Coptology

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A painting of a cross from Kellia, late 6th century. Painting of a Cross, Kellia.jpg
A painting of a cross from Kellia, late 6th century.
'Coptic Baptismal Procession' by English Pre-Raphaelite painter Simeon Solomon, 1865. CopticBaptismalProcessionSolomon.JPG
‘Coptic Baptismal Procession’ by English Pre-Raphaelite painter Simeon Solomon, 1865.

Coptology is the scientific study of the Coptic people.

Contents

Origin

The European interest in Coptology may have started as early as the 15th century AD. [1] The term was used in 1976 when the First International Congress of Coptology was held in Cairo under the title "Colloquium on the Future of Coptic Studies" (11-17 December). This was followed by the establishment of the "International Association for Coptic Studies". [2] One of the founders of the Colloquium and the Association was Pahor Labib, director of the Coptic Museum in Cairo during 1951-65. The words 'Coptology' and 'Coptologist' were introduced into the English language by Aziz Suryal Atiya. [3]

Worldwide institutions

There are now institutions that give more or less regular courses of Coptology in 47 countries around the world, including Australia, Great Britain, Canada, Germany, Israel, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. A rotating chair of Coptic studies was opened at the American University in Cairo in 2002. [4]

Divisions

Journals

Prominent Coptologists

See also

Related Research Articles

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Mark II was the 49th Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria from 26 January 799 until his death.

Saint Agathon of Alexandria, was the 39th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. St. Agathon was a disciple of Pope Benjamin I, the 38th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church so when Pope Benjamin had to flee to avoid persecution by the Chalcedonians, Agathon remained and led the church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Michael I of Alexandria</span> Head of the Coptic Church from 743 to 767

Michael I was the 46th Coptic Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria from 743 to 767.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coptic Museum</span> Museum in Coptic Cairo, Egypt

The Coptic Museum is a museum in Coptic Cairo, Egypt with the largest collection of Coptic Christian artifacts in the world. It was founded by Marcus Simaika in 1908 to house Coptic antiquities. The museum traces the history of Egypt from its beginnings to the present day. It was erected on 8,000 square meter land offered by the Coptic Orthodox Church, under the guardianship of Pope Cyril V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coptic literature</span>

Coptic literature is the body of writings in the Coptic language of Egypt, the last stage of the indigenous Egyptian language. It is written in the Coptic alphabet. The study of the Coptic language and literature is called Coptology.

Aziz Suryal Atiya was an Egyptian Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies.

The Coptic Encyclopedia is an eight-volume work covering the history, theology, language, art, architecture, archeology and hagiography of Coptic Egypt. The encyclopedia was written by over 250 Western and Egyptian contributing experts in the field of Coptology, history, art and theology and was edited by Aziz Suryal Atiya. It was funded by Coptic Pope Shenouda III, the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pahor Labib</span> Egyptian egyptologist (1905–1994)

Pahor Labib was Director of the Coptic Museum, Cairo, Egypt, from 1951 to 1965 and one of the world leaders in Egyptology and Coptology.

Abu l-Makārim Saʿdullāh ibn Jirjis ibn Masʿūd (d.1208) was a priest of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in the thirteenth century. Abu al-Makarim is best known as the author of a famous work entitled History of Churches and Monasteries. This was written around 1200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claudius Labib</span>

Claudius Iohannes Labib was a Coptic Egyptian Egyptologist. His family was known for copying church books. He used to accompany his father to the Al-Mouharak Monastery to learn Coptic with the monks. He was the youngest of three brothers, the eldest being Pahor and the middle being Tadros. Labib learned Egyptian hieroglyphs from the French Egyptologists and was the second modern Egyptian to learn this ancient language. Claudius Labib is credited for making the first Coptic-Arabic Dictionary. He died before finishing it. Claudius Labib was the chief editor of "On" magazine which had articles written in Coptic. He also pioneered educational books for children named ⲁϧⲱⲙⲫⲁⲧ (Akhomphat).

Stephen Emmel is a Coptologist and musician.

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Longinus was the hegumenos of the Enaton, a monastic community outside Alexandria in Roman Egypt. He is the subject of a Sahidic Coptic hagiography, the Life of Saints Longinus and Lucius the Ascetics, and a Sahidic homily, In Honour of Longinus, by Bishop Basil of Oxyrhynchus.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred J. Butler</span> British ancient historian (1850 - 1936)

Alfred Joshua Butler F.S.A. was a British ancient historian, specialized in the history of the Copts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copto-Arabic literature</span> Literature written by Copts in Arabic

Copto-Arabic literature is the literature of the Copts written in Arabic. It is distinct from Coptic literature, which is literature written in the Coptic language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Coptic</span> Earliest stage of Coptic

Old Coptic is the earliest stage of Coptic writing, a form of late Egyptian written in Coptic script, a variant of the Greek alphabet. It "is an analytical category … utilised by scholars to refer to a particular group of sources" and not a language, dialect or singular writing system. Scholars differ on the exact boundaries of the Old Coptic corpus and thus on the definition of "Old Coptic". Generally, it can be said that Old Coptic texts use more letters of Demotic derivation than later literary Coptic. They lack the consistent script style and borrowed Greek vocabulary of later Coptic literature. Some even use exclusively Greek letters. Moreover, they are generally or exclusively of Egyptian pagan origin, as opposed to later literary Coptic texts, which are strongly associated with Coptic Christianity and to a lesser extent Gnosticism and Manichaeism.

References

  1. Hamilton, Alastair (2006-07-27). The Copts and the West, 1439-1822: The European Discovery of the Egyptian Church. OUP Oxford. ISBN   9780199288779.
  2. International Association for Coptic Studies Archived 2011-02-01 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Amazon.com: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more" . Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  4. What is Coptology?, Al-Ahram Weekly Archived September 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine