The Copts are the indigenous Christians of Egypt and direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians. The word "Copt" itself is derived from the Greek "Aigyptos", and these "Egyptians" are frequently referred to as the modern sons of the Pharaos. St Mark apostle and evangelist was the founder of the Coptic Church and the first of an unbroken succession of 117 popes and patriarchs. When, in the year 68 AD, Mark was martyred in Alexandria, Anianos had already become bishop and the young church then 26 years old was already well organized. Today serving solely liturgical purposes, the Coptic language evolved out of the ancient Egyptian tongue, which dates back to the time of the Pharaohs. Musicological research shows that not only does the Coptic Church practice the oldest Christian form of music, it also possesses the oldest school of music in the world. By virtue of the conservative character of the Coptic Church, its tradition has been handed down orally from generation to generation by priests and cantors in wholly or only slightly changed form, so that its music has remained intact. Not until well into the 20th century was Coptic music notated. In 1927 a devout and wealthy Copt invited the noted English musicologist Ernest Newland Smith (Oxford University; Royal Academy, London) to come to Egypt, to listen to the singers of the Coptic Church and to set their melodies down in notation for the first time in history.