 A. D. A very strong tradition
assigns to it an earlier origin,
and connects its
foundation with the Sultan Mu'azz, the builder of
Cairo, in the tenth century. Here is the legend as
given by Renaudot 3 .
1 '
I avoid the word vesica '
as both ugly and inappropriate.
2 Malan's History of the Copts, p. 92.
3 Hist. Pat. Alex. p. 369 seq.