Perhaps the most exciting element of Abu Serga (apart from its age) is the cave beneath the sanctuary, where some Christians believe Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus took sanctuary while fleeing Herod’s Massacre of the Innocents. However, the chapel that provides access is usually locked. There’s no entrance fee to visit the church, and it’s easy to stop by on a guided or self-guided walking tour of Coptic Cairo. Some Old Cairo tours also take in the church, which is close to other Coptic attractions.
Coptic churches are conservative spaces: both men and women should wear modest clothing that covers the legs, arms, shoulders, belly, and chest.
Abu Serga is not suitable for travelers using wheelchairs due to a short flight of steps leading down from the main entrance.
Most tours and visitors spend only a few minutes in Abu Serga.
Positioned in the heart of Coptic Cairo, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) south of Tahrir Square, Abu Serga is just a couple of minutes away from the Mar Girgis metro station (line 1). The church is a stone’s throw from the Church of St. George, Church of St. Barbara, Hanging Church, and Coptic Museum.
Abu Serga is open from morning until afternoon seven days a week, and there is no admission charge. Every year on June 1, a special mass commemorates the time that Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus are believed to have spent in the cave under the church.
Christianity goes back to the first century in Egypt, and the Copts are the nation’s homegrown Christians, led by their own Coptic pope. Coptic Cairo is a part of Old Cairo that’s known for its Coptic churches and monuments. Highlights include the Hanging Church, Babylon Fortress, Church of St. George, Church of St. Barbara, Coptic Museum, and, of course, the Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus.
