The Church of Saint Mercurius served as the Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria between 1300 and 1500 AD and is perhaps the only one in Cairo with its original foundation intact.

[3] Afterwards, in 1080, 47 bishops met in the church by order of the Fatimid vizier Badr Al-Gamal to establish the Coptic canons.

[3] The central sanctuary screen consists of ebony inlaid with crosses and squares of thin plated ivory.

[3] The choir holds sixty-three icons made by Orhan Karabedian, while the nave contains a beautiful ambon consisting of mosaics which rest on fifteen columns.

Like many other old Coptic Orthodox churches that were rebuilt and restored time and again over the centuries, often re-using wood and stone-work.