ICC Note: With the Middle East in turmoil and the threat of Islamic insurgency in Egypt, many Christians have left the country. Despite this tragedy and Egypt’s unfortunate human right’s conditions, Coptic Egyptians still worship Jesus. In one cave church outside of Cairo, nearly 70,000 Christians attend weekly to carry on tradition and worship their savior. The cave is know as the Monastery of Saint Simon and is located in the “garbage city.”

06/28/2016 Egypt (Gospel Herald):A “Cave Church” in Egypt is one of the largest churches in the country, a place where 70,000-plus Christians gather every week to worship and praise Jesus — a place that’s home to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities. The cave, also known as the Monastery of Saint Simon, is located in the Mokattam mountain in southeastern Cairo, in an area known as “garbage city” due to the large population of garbage collectors, or Zabbaleen, that live there.

More than 90 percent of the Zabbaleen community members in the Mokattam Village are Coptic Christians. Being in the Arabic world, surrounded by all Islam-dominated countries, it is challenging to maintain the custom and continue their Coptic culture, reports Christians Voice.

Christians Voice reports church communities in Egypt have been declining as the country’s residents dealt with political turmoil, a slumping economy and a growing militant insurgency. The exodus of Christians intensified fears for the future for Christianity in the Middle East (Arab World), as some now worry for the fate of Egypt’s Christians.

“Mostly they’re travelling to the US to find better opportunities because of uncertainties in Egypt,” Rev. Markos Ayoub, a priest who leads the Sunday liturgy at St. Mark in English, told Christians Voice. “It’s not easy to be a Coptic Christian in the Middle East these days, considering the militant insurgency in Egypt.”

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