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CONTENTS: Seventh International Congress of Coptic Studies, Leiden 2000: Third Announcement, p. 3 - Provisional Agenda for the Seventh Business Meeting of the IACS, p. 7 - Proposed Changes in the Statutes of the IACS, p. 7 - Notes from the IACS Secretariat, p. 8 - Acts of the Sixth International Congress of Coptic Studies, p. 8 - The IACS on the Internet, p. 9 - IACS Members with New Postal and/or E-mail Addresses, p. 9 - Publications in Preparation, Forthcoming, or Recently Published, as Announced by IACS Members, p. 10 - Middle East Medievalists, p. 20 - Obituary Notice, p. 20 - Seventh International Congress of Coptic Studies, Leiden 2000: Registration & Hotel Booking Form, between pp. 10 and 11

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SEVENTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF COPTIC STUDIES

LEIDEN, 27 AUGUST - 2 SEPTEMBER 2000

THIRD ANNOUNCEMENT

Please note: Congress registrants need respond only once to this third announcement. If you have already responded by using the "Registration & Hotel Booking Form" included in the brochure mailed to pre-registrants from Leiden early in February, then you should not return the identical form included in this Newsletter.

1. Program

Coptology encompasses a wide variety of disciplines. The congress program reflects this diversity and aims at favouring both formal and informal cross-disciplinary discussion.

* Sunday 27 August is reserved for arrival and checking in. The Visitors Centre of Leiden University, in the hall of Leiden Central Station, will be opened from 3:00-9:00 p.m. to help you find your way in town. The registration formalities will be handled in the stylish Faculty Club of Leiden University, at Rapenburg 6, from 3:30-11:00 p.m. Every registered participant will receive the final version of the program and the volume of abstracts. In addition, the Club offers opportunity for meeting old and new acquaintances and for having a drink.

* Monday to Friday, from 9 a.m., will be taken up by the regular congress program. There will be two main papers each morning, 45 minutes each, read in plenary sessions. These are reports on recent developments in each of the major domains of Coptic studies, presented by experts in the field. The subjects are: language; literature; papyrology; art; archaeology; monasticism; liturgy; Gnosticism and Manichaeism; Copto-Arabic studies; Christian Nubia. The remainder of each day will be devoted to the presentation of brief communications (20 minutes plus discussion) proposed by individual scholars. These papers will be read in two parallel sessions, grouped according to the main fields of study in Coptology.

* On Thursday and Friday workshops are offered for specialist discussion in the following domains: linguistics, Shenoute, electronic editing, textiles, icons, and monastic archaeology.

* A special meeting, organized in co-operation with the Institute for Oriental Christianity (IOC) in Nijmegen, will focus on aspects of the modern (post-1800) history of the Copts.

* On the occasion of the congress, the University Libraries of Leiden and Amsterdam will present small exhibitions featuring their "hidden" manuscript collections.

* The social program will include welcome and farewell receptions as well as a collective excursion to the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam.

* Saturday morning, 2 September, the congress will close with the business meeting of the members of the IACS (till 1:00 p.m.).

2. Workshops

Participation in a workshop is restricted to those who have applied in advance and been accepted by the workshop's organizer(s). Applications should be received before 1 June 2000 by the individual organizers, who will contact the participants and provide them with the relevant materials. For all further information concerning any of the workshops, please contact the persons responsible directly. The following workshops are offered:

"Textiles from the Nile Valley"

"Coptic Icon-painting"

"New Directions in Monastic Archaeology"

A special meeting will be held for authors involved in the Catalogue général du Musée copte-project, co-ordinated by M. Immerzeel (TCNO, Leiden University, Witte Singel 25, POB 9515, NL-2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; e-mail address: immerzeel@rullet.leidenuniv.nl).

3. Papers and Posters

Congress participants are warmly invited to read a short paper (20 min. maximum) in one of the congress languages (English, French, German, Italian). Those who consider presenting a paper should submit a title and a short abstract to the congress secretary, before 1 June 2000. A paper for which no abstract is received will not be scheduled. Proposed papers can be refused.

Abstracts must be clearly typewritten and should never exceed one page (A4 format). They may be sent either on paper (to the postal address of the congress secretary), or as an e-mail attachment readable in either Word or WordPerfect (only to: vdberg@ccer.nl). Make sure your abstract looks decent and bears your name. It will be reproduced in the book of abstracts in the form in which it is received!

