The oldest church building in Africa

Christianity was first well established in Northern Africa within the first few centuries after Christ. And from a solid foundation in North Africa, it spread deeper into the heart of the continent.

The oldest church founded in Africa is the Church of Alexandria in Egypt, said to have been founded by Saint Mark who also authored one of the gospels. 

But the oldest known church building in Africa is the ABU MENA MONASTERY, located in the Mariut desert, in the Governorate of Alexandria in Egypt. It was a Coptic Orthodox Monastery and church building. 

Abu Mena Monastery, Egypt

It is now in ruins but protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. UNESCO says the church, baptistry, basilicas, public buildings, streets, monasteries, houses and workshops in this early Christian city were built over the tomb of the martyr Menas of Alexandria, who died in 296. 

Wikipedia says the city complex and basilica as well as the monastery were sacked and destroyed in the 7th century by Arab invaders.

However, the oldest monastery and church building in Africa that still exists is the MONASTERY OF ST. ANTHONY, founded by followers of St. Anthony in the Eastern Desert of Egypt in the late 4th century. It was partially destroyed in the 11th century and rebuilt, and very little of the original structure remains today. Hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains, it is located 208 miles southeast of Cairo and is open to visits.

Monastery of Saint Anthony, Egypt 

Coptic Christians are called Copts. They were the originators of Christian monasticism. Monasticism is a religious way of life in which priests renounce living in the world and instead live in monasteries—and sometimes by themselves as hermits.

The word Copt is derived from the Greek word for Egyptian. After the Muslim conquest of Egypt, it became restricted to those Egyptians adhering to Christianity. Egypt’s Copts are considered the largest community of Christians in the Middle East. And majority of Copts belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

They have their own Pope who holds the official title: Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic Seat of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

Sources: The Gospel Coalition, Aleteia, Wikipedia.