1It is a great pleasure to extend our thanks to all the institutions that supported us, as well as to those who assisted us under the unique circumstances of this Twelfth International Congress of Coptic Studies. First and foremost, we express our deepest gratitude to the IACS for their unwavering support and trust, granting us both the encouragement and latitude to organize this congress.

2We are particularly indebted to the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) for providing the venues, as well as the financial and human resources. Special thanks go to Prof. Annemie Schaus, Rector of the University, and to the Faculté de Lettres, Traduction et Communication and its staff, along with the Philixte and SOCIAMM research centers.

3We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to the Belgian, French, and European institutions for their generous support: the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE, PSL), the direction de la recherche scientifique de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, the Fonds de la recherche scientifique (F.R.S.-FNRS), the Institut orientaliste de l’Université catholique de Louvain (CIOL), the Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (IRHT), the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (Horizon Europe 2020),1 the research unit Orient et Méditerranée (UMR 8167), the Société belge d’études byzantines (SBEB), the Association Textes pour l’histoire de l’Antiquité tardive (THAT), and Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI). Travel grants were offered to Egyptian colleagues and students thanks to the generous support of the St Shenouda Archimandrite Coptic Society and the Association Solidarité-Orient as well as Hany Takla and Christian Cannuyer.

4We received invaluable practical and material assistance from many colleagues and friends, to whom we extend our heartfelt thanks: Martina Ambu, Jessica Bourseaux, Garance Clapuyt, Julie Dainville, Victor Delattre, Charly De Maré, Marc Malevez, Alain Martin, Thomas Meurisse, Emmanuel Serdiuk, and especially Sylvie Vanséveren for her critical role in designing and maintaining the conference website. We also cannot forget the students who worked tirelessly throughout the event: Alice Beauchamp, Shannon Lawson, Paolo Oliveri, Gaspard Pion, Dylan Roelands, and Juliette Simonet.

5We are grateful to Elias Bachoura for the oud recital he performed at the reception on 12 July, and to the Musée Art & Histoire, its interim director Bruno Verbergt, and especially the curators Luc Delvaux and Alexandra Van Puyvelde for their warm welcome. The gala held on 14 July would not have been as successful had it been for the diligence and kindness of the Chalet Robinson staff.

6Lastly, our deepest thanks go to François Bougard, director of the IRHT, for hosting the proceedings in the series Bibliothèque d’histoire des textes, to Anne Laurent for prepraring the cover and to Karima Pedemas, who formatted the book, designed its layout and made it available online.

Group photograph