There is a limited opportunity for poster presentation; please notify before 1 June.

4. Congress Fees

The congress fee includes entrance to all sessions, the book of abstracts and other congress material, coffee/tea during congress hours and the full social program.

IACS member Dfl. 175,-

Non-member Dfl. 225,-

Student/unemployed* Dfl. 75,-

Payment should be made in Dutch guilders (Dfl) (1 Euro = 2,21 Dfl) by international bank transfer to: ABN/AMRO Bank Leiden, Stationsweg 31-33, Leiden, The Netherlands; SWIFT no. ABNA NL2A, account no. 55.04.91.643 att. Leids Congres Bureau, ref. 7th Int. Congress of Coptic Studies. Please specify on the bank transfer that bank costs, if applicable, are for your own account; by credit card: AMEX, VISA or Euro/Master card (other cards cannot be accepted); by Eurocheque (maximum Dfl. 300,- per cheque).

5. Accommodation

A limited number of hotel rooms have been blocked in Leiden and vicinity. August is a very busy month for all hotels in the area. We therefore advise you urgently to make your reservation through the hotel booking form as soon as possible. (You will find the "Registration & Hotel Booking Form" at the center of this Newsletter.) A one-night deposit, according to the schedule below, must be included with the registration fee to guarantee your room. Approximate price per room per night including breakfast:

Medium class Dfl. 150,- Dfl. 225,-

Intermediate class Dfl. 100,- Dfl. 165,-

Accommodation can be reserved only upon receipt of the hotel deposit. Participants will receive a voucher for the value of the deposit paid. The voucher can be presented to the hotel upon arrival, and the amount will then be deducted from the hotel bill. The balance of the accommodation bill must be paid directly to the hotel by the participant.

The congress secretariat will try to conform to your wishes; however, due to the popularity of certain hotels, we advise you to book as soon as possible, as reservations will be made on a first-come, first-served basis. After 1 April there is no guarantee that rooms are still available.

6. General Information

Registration: All participants are requested to complete the registration form at the center of this Newsletter before 1 April 2000 and send it to the Leids Congres Bureau, together with their payment. Please note that formal registration takes place only after payment of registration fee(s) has been received. About 6 weeks prior to the congress you will receive a confirmation letter including a financial overview.

Diet: If you have any special dietary requirements, please specify this on the registration form. We will try to comply with your wishes.

Insurance: Participants coming from abroad are strongly advised to make their own insurance arrangements (e.g. health, life, luggage etc.).

Congress venue: Leiden is in the heart of Holland. Situated on the crossroads of all international lines of communication, it can be easily reached by plane, train or car. By plane: Leiden is 20 min. from Schiphol (Amsterdam International Airport); there is a rapid train every 15 minutes till past midnight. By train: international trains arrive at The Hague (from the south, including the TGV from Paris), or at Amsterdam/Schiphol (from Germany); change for one of the frequent local trains. By car: both from the east and from the south, head for The Hague on one of the international highways; near The Hague, choose the A-4 highway, in the direction of Amsterdam; after about 15 min., get off at Leiden-Zoeterwoude and choose the Leiden-centrum direction. There are limited parking facilities behind and below the University Library, Witte Singel (Maliebaan); a bigger parking lot is nearby (Haagweg).

After registering for the congress you will receive a detailed route description.

The entire congress will take place at one and the same address: Centraal Faciliteiten-gebouw, Faculteit der Letteren, Cleveringaplaats 1, Witte-Singel-Doelen area (WSD-complex). Check-in address on Sunday 27 August only: Faculty Club, Rapenburg 6, tel. 071-566 14 21.

7. Secretarial Office

Congress secretary: Dr. J. van der Vliet, assisted by Mrs. M. Kuhn, M.A.

Visiting address: Witte Singel 25, room 018A

Telephone: +31-71-527 2229 / 2260

Fax: +31-71-527 2042

E-mail: copt2000@rullet.leidenuniv.nl (but not for abstracts)

For program information, please consult the Congress website at the following internet address: http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/tcno/coptic_congress.htm

PROVISIONAL AGENDA FOR THE SEVENTH BUSINESS MEETING

OF THE IACS: LEIDEN, 2 SEPTEMBER 2000

The following items are expected to appear on the agenda of the next Business Meeting of the IACS, to be held during the Seventh International Congress of Coptic Studies in Leiden, on 2 September 2000. In accordance with the IACS Statutes art. 6, additional "items for the agenda should be submitted in writing to the President at least one month before the next Congress. The final agenda will be determined by the Board at its meeting just before the Congress."

