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Church
Background
The
Church of St. John the Baptist is one of the oldest buildings in Maadi.
Since its consecration in April 1931, this church has served the
community of Maadi as a place for worship and solace. Although the
church is part of the Anglican/Episcopal Diocese of Egypt & North
Africa, and serves as the official Anglican/Episcopal international
church in Maadi, a southern suburb of Cairo, it serves Christians of all
denominations.
In
1920, the Anglican Church of St. John in the Wilderness, a temporary
structure, was erected by the Anglican Church Army on Road 14 in
Maadi. Then, in 1930, the present sanctuary was dedicated as the
Anglican/Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist. The first
fundraising event that preceded the groundbreaking ceremony of 1930
was held at the Diamantis Café on the Nile under the high patronage
of Lady Percy Loraine, wife of the British High Commissioner.
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The long-term
British residents had decided to replace the rickety makeshift church of
St. John in the Wilderness with a permanent structure at the corner of Port
Said and Road 17—today’s Church
of St. John the Baptist. This
fundraising event was the first in a series of fundraising activities
that culminated with the 1933 procurement from Edinburgh, Scotland of
the church organ. |
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During
World War II, the church served hundreds of troops from Australia, New
Zealand and South
Africa that congregated in Maadi. Up
until 1956, the primary attendance at the church was from the British
community in Egypt. However,
in the aftermath of the Suez War, the British were temporarily expelled
from the country. As Cairo
became increasingly a center of international diplomacy, the void was
quickly filled by an increasing number of Americans. |
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Also, large oil companies, like Amoco and
Conoco, began to have a
major impact on social and church activities in Maadi.
Today,
while Anglican/Episcopal in affiliation, the Church of St. John the Baptist serves a diverse English-speaking congregation
denominationally—such as Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans,
Baptists, etc. And many
nationalities are represented, with the majority coming from the United
States and the United Kingdom. Most
of those in attendance are professionals (USAID and oil contractors,
academics, teachers and diplomats) with their families. Lay involvement in the service is encouraged and there is a
thriving Sunday School, as well as various activities and programs for
youth and adults. In addition to the English-speaking service at 5 p.m.
on Saturday evenings, the church also has an Arabic service led by an
Egyptian Episcopal priest.
The small church
building of St. John the Baptist is today also made available for
use to a number of other Christian congregations from many nations
and liturgical backgrounds that do not have a building of their own.
These include the Maadi Community Church, and the Korean, Sudanese,
West African, French Reformed, Scandinavian and Egyptian
congregations.
As
a church congregation, we desire to encounter the living God as we meet
for worship weekly and serve the community. In this sense we look to God to use our Anglican/Episcopal
tradition of sermon and sacrament, worship and witness, praise and
prayer, meditation and petition to make us aware of that visitation of
the Lord in our lives and in our community.
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Stained glass in the church-
The Good Shepherd
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A view of inside the Church
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Icon in the sanctuary
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