Advanced Coptic

About

The Coptic Summer School 2025 offers an immersive experience for students, scholars, and those interested in ancient religious history. The Advanced Coptic course guides participants through Coptic literature through a direct engagement with original texts, primarily in the Sahidic dialect with occasional readings in closely related dialects. Each session explores a selected literary text, enabling participants to examine both the language features and the religious ideas expressed in Coptic literature.

Please note that this is not an introductory grammar course, and as such, a prerequisite is required. Students interested in enrolling in this course must be confident in comprehending simple Coptic texts.

Given that guided reading of Coptic texts is the core component of the course, a good command of English, the working language of the Summer School, is essential. There are no required books for this course; all materials related to the Coptic readings will be provided by the instructors.

The Coptic Language Summer School 2025 provides a dynamic learning experience with a combination of online sessions and an in-person residency in Rome.

The virtual component will encompass eight sessions on Friday, commencing on May 9, 2025, as per the following schedule:

Fri, May 9, 2025, 3-5 PM CEST via Zoom
Sebastian Richter (Freie Universität Berlin)
Coptic / ⲧⲙⲛⲧⲣⲙⲛⲕⲏⲙⲉ tmntrmkēme 'The Speech of Egyptian People': Domains and Constraints of the Written Vernacular of Egypt in Its Last Millennium (4th to 14th c.)

Fri, May 16, 2025, 3-5 PM CEST via Zoom
Alin Suciu (Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen)
Methods of Dating Coptic Literary Manuscripts

Fri, May 23, 2025, 3-5 PM CEST via Zoom
Anna Van den Kerchove (Institut Protestant de Théologie de Paris)
Manichaean Kephalaia 101: Some Remarks About Mysteries in Manichaeism

Fri, May 30 2025, 3-5 PM CEST via Zoom
Hugo Lundhaug (Universitetet i Oslo)
Coptic Apocrypha from Nag Hammadi to Edfu and Beyond

Fri, June 6, 2025, 3-5 PM CEST via Zoom
Esther Garel (Université de Strasbourg)
Overview on Coptic Papyrology

Fri, June 13, 2025, 3-5 PM CEST via Zoom
Anna Van den Kerchove (Institut Protestant de Théologie de Paris)
The Life of Hilarion of Jerome in Coptic

Fri, June 20, 2025, 3-5 PM CEST via Zoom
Paola Buzi (Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza")
Coptic Literature as Historical Source: The Case of the Life of Samuel of Qalamun

Fri, June 27, 2025, 3-5 PM CEST via Zoom
Heike Behlmer (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)
Biblical Intertextuality in the Works of Apa John

The in-person residency will be held in Rome from July 21 to July 25, 2025. This immersive residency aims to enhance participants' proficiency through interactive sessions, engaging discussions, and focused analysis of Coptic texts in a collaborative learning environment.

The general schedule of the course is as follows:

Mon, July 21, 2025, 9-11 AM CEST
Lothar Vogel (Facoltà Valdese di Teologia di Roma)
The Representation of Constantinople in Coptic Hagiography: Some Examples

Mon, July 21, 2025, 5-7 PM CEST
Lothar Vogel (Facoltà Valdese di Teologia di Roma)
The Representation of Constantinople in Coptic Hagiography: Some Examples

Tue, July 22, 2025, 9-11 AM CEST
Costanza Bianchi (FSCIRE Fondazione per le scienze religiose)
The Coptic Version of the Canons of Nicaea

Tue, July 22, 2025, 5-7 PM CEST
Gražina Kelmelytė (Vilniaus Universitetas)
The Bridal Chamber in the Exegesis on the Soul (NHC II,6)

Wed, July 23, 2025, 9-11 AM CEST
Lance Jenott (Washington University in St. Louis)
Reading the Variants in the Apocryphal Letter of Peter to Philip (NHC VIII,2 and Codex Tchacos 1)

Wed, July 23, 2025, 5-7 PM CEST
Dylan M. Burns (Universiteit van Amsterdam)
Substance, Species, and Kinds in Coptic: The Logical Differentiae in the Platonizing Sethian Treatises from Nag Hammadi

Thu, July 24, 2025, 9-11 AM CEST
Marta Addessi (Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza")
What Is There in a Colophon? Coptic Scribal Subscriptions in a Diachronic Perspective

Thu, July 24, 2025, 5-7 PM CEST
Sebastian Richter (Freie Universität Berlin)
The Entourage of God's Throne in Coptic Apocryphal Traditions

Fri, July 25, 2025, 9-11 AM CEST
Jens Schröter (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin)
The Dispute About the Resurrection in the Letter to Rheginus (NHC I,4)

Fri, July 25, 2025, 5-7 PM CEST
Jens Schröter (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin)
The Dispute About the Resurrection in the Letter to Rheginus (NHC I,4)

The in-person residency classes in Rome are flexible and can be attended online. Local students may choose to attend the course in person, whereas non-local students have the option to participate entirely online. The weekly in-person sessions will be livestreamed via Zoom, allowing students who join remotely to actively participate and pose questions during the live feed.

The preferred typology of attendance must be indicated when filling out the admission form.
During free time, local participants can utilize the facilities of the Waldensian Faculty of Theology for individual or group study sessions, with support from tutors. This includes full access to the library and Wi-Fi services.

A final certificate will be issued to students who have demonstrated a qualified and successful participation to class activities. It will be delivered during the last day of course to in-class students or sent by ordinary mail to online participants. The certificate grants 6 ECTS credits (European Credit Transfer System).
Students are required to total a minimum 80% attendance to receive the certificate and credits. In case of insufficient attendance or arguable behaviour, the course director may decide not to issue an attendance certificate. In this last case, registration fees may not be refunded.

Course leader

Teaching Staff: Marta Addessi (Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" ); Heike Behlmer (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen); Costanza Bianchi (FSCIRE Fondazione per le scienze religiose); Paola Buzi (Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza" ); Dylan M. Burns (Universiteit van Amsterdam); Esther Garel (Université de Strasbourg); Lance Jenott (Washington University in St. Louis); Gražina Kelmelytė (Vilniaus Universitetas); Hugo Lundhaug (Universitetet i Oslo); Sebastian Richter (Freie Universität Berlin); Jens Schröter (Humboldt Universität zu Berlin); Alin Suciu (Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen); Anna Van den Kerchove (Institut Protestant de Théologie de Paris); Lothar Vogel (Facoltà Valdese di Teologia di Roma)

Target group

Qualified students, scholars and people passionate about ancient religious history. Students interested in enrolling in this course must be confident in comprehending simple Coptic texts.

Course aim

The Advanced Coptic course introduces participants to Coptic literature through direct readings of original material in the Sahidic dialect (and some closely related dialects). Each class session focuses on a specific Coptic text representative of its genre.

Fee info