Coptic Studies

The Iryan Moftah Collection of Coptic Books and Manuscripts represents an important source on Coptic religion and language. Iryan Moftah (1826-1886) was a religious scholar and Coptic language specialist who introduced what became the prevalent form of the language used by the Coptic church in the 19th century and beyond.  Appointed as a teacher at the Clerical College established by Coptic pope Cyril IV, Moftah wrote grammar manuals and co-authored liturgical books.  These works were instrumental in the development of the Greco-Bohairic dialect, which incorporated Greek letters and rules of modern Greek pronunciation. 

The collection contains sixteen manuscripts owned by Iryan Moftah, including several he wrote.  The great majority of the manuscripts are religious in nature, including Bibles, compilations of individual books of the New Testament, and prayer books.  Also included are works relating to biblical commentary, hagiography, Church fathers, monasticism, theology, and philosophy. One of the manuscripts, for example, represents a 1787 volume of doctrinal essays and sermons written by fourth-century Church leaders; another, written in 1843, includes excerpts from the sayings of Saint John Chrysostom translated from Greek into Arabic. Most of the manuscripts are written on paper in the Bohairic dialect, probably by monastic copyists. Six manuscripts were written by Moftah himself, two on the grammatical principles of the Coptic dialect he developed, and four on religious practice, devotion, and cosmology. 

The collection also contains 27 books published between the late 18th century and the end of the 19th century.  Most are Coptic theological and philosophical works, including copies of the Old and New Testaments, treatises, and dissertations on Christian Greco-Roman and Coptic history. The works of early Greek and Coptic Christian scholars and thinkers, such as 4th-century theologian Saint John Chrysostom, are also found in the collection.  An important Coptic scholar whose works are found in the collection is Bishop Butrus al-Sadamanti, who wrote on the hermeneutics of the biblical exegesis of Coptic and Arabic texts. 

This collection has been digitized, and is available online.

Ragheb Moftah (1898-2001) was a leading figure in the study of Coptic music, and like his great-uncle, Iryan Moftah dedicated his life to preserving an endangered aspect of Coptic heritage. Ragheb Moftah spent much of the twentieth century making field recordings of liturgical chants and hymns, collecting from cantors the orally transmitted music which accompanies the Coptic Orthodox Church religious services. Considered one of the oldest forms of liturgical music, such works are thought to possess roots in the musical traditions of pharaonic ancient Egypt. The Moftah Archives Collection contains audio cassette field recordings of the liturgical music made throughout the twentieth century.  It also includes correspondence, diaries, notebooks, scrapbooks, articles, videotapes, and photographs.

Coptic art is addressed in the archives of architect Ramses Wissa Wassef and RBSCL photograph collections, as well as in scholarly books and journals. The experience and contributions of Copts in modern Egypt are also reflected in various primary and secondary sources.