[citation needed] Her father Habib Elmasry was the secretary of the General Congregation Council of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
She had two brothers; Amin, who was a prominent surgeon, and died in the 1960s, and Sami who was director of the Egyptian State Bureau for Tourism in London, and three sisters; Eva, who helped Iris in her work,[2] Soraya, an avid pianist, and Dora, who was married to Dr. Aziz El Masry[3] Habib Elmasry was the secretary of the General Congregation Council for three terms and was known for his strong support of the ordination of a monk to be the Coptic pope and not a metropolitan or a bishop.
[4] Elmasry received her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in education from Maria Grey College, University of London in 1932.
[citation needed] Between 1952 and 1954, she pursued her research at Dropsie College, Philadelphia, and in 1955, she went to the National Gallery, London, to obtain further materials and documents.
[6] The seventh volume of this history is about the era of Pope Cyril VI (1959–1971): the book shows how highly appreciative she was of His Holiness's work.