Abu Serga is the oldest church in Egypt, dating from the 5th century AD, and was built over the crypt where the Holy Family stayed during their three-week stay in Egypt. According to the account of the Evangelist Matthew, the Virgin Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus fled from Palestine to Egypt to escape the persecution of Herod the Great. The Holy Family travelled as far as Asyut ("Deir al-Muharraq") and spent several weeks in Old Cairo on their way home.
The church of Abu Serga is dedicated to two saints, Sergius and Bacchus, soldiers in the Roman army. They were faithful followers of Jesus and refused to worship the Roman gods. In the name of the Christian faith, Sergius and Bacchus were martyred in Syria in 296, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Maximinus. Their relics are partly preserved in the Abu Serga Shrine and partly buried in Syria.
The church was the site of the enthronement of several famous patriarchs and bishops from the 9th to the 12th century. Although the church has been reconstructed several times (from the 11th to the 17th centuries, with the last restoration in 2000), it still retains its medieval appearance.
Abu Serga is built on the principle of a basilica with a nave and two side aisles. The western end of the church is occupied by benches. Between the nave and the aisles are twelve columns, eleven of which are made of white marble and only one of red granite. On some of the marble columns the traces of numerals are clearly visible. Corinthian capitals, left over from older buildings, are squeezed between the tops of the columns and the wooden platbands. On the east side of the church, the chancel is separated by an imposing 13th-century wooden screen, which is decorated in ebony and ivory. Unique icons with scenes from the life of Christ, the Virgin Mary and various saints adorn the walls of the church.
The church once housed an old Egyptian altar, which was donated to the Coptic Museum. On the northwest side of the church is the baptistery. Some parts of the original woodwork and paraphernalia from the temple have been deposited in the Coptic Museum and the British Museum in London.
Of course, the main attraction is the crypt of the Holy Family, located directly under the choirs. This cave is the remains of the original church, but it is closed to the public due to the threat of the temple being flooded.
