Making history with Coptic Studies

Members of the Coptic community and representatives from Macquarie University at the historic signing of the agreement.

An innovative collaboration between church, university and community has extended Macquarie's expertise in Egyptology to a course focused on the Coptic Period.

"No other university offers anything like this-sadly, not even in Egypt," says Peter Hanna.

He and Lisa Agailby are both of Egyptian background. They enrolled to study Egyptology because they had a keen interest in their own ancient history. Their enthusiasm led them to become catalysts for the new course. 

It began this year, and is available to undergraduates as part of an Arts degree, or as a Masters. It can be accessed online so that anyone in the diaspora or beyond can study it.

The first Coptic priest led the first mass in Sydney on Australia Day 1969, in a hired hall. Now there are some 40,000 Coptic Christians in Sydney, 16 churches, three schools, a monastery and a theological college.

A new collaboration with the community

At the end of 2002, Hanna and Agailby approached Professor Naguib Kanawati about a Coptic Studies unit that drew on historical evidence, and the art, architecture and iconography connected with the Church. The Professor immediately suggested a full course.

Within a year an agreement had been signed by His Grace Bishop Daniel on behalf of the Church, with the University.

Three experts were flown to Australia to give a public lecture attended by members of the community. As a result, the University employed Dr Heike Behlmer.

"The Bishop's support was amazing. He saw this as an historical moment," says Hanna. "We're shedding light on a part of history that in our home country was darkened, because no-one is given the opportunity to learn about it."

Religion in Egypt

From ancient times, religion has been important to Egyptians. "We all know the Pyramids, and the importance of religion didn't change much for the Christian era," says Hanna. "The Coptic period starts when St Mark came to Alexandria to preach Christianity."

In today's Egypt, where 90 per cent of people are Muslim there are still Orthodox Christians. Religious, social and economic factors were some of the major reasons that caused Hanna's father's family to move to Australia, to broaden their life chances. His generation and Peter's have done well. Hanna is a software engineer who took Egyptology as a mature age student.

"It's the opportunities that Australia offers, independent of race, sex, religion," he says. "We love the freedom and fairness of this remarkable country."

A world centre

People will now look to Macquarie as a world centre not just in Egyptology but also in Coptic Studies.

"We're also tapping into the Coptic community internationally, through huge youth conferences of about 1000 people held in Europe and the United States every year," says Hanna.

To find out more about the Coptic Studies course, email Dr Heike Behlmer on Heike.Behlmer@humn.mq.edu.au and see the Department of Ancient History website at www.anchist.mq.edu.au

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