Egyptians & Ethiopians were the first Christians. In fact, the 3 canonized Bibles were written by Greeks in Alexandria (from my understanding, someone please feel free to correct me.) So if you want the closest thing to the original teachings of Jesus (as) look at the Orthodox Churches of Egypt & Ethiopia.
The first gnostics were also Egyptians & were keepers of hidden documents, scriptures & teachings, some of them have been found & taken by the Catholic Church. Some of them have been destroyed & some lost forever to time or remain hidden for safety.
Even though I am not Christian, I felt at peace in the churches we visited because unlike old European churches, they’re still functioning as churches & they are not tourist sites or museums. I absolutely loved being present for the prayers of the young boys you see in the video, it sounds just like Zikr (Sufi Remembrance & Chanting).
The thing about Egyptians is that we love God, we love our religions, we love our Prophets & Messengers & we are obsessed with the afterlife. We are believers & we honor the sacred. We’ve been like this since the beginning of time.
In the photos you see several churches including the Church of St. George (who is also the Saint Sayidna Khidr [as] in Islam), The Church of the Virgin Mary [as] & the Hanging Church. People have seen apparitions of our Mother Mary (as) at the Hanging Church, which had been the central church for Egypt’s Christians & the place of the Coptic Pope for over a thousand years. The churches clearly have Greek & Roman influence but you will also see the occasional Ancient Egyptian or Islamic motifs.
The last photo you see is an Ancient Egyptian depiction of two hands holding each other & symbolizes the unity in our religions & the popular Egyptian chant “Eid Wahda” or “One Hand”. We are one family here in Egypt regardless of religion. May our Indigenous Christian kin thrive & be protected in their lands forever insha Allah. 🙏🏽
[There is also an ancient synagogue & mosque in this area. I will post more photos of the synagogue & the churches in my stories iA.] ⛪
