Coptsravaganza!

To those unaware, the reason I'll be in Cairo this summer is because I was oddly hired by the Arab West Foundation (www.arabwestfoundation.com) to look into the media portrayal of the Egyptian Coptic community, then, even more oddly, funded $1000 over budget by the McKinney Fellowship of the Watson Center for International Studies.  Needless to say, I'll be studying Copts over the summer (an endeavor that, I kid you not, is called "Coptology," which is a word although Microsoft word's Clippy will try to convince you otherwise).

My own self-guided crash course in Coptology has been in full force this past week (titled: "What is Coptic Christianity: An Introduction").  So before I leave for Cairo on Tuesday – dear Lord, I'm going to Cairo on Tuesday – I leave you with some highlights:

- Coptic Christianity is one of the first sects of Christianity to emerge.  Following the Council of Chalcedon in 451, there were two separate groups of Christian belief.  The Chalcedonian Churches (i.e. what are now the Catholic, Greek/Russian Orthodox, Protestant Churches) accepted something called the Tome of Leo (I), which argued for the Diaphysite nature of Christ, basically meaning that they thought that the Logos incarnate (i.e. Jesus) contained both human and divine natures that were distinct.  In contrast, the non-Chalcedonian Churches (i.e. the modern Coptic, Ethiopian, Syrian Churches) argued for Miaphysite Christology (yes, there is a word for the study of Christ as well).  Miaphysite Christology (pejoratively called Monophysite, which is apparently offensive, but even after reading why it is offensive I am somewhat unconvinced) states that Christ was made of a fusion between both human and divine natures, inseparable, within himself.  In summary (using an egg metaphor), Diaphysite = sunny-side up, Miaphysite = scrambled.  I should probably stop discussing Jesus as an egg.  If this seems like a bit of arguing over nothing, it kind of is.  Some people suspect that the two platforms are actually arguing the same thing in different words.  That said, this is still a big deal today.

- The word "Copt" is derived from the same word as "Egypt" through some linguistic evidence that I fail to understand/ be convinced by.  That said, this has implications for what a Copt is.  Most common usage is as a member of the Coptic Church, but some argue that all Egyptian Christians are Copts.  One foreign minister of Egypt tried to say all Egyptians are Copts.  I am sticking to the first definition.

- A long, long time ago, Egyptian Christians started referring to the Patriarch of the See of Alexandria as "Baba."  This eventually became "Pope" (b=p to many Egyptians).  So the first usage of pope referred to this figure.  Later on, the Patriarch of Rome started using this term of address as well.  Long story short, the Catholics didn't make the first Pope.

- Coptic Popes have a kind of interesting status religiously.  They are not infallible, but they are representatives of their religion.  That said, there has been an institution called the Maglis al-Milli (roughly, the Popular Congress) since the mid-19th Century that has pressed for a laity-controlled Church.  Obviously, this is different than the Catholic notion of Pope.  In addition, the Coptic Papal selection process is fantastic: in general, they were fairly democratic procedures (most probably involved a degree of electoral process amongst the laity), but the last two (i.e. for Cyril VI and Shenouda III, the current Pope) were picked in the following manner.  Three final candidates were chosen by the clergy/laity amongst the higher-ranked clergy (i.e. celibate bishops or monks) whose names were written on sheets of paper along with "Jesus Christ."  These papers were placed into a box within the Haikal (similar to the iconostasis screen found in Orthodox churches) upon the altar.  A small boy was then invited to go to the box and pick a paper.  The person whose name appeared would become Pope, barring the draw of "Christ," which signifies the divine desire to have a different Pope, at which point three new names must be selected.  Both Cyril VI and Shenouda III were selected immediately.  I really like this method of legitimacy – divine democracy.

- Copts are famously known for their apotropaic tattoos on their right wrists.  Apotropaic is a fancy religious studies word for "keeps away evil."  Aa-po-trO-pA-ic.  Learning is fun!

- Boutros Boutros Ghali was a Copt.

- Coptic Christianity also marks the beginning of the Christian monastic movement with Saint Antony, who renounced the world and moved into the desert.  Since then, this has become a common trope in Coptic religious experience, with monasteries still being a major site for high-placed clergy.  Unlike Catholic clergy, there is a division in Coptic Christianity between monks/bishops and priests, the former being celibate (and capable of becoming prominent political members of the clergy as a result) and the latter getting married.

- Copts still frequently practice exorcisms.  As demons are thought to be corporeal (if subtle), they believe that during the exorcism, the demon will be forced out of the body.  The easiest way for a demon to exit is from the eyes, but this causes blindness.  As a result, during the exorcism, the officiating clergy member often pricks the victim's big toe, allowing the demon to escape through the drop of blood.   This drop is then saved on a white sheet and used as a charm.  This is possibly my favorite fact of Coptology to date.

Just think, I'm going to have a whole summer to gather this stuff!  Even worse, I clearly am unable to hold conversations outside of my intellectual interests for extended periods of time, so all of you will be saturated with Coptic facts!  You too can be Coptologists!