In the Gospel of Matthew, the Virgin Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus escape from Palestine into Egypt out of fear from persecution of Herod the Great. The Holy Family traveled all the way to Assiut, and on their way back home spent several weeks in Old Cairo. Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church stand traditionally on the spot where the Holy Family rested at the end of their journey in Egypt. They may have even lived here while Joseph worked at the fortress.

The archeological site of Caesarea Philippi is situated in Banias, today a Natural Reserve in Northern Israel. At the time of Jesus it was a city of Greek-Roman culture known for worship of false gods. The city had been known as Banias, the name honoring the Greek god Pan — a half-man, half-goat deity depicted most of the time playing a flute. Here in this Holy Land destination is where Jesus proclaimed he would establish his church giving authority to the apostle Simon.