Confirmation of new members

Financial report for 1996-2000

Adoption of the Euro as an official currency

Revision of the statutes

Eighth International Congress of Coptic Studies in 2004

Election of officers

Coptic studies in Egypt

PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE STATUTES OF THE IACS

Tito Orlandi and Stephen Emmel propose that the following changes to the IACS Statutes be adopted during the upcoming Business Meeting in Leiden (2 September 2000):
At the end of art. 2, add: It shall maintain a web site on the internet, containing information about its members and their activities, publications in preparation, as well as other activities and institutions relevant to Coptic Studies; and an e-mail bulletin board dedicated to Coptic Studies.
In art. 3, replace "Editor of the Newsletter at least nine months prior to the next Congress. Those elected will be notified at least six months prior to that Congress" with: Secretary at least six months prior to the next Congress. Those elected will be notified at least one month prior to that Congress.
Revise art. 4b as follows: Executive Officers. There will be six non-permanent officers: President, President-Elect, Secretary, Congress Coordinator, Webmaster, and the Director of the Cairo Center of the Association. [Next sentence without change.] Only the Secretary, the Webmaster, and the Director of the Cairo Center are subject to reelection without intervening term. [Next sentence without change.] The Secretary will act as the editor of the Association's Newsletter, and as the Association's treasurer, in which capacity he will submit an annual report to the Board. The Webmaster will act as the editor of the Association's web site and bulletin board. The offices of the Secretary and of the Webmaster will together function as a clearing-house of information to members.
In art. 5, after "Decisions will be by a majority vote of those present at the meeting." add: In the event of a tie vote during a Board Meeting, the President's vote will break the tie.
Also in art. 5, replace "Secretary, the Editor of the Newsletter" with: Coordinator, the Secretary, the Webmaster.
In art. 6, replace "President" with: Secretary.
At the end of art. 8, add: The Association's web site and bulletin board will be set up in cooperation with the Centro Interdipartimentale di Servizi per l'Automazione nelle Discipline Umanistiche of the University of Rome "La Sapienza" through a mutually adopted Agreement.
In art. 9, replace "Editor of the Newsletter" with: Secretary.
As a separate agreement between the IACS and the Centro Interdipartimentale di Servizi per l'Automazione nelle Discipline Umanistiche (CISADU), add: 1. The CISADU will provide the IACS with memory space in one of its servers for a URL site, managed by the IACS; and it will provide an electronic mailing list owned by the IACS. 2. The IACS will mention the name of the CISADU in all relevant publications and acts.

NOTES FROM THE IACS SECRETARIAT

Please note that the most recent paid up dues year appears with members' names on the printed IACS mailing labels. As used with this Newsletter, these labels reflect payments received up to 31 January 2000. Be sure to keep us informed of any change of address or any change in your membership status.

ACTS OF THE SIXTH INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS

OF COPTIC STUDIES

Ägypten und Nubien in spätantiker und christlicher Zeit. Akten des 6. Internationalen Koptologenkongresses, Münster, 20.-26. Juli 1996, edited by Stephen Emmel, Martin Krause, Siegfried G. Richter, and Sofia Schaten (Sprachen und Kulturen des Christlichen Orients, vol. 6; Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 1999), vol. 1, Materielle Kultur, Kunst und religiöses Leben, vol. 2, Schrifttum, Sprache und Gedankenwelt, was published at the very end of 1999. Vol. 1 contains 550 pages, with 51 contributions divided into two parts (Archäologie, Kunst, christliches Nubien und Mönchtum; Liturgie, Theologie und Kirchengeschichte); vol. 2 contains 583 pages, with 54 contributions divided into four parts (Literatur, Bibel, christlich-arabische Literatur, Kodikologie und Paläographie; Papyrologie und Epigraphik; Linguistik; Gnosis und Manichäismus). Contributors were to receive twenty offprints of their article, as well as one offprint of the list of abbreviations (Abkürzungsverzeichnis), which is common to both volumes (and is printed in both volumes). IACS members who took advantage of the special members-only sale in December should be receiving their copies at about the same time as this issue of the Newsletter. The editors thank IACS members and other contributors for their patience during the long process of publication.

