Coptology is the scientific study of the

Coptic people Copts (; ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to Northeast Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are, like the broader Egyptian population, descended from the ancient Egyptians. Copts pre ...

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 ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

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''; 19 September 1905 at Ain Shams, Cairo – 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. Earl ...

, 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 b ...

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

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

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; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...

in 2002.What is Coptology?
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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 ...

Divisions

* Art and textiles *

Language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

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 construction, constructi ...

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

Journals

''Coptologia'' publications - Journal of Coptic Thought and Spirituality''Journal of Coptic Studies''
*''

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

Prominent Coptologists

References

External links

International Association for Coptic Studiesموقع الدراسات القبطية والأرثوذكسية
{{Authority control Coptic culture Coptic history Coptic language Cultural studies