With roots in the Pharoanic period, Coptic Christianity was the major
religion in Egypt from the fourth to sixth centuries. Today, it remains the
faith of an important minority community in Egypt and in diasporic
communities around the world. North America is home to the largest
Coptic diaspora outside Africa, and the largest concentration of Canadian
Copts resides in and around Toronto, which is the site of the first Coptic
Orthodox Church established on the continent. With heightened
internecine tensions in Egypt, both during and in the aftermath of the
2010-11 Arab Spring, increasing understanding of the region and its
constituencies residing both at home and abroad has never been more
critical.

This is where the University of Toronto, as Canada’s leading university
situated in the Canadian heart of the Coptic diasporic community, has a
major role to play. At U of T’s Department of Near & Middle Eastern
Civilizations, professors and students explore the development of complex
societies and civilizations that have played transformative roles in human
history, from Neolithic up until modern times. Courses in languages,
literatures, art, archaeology, history and thought offer exciting entry points
into a fascinating world that is at the geographical origin of three of the
world’s major religions – Christianity, Judaism and Islam – and that
represents a strategically and culturally important region.

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