French Cultural Center in Alexandria to hold ‘From Coptic to Hieroglyphics’ lecture on Oct. 23

CAIRO – 10 October 2022: The French Cultural Center in Alexandria is holding a lecture as part of a series of lectures in Al-Munira Square, delivered by Egyptologist and Coptic scholar Ashraf Sadek, titled “From Coptic to Hieroglyphics: Father Youhanna El-Shafchi in the Shadow of Champollion.”

The lecture will be held in the Seminars Hall of the French Cultural Center in the French language, accompanied by simultaneous translation into Arabic, on October 23.

Youhanna El-Shafchi was the person who Champollion benefitted the most from in deciphering the Rosetta Stone, as this man demanded that Champollion study and master the ancient Coptic writing, which is ancient Greek letters. 

Shafchi was born in Cairo; He worked as an interpreter in Giza and as a first clerk at the Commercial Affairs Court. He also worked on the recommendation of the mathematician Fourier (1768-1830) as a translator for the commission set up by Kleber to collect materials on the history of the French campaign.

When the Coptic Legion, led by the master Yaqoub, left Egypt for France, he left with them. 

The late Egyptian scholar Anwar Luqa (1927-2004) found in the manuscripts of the National Library in Paris a reference contained in a letter from the French Minister of the Interior to a scholar at the Central School asking him his opinion on the use of a Coptic priest named Youhanna El-Shafchi who is said to have extensive knowledge of Eastern languages. He also found a recommendation from the Dean of the School of Oriental Languages praising this Coptic priest and calling for the benefit of his knowledge.

It is noteworthy that Ashraf Iskandar Sadek, the former inspector of antiquities in Egypt, is a professor of Egyptian and Coptic antiquities at the University of Limoges in France. He also lectures at the Institute of Coptic Studies in Cairo. He is an arbitrator on PhD dissertation committees in the field of Egyptology at universities in Europe, Algeria and Australia. 

In cooperation with his wife, Professor Bernadette Sadek, he directs the encyclopedic series “The Coptic World”, which has published 34 volumes so far devoted to Egyptian cultures.