The ''Coptic Encyclopedia'' is an eight-volume work covering the history, theology, language, art, architecture, archeology and hagiography of

Coptic Egypt Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are C ...

. The encyclopedia was written by over 250 Western and Egyptian contributing experts in the field of

Coptology Coptology is the science of Coptic studies, the study of the Coptic language and Coptic literature.What is C ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, art and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

and was edited 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 I ...

. It was funded by

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 ...

Shenouda III, the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropy, philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, aft ...

, the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

, and others.

Characteristics

The ''Coptic Encyclopedia'' is the first Encyclopedia to focus on one of the Oriental Churches

Cornelis Hulsman Cornelis Hulsman is a Dutch sociologist who has lived for years in Egypt since 1994. He is currently the editor in chief of the Arab-West Report, which is a report that includes a weekly digest of various Egyptian press outlets. Hulsman is furthe ...

in ''

Coptic Church Review ''Coptic Church Review'' is a Coptic Orthodox publication; published in the United States and founded in 1980 by Doctor Rodolph Yanney, president of the Society of Coptic Church Studies, in the US. It was originally based in East Brunswick, New Je ...

'', Vol. 13, no. 3, Fall 1992 and since its publication in 1991 it has been used by many scholars and students in the West. The ''Encyclopedia'' is the fruit of the Coptic emigrant community in the West and the crown of the work of

, who did not live to see his work carried into print. Atiya developed the vision to publish an encyclopedia during the years he taught at the

Middle East Center Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ( ...

of the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. He formed an editorial committee and scholars from all over the world were asked to contribute. Suggestions for entries were given. The work started in 1980. Contributors included many non-Orthodox scholars, including such Muslims as Mustafa el-Fiqi and

Ali el-Hillal Dessouki ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 common era, CE) was the last of four Rashidun, Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was ...

. The Coptic community in the West played a role in increasing Western interest in Egyptian church life. If the interest in a ''Coptic Encyclopedia'' in English had not existed and if the project of the ''Coptic Encyclopedia'' had not received support in the Coptic migrant community in North America, the idea of producing an English ''Coptic Encyclopedia'' would have never materialized. The production of this ''Encyclopedia'' is therefore strongly linked to the growth of the Coptic migrant community in the West. Coptic Orthodox Church leader Pope Shenouda III himself contributed to the entry about emigration. In no period of Coptic history have as many Copts migrated to the west as during the Papacy of Pope Shenouda. In 2009, the

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges which includes five undergraduate ( Pomona College, Claremont McKenna ...

(CGU) School of Religion acquired the right to develop an updated and continuously expanding and evolving web-based version of the ''Coptic Encyclopedia''.

Notes

References

Claremont ''Coptic Encyclopedia''
at the Claremont Colleges Digital Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Coptic Encyclopedia Coptic history Christian encyclopedias Encyclopedias of culture and ethnicity African encyclopedias 1991 non-fiction books 20th-century encyclopedias 21st-century encyclopedias

External links

Aziz Suryal Atiya Papers
a
University of Utah Digital LibraryMarriott Library Special Collections

Characteristics

See also

Notes

References

External links