Iris Habib Elmasry (إيريس حبيب المصري) was a prominent

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 ...

Historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

(1910–1994).

Biography

Iris Habib Elmasry was born into a Coptic family in 1910. Her family name ''Elmasry'' in the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

means

The Egyptian ''The Egyptian'' (''Sinuhe egyptiläinen'', Sinuhe the Egyptian) is a historical novel by Mika Waltari. It was first published in Finnish in 1945, and in an abridged English translation by Naomi Walford in 1949, from Swedish rather than Finnish ...

. Her father Habib Elmasry was the secretary of the General Congregation Council of the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

. She had two brothers; Amin, who was a prominent surgeon, and died in the 1960s, and Sami who was director of the Egyptian State Bureau for Tourism in London, and three sisters; Eva, who helped Iris in her work, Soraya, an avid pianist, and Dora, who was married to Dr Aziz El Masry Habib Elmasry was the secretary of the General Congregation council for three terms, and was known for his strong support of ordination of a monk to be the

Coptic pope The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ, translit=Papa; ar, البابا, translit=al-Bābā), also known as the Bishop of Alexandria, is the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, with ancient Christian roots in Egypt. The ...

and not a metropolitan or a bishop. This issue caused an ongoing dispute in the Coptic Orthodox Church and although

The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the highest Orthodox authority in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It formulates the rules and regulations regarding matters of the Church's organisation and faith. The synod is chaired by ...

had considered in the 1960s the general bishops to be secretaries to the pope in the degree of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, Iris Elmasry in her

List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria The following is a list of all of the Coptic Orthodox popes who have led the Coptic Orthodox Church and have succeeded the Apostle Mark the Evangelist in the office of Bishop of Alexandria, who founded the Church in the 1st century, and marked ...

considered Pope Shenouda III (1971–2012), who was a general bishop before, to be the fourth bishop to become a pope after Popes John XIX (1928–1942), Macarius III (1942–1944)and

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

(1946–1956). Elmasry received her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in education from Maria Grey College,

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1932. Between 1952 and 1954, she pursued her research at Dropsie College,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, and in 1955, she went to the

National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, to obtain further materials and documents. In 1954, Pope

appointed Elmasry as the female delegate of the Coptic Church to the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Evanston, Illinois, USA. From 1955 to 1985 Elmasry continued to lecture in

Coptic History Coptic history is the part of the history of Egypt that begins with the introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the 1st century AD during the Roman period, and covers the history of the Copts to the present day. Many of the historic items relate ...

at both the Seminary in Cairo and Alexandria and at the

Institute of Coptic Studies The Institute of Coptic Studies (معهد الدراسات القبطية) was founded in 1954 by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It is based in Cairo. Description The institute is the Egyptian church's main research centre in subjects ...

. She died on July 2, 1994.

Work

Elmasry took interest in the history of the

and in 1948 published the first volume of her nine-volumes book '' Story of the Coptic church''. The seventh volume of this history is about the era of Pope Cyril VI (1959–1971): the book shows how highly appreciative she was of His Holiness's work. She considered

Abouna Matta El Meskeen Father Matta El Meskeen (English: Matthew the Poor; 20 September 1919 – 8 June 2006), born Youssef Iskandar, was a Coptic Orthodox monk. He was the key figure in the revival of Coptic monasticism which began in 1969 when he was appointed to ...

the Spiritual Father of the

Monks A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedicat ...

in St. Macarius'

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

in Scetis (

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

) as her mentor and always expressed gratitude to him in the introductions to her books and also to father

Bishoy Kamel Bishoy Kamel also spelled Bishoi Kamel (; 1931–1979), was a priest of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Life He was born Samy Kamel in Sers el-Lyan, Monufia Governorate, Egypt, in 1931. later moving to Damenhour where he received hi ...

of Alexandria. Pope Youssab II, the 115th Pope (1946–1956), appointed Elmasry in 1954 as his secretary for correspondence with the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

. His successor Pope Kyrillos VI, the 116th Pope (1959–1971), appointed her in 1966 as Counselor to young Coptic women. While Elmasry's Arabic language publications are among the most widely quoted in the historical literature of the Coptic Church, her impressive work as a theologian, politician, psychologist, educator, and philanthropist is not as widely known. An article by Saad (2009) presents an introduction to her contributions to certain areas of politics and theology, while exploring in more detail unique features of her writing that may offer a framework for Coptic feminine theology. Elmasry's work was very thorough: she made every effort not to omit details that she considered important. As a result, her work is more detailed, and of greater use to both academic and non-academic readers; is valuable for any researcher in

Coptic history Coptic history is the part of the history of Egypt that begins with the introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the 1st century AD during the Roman period, and covers the history of the Copts to the present day. Many of the historic items relate ...

and provides a comprehensive approach to the history of Christianity in Egypt and point of view of the

Coptic Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

regarding many debatable issue like

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; la, Concilium Chalcedonense), ''Synodos tēs Chalkēdonos'' was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bith ...

. In the introduction to the first volume of her nine volumes book on the history of the Coptic Church, she mentions a conversation she had with a non-Egyptian about

, during which she explained the Coptic view regarding the council. She used a lot of sources in her work and mentioned many known scripts in different languages. Her work shows clear affection towards her church, and high esteem for certain people in the church’s history. This may be the reason behind the way she presented the history of Pope Cyril III in comparison to the way it was presented in Abouna

Menassa Youhanna Father Menassa Youhanna (1899–1930) was a Coptic priest, historian and theologian, most noted for his work on the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Biography He was born in August, 1899 in Mallawi in Upper Egypt and died on ...

's book ''History of the Coptic Church''.

Books

* ''The Blessed Virgin'' (1970) * ''Habib Pascha El Masry'' (1971) * ''The Story of the Copts'', first published in 1975 by the Middle East Council of Churches, * ''Introduction to the Coptic Church'', published in English in 1977 * ''Women in the Church'' (1979) * ''The Pharaonic Influence on Modern Coptic Life'' (1980) * ''Bishop Samuel'' (1983) * ''Father Bishoy Kamel'' (1980)

References

External links

Iris Habib Elmasry — Archive of Contemporary Coptic Orthodox TheologyStory of The Copts Part 1 By Iris Habib Elmasry PDF fileStory of The Copts Part 2 By Iris Habib Elmasry PDF file
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elmasry, Iris Habib History of Christianity in Egypt Coptic Orthodox Christians from Egypt Coptic history 1910 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Egyptian historians Alumni of the University of London Dropsie College alumni Family: Nada Gregory and her granddaughter Mariam Gabalawy

Biography

Work

Books

See also

References

External links