The Institute of Coptic Studies (معهد الدراسات القبطية) was founded in 1954 by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It is based in Cairo

Cairo

Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

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The institute is the Egyptian church's main research centre in subjects of Coptology

Coptology

Coptology is most commonly defined as the science of Coptic studies, the study of Coptic language and literature.-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...

 and for shared in many research about different aspect of Coptology since its establishment.
The Copt

Copt

The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....

ic painters Isaac Fanous

Isaac Fanous

Isaac Fanous was an Egyptian artist and scholar, who specialized in Coptic art and founded its contemporary school.-Early life and teaching:...

 and Adel Nassief

Adel Nassief

Adel Nassief is a Coptic painter specializing in Coptic art. He has some work on display on the external wall of a Coptic church in Paris and some work in the Cairo modern art museum and in Coptic churches in Damanhour and Alexandria...

 studied in the institute.

The institute is involved in postgraduate studies in Coptic subjects including Coptic music

Coptic music

Coptic music is the music sung and played in the Coptic Orthodox Church . It consists mainly of chanted hymns in rhythm with instruments such as cymbals and the triangle...

, Coptic art

Coptic art

Coptic art is a term used either for the art of Egypt produced in the early Christian era or for the art produced by the Coptic Christians themselves. Coptic art is most well known for its wall-paintings, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and metalwork, much of which survives in monasteries and...

, Coptic iconography and Coptic history

Coptic history

Coptic history is part of history of Egypt that begins with the introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the 1st century AD during the Roman period, and covers the history of the Copts to the present day...

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One of the teachers was Mikhail Girgis El Batanouny

Mikhail Girgis El Batanouny

Cantor Mikhail Girgis El Batanouny was an expert in Coptic music, and knowledgeable in church rites, in addition to being skilled in the languages of Coptic and Arabic....

, the Coptic music expert.

From 1955 to 1985 Iris Habib Elmasry

Iris Habib Elmasry

Iris Habib Elmasry was a prominent Coptic Historian .-Biography:Iris Habib Elmasry was born into a righteous Coptic family 1910, Her family name Elmasry in Arabic language means The Egyptian....

 continued to lecture in Coptic History at the Institute of Coptic Studies.

Foundation

The institute was mainly founded by its first president Professor Aziz Suryal Atiya

Aziz Suryal Atiya

Professor Aziz Suryal Atiya was a prominent Coptologist who was a Coptic historian and scholar and an expert in Islamic and Crusades studies.Professor Atiya was the founder of the Institute of Coptic Studies in Cairo in 1950s, and was also the founder of the Middle East Center, University of...

; who was also the Founder of the Middle East center, University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

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Other prominent Coptologists and Egyptologists contributed to its establishment as Professor Dr Pahor Labib

Pahor Labib

Pahor Labib wasDirector of the Coptic Museum, Cairo, Egypt, from 1951 to 1965 and one of the world leaders in Egyptology and Coptology....

Director of the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo (1951-1965).