The Discovery of Coptic Manuscripts and the Development of Patristic Studies: Methodological and Epistemological Issues and the Challenge of Some New Research Projects

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The aim of this contribution is to offer some methodological considerations on the influence that the modern discoveries of Coptic manuscripts have exerted on both the evolution of Patristic studies and the modeling of the Coptic textual heritage. Born in connection to the missionary activity of the Catholic church and later of other Christian Churches, the scholarly interest in Coptic culture and manuscripts became independent from ecclesiastical centres during the nineteenth century, when a great number of Coptic codices and fragments came to the European and American libraries. This contribution discusses the notion of “discovery”, its textual relevance, its relation to the evolving portraits of Coptic textual heritage over time. The third part shows how some recent research projects on Coptic manuscripts (CMCL and PAThs in particular) organize the knowledge about the Coptic manuscripts preserved in modern libraries and those discovered within the archaeological activity.