ACCOT Launch
On Coptic New Year, St Cyril’s officially launched a new academic resource which we hope will make a small contribution to the witness of Coptic Christianity to the wider world: the Archive of Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Theology (or ACCOT): https://accot.stcyrils.edu.au/
ACCOT is a digital tool for the study of modern Coptic Orthodox theology, featuring translations of Arabic texts by Coptic authors as well as information on their lives and a number of tools and resources to support scholars and students working in the emerging field of contemporary Coptic studies.
On a broader scale, it also aims to restore the voices of important figures in contemporary Coptic history whose names and literary legacies have been almost entirely forgotten by English-speaking Copts (such as Bishop Samuel of Social Services, Bishop Gregorius of Scientific Research and the historian Iris Habib el-Masri). Some highlights currently accessible on the site:
- Two papal letters by Pope Kyrillos VI (1959 and 1960)
- A papal edict by Pope Kyrillos V (1907) on pastoral care
- A paper on Coptic doctrine (2017) by the late Bishop Epiphanius
- A complete translation of Bishop Samuel’s “Life and Hope” (1964)
- A complete translation of Bishop Youannis of Gharbiyya’s book “Our Lady the Virgin: Mother of All the Saints” (1997)
with many others currently on the site, and even more to be added in the future.
ACCOT is the fruit of more than a year’s collaboration between St Cyril’s, Prof. Nelly van Doorn-Harder (Wake Forest University) and a number of scholars, translators, publishers and volunteers from Australia, Egypt, Europe and the US.If you would like to contribute to this project (especially by translating or providing primary sources) please contact us.