THE IACS ON THE INTERNET

1. Web Site

The IACS's web site is managed at the Centro Interdipartimentale di Servizi per l'Automazione nelle Discipline Umanistiche (Università di Roma "La Sapienza") by Tito Orlandi at the internet address http://rmcisadu.let.uniroma1.it/~iacs IACS members are requested to submit whatever information they deem useful for their colleagues to Tito Orlandi by e-mail (orlandi@rmcisadu.let.uniroma1.it; or by regular post to Via F. Civinini 24, I-00197 Roma, Italy). If possible, please send information both to Münster and to Rome when it is relevant to both the ordinary administration of the IACS (including the Newsletter) as well as the IACS web site.

2. The Listserver

COPTIST, an electronic "list" for Coptic studies, is moderated by Tito Orlandi on behalf of the IACS. IACS members are encouraged to subscribe by doing as follows: to the e-mail address majordomo@cisadu2.let.uniroma1.it send a message containing only one line, namely: subscribe coptist [your name]

IACS MEMBERS WITH NEW POSTAL AND/OR E-MAIL ADDRESSES

Where only e-mail addresses are listed, the postal addresses remain unchanged. * = new members.

King, Karen L. karen_king@harvard.edu

Sidarus, Adel Y. asidarus@ip.pt

Tubach, Jürgen. juergen_tubach@regionett.de

Young, Dwight W. young969dw@21stcentury.net

PUBLICATIONS IN PREPARATION, FORTHCOMING, OR RECENTLY PUBLISHED, AS ANNOUNCED BY IACS MEMBERS (AND OTHERS)

Please send up-to-date information (preferably via e-mail to Stephen Emmel at emmstel@nwz.uni-muenster.de; copy to orlandi@rmcisadu.cisadu.uniroma1.it). If you provide information for this list, please be sure also to inform us (with complete bibliographical details) when the publication appears. The following list is not intended to be a full bibliography of recent publications in Coptic studies. Its contents are determined by information that authors provide to the editors of the Newsletter. The contents of ICCoptS 6 (Münster 1996) (see below, under Emmel et al.) are not listed in detail.

De Moor, Antoine. [See above, under De Jonghe.] PUBLISHED.

Hasitzka, Monika. Koptisches Sammelbuch II (MPER 23.2; Vienna).

Shisha-Halevy, Ariel. Topics in Bohairic Syntax.

Shisha-Halevy, Ariel, and Helmut Satzinger. [See above, under Satzinger.]

MIDDLE EAST MEDIEVALISTS

MEM strives to increase offerings on the medieval Middle East at scholarly conferences by helping to organize and sponsor panels. Another of MEM's main goals is to foster communication among individuals and organizations with an interest in the study of any aspect of the medieval Middle East. One way it does this is by publishing Al-'Usur al-Wusta, The Bulletin of Middle East Medievalists (abbreviated UW), which appears semiannually (April and October).

UW is written so as to be interesting and informative both to specialists in the medieval Middle East and to non-specialists, particularly educated readers specializing in related fields (e.g., ancient Near East, medieval Europe, classics, modern Middle East). Members of MEM automatically receive a subscription to UW. Membership in MEM is open to scholars of all nationalities; the basic annual membership fee is US $ 15.00 for those with mailing addresses in North America (Canada, U.S.A., Mexico), and $ 17.50 for those outside North America. Payment of dues in British pounds is also possible.

Current officers of MEM are: President: Prof. Jere L. Bacharach, The University of Washington; Vice-President: Prof. Margaret Larkin, The University of California, Berkeley; Secretary-Treasurer: Prof. James E. Lindsay, Colorado State University; At-Large Board Members: Prof. Ethel Sara Wolper, University of New Hampshire, and Prof. Michael Chamberlain, University of Wisconsin.

To join MEM or to learn more about it, please contact MEM's current Secretary-Treasurer and ask for an application form and complementary issue of UW: Prof. James E. Lindsay, Department of History, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 85023-1776, USA, or via e-mail: jlindsay@vines.colostate.edu.

OBITUARY NOTICE

We are saddened by the recent death of the Reverend Charles Goodwin, who was a loyal member of the IACS since 1981, our only member resident in South Korea (Sungkonghoe Theological College, Seoul).