Coptology is the science of

Copt Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christians, Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since Ancient history, antiqui ...

ic studies, the study of the

Coptic language Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: , ) is a language family of closely related dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Egyptian language, and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third-century AD in Roman Egypt. Coptic ...

and

Coptic literature 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. Definition ...

.What is Coptology?
''

Al-Ahram Weekly ''Al-Ahram Weekly'' is an English-language weekly broadsheet printed by the Al-Ahram Publishing House in Cairo, Egypt. History and profile ''Al Ahram Weekly'' was established in 1991 by the ''Al-Ahram'' newspaper, which also runs a French-langu ...

Origin

The European interest in Coptology may have started as early as the 15th century AD. The term was used in 1976 when the First International Congress of Coptology was held in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

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". International Association for Coptic Studies
One of the founders of the Colloquium and the Association was

Pahor Labib Pahor Labib (; Arabic: باهور لبيب ''Bahur Labib''; born 19 September 1905 at Ain Shams, Cairo; died 7 May 1994) was Director of the Coptic Museum, Cairo, Egypt, from 1951 to 1965 and one of the world leaders in Egyptology and Coptology ...

, director of the

Coptic Museum 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 be ...

during 1951-65. The words 'Coptology' and 'Coptologist' were introduced into the English language by

Aziz Suryal Atiya Aziz Suryal Atiya ( ar, عزيز سوريال عطية, ; July 5, 1898 – September 24, 1988) was an Egyptian Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies. Atiya was the founder of the Ins ...

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 The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...

in 2002.

Divisions

* Art and textiles *

Language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

Architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

Literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

Journals

Coptologia Publications - Journal of Coptic Thought and SpiritualityJournal of Coptic Studies
*

Göttinger Miszellen ''Göttinger Miszellen'' (often abbreviated as GM) is a scientific journal published by the Seminar für Ägyptologie und Koptologie (Göttingen, Germany) which contains short scholarly articles on Egyptological, Coptological, and other related s ...

Prominent Coptologists

O. H. E. Burmester Oswald Hugh Ewart KHS-Burmester (1897 in Sandy, Bedfordshire – 22 November 1977 in Cairo) was a British specialist in Arabic Coptology. He is best known as the translator of most of the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria. In his later work ...

Christian Cannuyer Christian Cannuyer (born 17 December 1957) is a Belgian historian of religion, professor at the Lille Catholic University, a specialist in Coptic studies and a genealogist. Career Christian Cannuyer teaches ancient Near Eastern religions, Ch ...

Walter Ewing Crum Walter Ewing Crum (22 July 186518 May 1944) was a Scottish Coptologist, or scholar in Coptic language and literature. In 1939 he completed ''A Coptic Dictionary,'' a dictionary of translations from Coptic to English. Early life and education T ...

Iris Habib Elmasry Iris Habib Elmasry (إيريس حبيب المصري) was a prominent Coptic Historian (1910–1994). Biography Iris Habib Elmasry was born into a Coptic family in 1910. Her family name ''Elmasry'' in the Arabic language means The Egyptian. Her f ...

Stephen Emmel Stephen Emmel is a Coptologist and musician. Academic career Stephen Emmel was born in Rochester, NY, 27 June 1952, and earned his B.A. from Syracuse University in 1973 (department of religion). He began graduate study with James M. Robinson, wh ...

Nabila Erian Nabila M. Erian (Arabic: نبيلة عريان, born 1941) is a professor of vocal sciences at the Cairo Conservatoire, Academy of Arts. Her career as a leading soprano opera singer debuted in 1960. She is also an expert on the history of Coptic ...

Gawdat Gabra Dr. Gawdat Gabra (born 1947) ( ar, جودت جبرا, Coptic: Ⲅⲁⲩⲇⲁⲧ Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲁ) is a Coptologist; he finished his bachelor's degree in Egyptian Antiquities – Cairo University 1967 and PhD in Coptic Antiquities University of Mü ...

Rodolphe Kasser Rodolphe Kasser (14 January 1927 – 8 October 2013), was a Swiss philologist, archaeologist, and a Coptic scholar. He was an expert in translation of ancient Coptic language manuscripts. Biography Born in Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland, Kasse ...

Otto Friedrich August Meinardus Otto Friedrich August Meinardus was a German Coptologist and pastor (September 25, 1925 – September 18, 2005) who wrote numerous books and articles about Coptic Christianity in Egypt. Early life Meinardus was born in Hamburg in 1925, where h ...

Jozef Vergote Jozef Antoon Leo Maria Vergote (1910–1992) was a Flemish Egyptologist and Coptologist. He was born on 16 March 1910 in Gent, Belgium. He received his doctorate degree in classical philology and oriental languages in 1932 from the Catholic Univer ...

Hilde Zaloscer Prof. Dr. Hilde (Hildegard) Zaloscer (Zaloszer) (15 June 1903 – 20 December 1999) was an art historian, Egyptologist, Coptologist, essayist, novelist and a prominent expert of Coptic history and art. Biography Zaloscer was born in Tuzla, Bosnia H ...

References

External links

International Association for Coptic Studiesموقع الدراسات القبطية والأرثوذكسية
Coptic culture Coptic history Coptic language Cultural studies {{cultural-studies-stub