SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

Since Paul van Moorsel was not only a great scholar and a great friend of the Copts, but also very much alive to the necessity of stimulating scholarly activity and historical awareness among the Copts themselves, I hope and expect that my message will, nevertheless, reflect something of his spirit. Next year, the Seventh International Congress of Coptic Studies will take place in Leiden in Holland. The date, 2000, is historical, as we will be entering a new century, even a new millennium. It is therefore appropriate not only to look backward, but to look forward, but to look forward as well. Looking forward, I find that it is my great hope that the new century, as far as Coptic studies are concerned, will be marked by the rise of a new generation of Coptic scholars, recruited from among the Copts themselves. By “a new generation of Coptic scholars”, I mean “new” not only in terms of age but first of all in terms of outlook, of approach. I think these young Copts should be armed with a new approach to their history and their heritage, an approach which should be scientific, without being anti-clerical or anti-religious, which should be national, without being nationalist, and which should enable Copts to capitalize their history instead of being its slave. The new generation of Coptic Scholars, for which I hope, does not need an excuse to be a Copt and to study objects like the languages, literature or history of Christian Egypt. They will study these subjects out of love for the subjects themselves: out of desire to know and to discover, searching to reveal hidden treasures of human knowledge and hidden fields of past human activity. In order that their scholarly work be productive and intellectually stimulating, it will not take place in isolation, but it will be fully integrated into the activities of the international scholarly community. At this point, next year’s Coptic Congress in Leiden comes in. A four-yearly congress like ours, which is the most important event of its kind in the field of Coptic studies, sets, in an indirect way, the standards and paradigms of scholarly research in this field and points out new directions. It is

important to realize, however, that these standards and paradigms of scholarly research are not eternal entities, given once and for all. Rather, they are floating attitudes which are periodically redefined in the course of an ongoing exchange of insights and information. To stimulate this exchange of information and opinions is the real purpose of congresses like ours. In such a dialogue, Coptic scholars cannot be missed. On the one hand, because they should have full access to the streams of insights and knowledge which surface during such a congress. On the other hand, because many non-Coptic scholars need to be reminded periodically of the living tradition that exists, a living tradition from which still so much can be learned. In my opinion, an “Association for Coptic Studies” is not the same as an “Association for Coptic antiquities”. Moreover, we, non-Copts, are often mere guests, working in a garden which, although part of the Christian landscape at large, is not our own. The relations between guests and hosts can flourish only if there is a common language. Creating and redefining our common language in the field of scholarly research should perhaps be the first aim of next year’s Coptic congress. In order to achieve this aim, to stimulate the exchange of information and opinions, we have created a programme which tries to optimize discussion. Next to offering opportunity for individual scholars to present their own research- projects, there will be moments of synthesis represented by the traditional main-papers, read during the plenary sessions. A relatively new feature is the organisation of work-shops devoted to special themes. Besides, there will be plenty of opportunity for informal contact. The five working days of the Congress are scheduled so as to combine all these different aspects of scholarly communication. During the earlier part of the mornings, plenary sessions will take place, devoted to reports on recent developments in ten major domains of Coptic studies (i.e. language; literature; papyrology; art; archaeology; monasticism; liturgy; Egyptian

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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