ACCOT Logo (no label)
  1. Welcome
  2. Rationale
  3. Disclaimer
  4. Permissions
  5. Acknowledgements

1. Welcome to ACCOT

The Archive of Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Theology 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 (such as biographies, bibliographies and citation guides) to support scholars and students working in the emerging field of contemporary Coptic studies.

2. Rationale

The last two centuries have been among the most eventful in the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church, featuring spiritual revivals, theological re-awakenings, catastrophic scandals, gigantic personalities and modern-day saints. These developments were accompanied (and spurred on) by an unprecedented explosion of Coptic literary activity: thousands upon thousands of books, pamphlets and magazines tell the complex, many-sided story of the Copts’ struggle to articulate their ancient faith in the face of the new realities and challenges of modernity.

However, despite steadily-growing scholarly interest in contemporary Coptic studies, most of the texts that tell this story remain inaccessible to all but fluent readers of Arabic.

ACCOT’s primary goal is to make the texts, personalities and primary sources of contemporary Coptic theology available to English audiences, both academic and popular, with distinct aims in each case:

For a broader audience:

For scholars:

  • To provide theologians and theology students with a database of valuable Coptic theological texts, particularly on topics on which there is very limited theological literature in English (such as Coptic liturgy and hymnography).
  • To promote the study of contemporary Coptic thought by scholars in a range of disciplines (including theology, history and anthropology) by making the writings of contemporary Copts available online in a citation-friendly format, with translations that preserve the original paginations alongside providing original Arabic texts for those who wish to work with them.
  • To provide an online hub for the rapidly growing field of Contemporary Coptic Studies where researchers and students can share and promote their work, and find links to valuable resources and connections.

3. Disclaimer

As an academic resource, ACCOT hosts texts from a wide range of Coptic theological writers from the nineteenth century to the present. As such, the views expressed in texts hosted on ACCOT do not necessarily represent the official views of St Cyril’s College or of the Coptic Orthodox Church. While many of these texts have been selected for translation based on their theological value, others are provided for their historical value or other reasons of scholarly interest. The reader is therefore encouraged to approach these texts with discretion.

4. Permissions and Reproduction

All material on ACCOT is provided free of charge and for educational purposes. In most cases, material hosted on ACCOT has sought the explicit permission of the copyright holders before posting or translating material. However, if you believe that any material on ACCOT infringes your copyright, please contact us.

Printing and/or downloading limited copies of ACCOT materials for classroom or personal use is not only permitted but encouraged. However, we ask that you please seek permission before republishing any content from ACCOT. Some materials have been provided to us on the explicit condition that they not be reproduced without permission. In many cases, especially for online reproductions, arrangements can be made fairly easily; we only ask that you consult with ACCOT before publication to make sure.

Scripture taken from American Standard Version and the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

5. Acknowledgements

ACCOT is an initiative of St Cyril’s Coptic Orthodox Theological College, a member institution of the Sydney College of Divinity. It has been made possible, however, with the co-operation of a number of supporters and contributors. Particularly worthy of note are:

  • Prof. Nelly van Doorn-Harder (Wake Forest University) who opened many doors and connections
  • The webmasters of Coptic Treasures who generously allowed ACCOT to draw on their vast library of primary Arabic sources
  • The researcher Maged Kamel who generously granted us permission to translate his many valuable articles on contemporary Coptic figures
  • The webmaster of Treasures of the Coptic Church in English for allowing ACCOT to incorporate her excellent translations
  • Andrew Yanni, caretaker of the Coptic Church Review, for allowing articles from the Review to be incorporated into ACCOT‘s PDF library

We are also indebted to many other persons, institutions and publications for their co-operation and support, including: