(Fifth Circular, July 17, 2026)
International Association for Coptic Studies (IACS)
13th International Congress of Coptic Studies
Göttingen, 27 July – 1 Aug 2026
(Fifth Circular, July 17, 2026)
The Organising Committee is looking forward to welcoming you very soon to the 13th International Congress of Coptic Studies in Göttingen. The congress is organised jointly by the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Lower Saxony (Digital Edition of the Coptic Old Testament) and the University of Göttingen (Institute for Egyptology and Coptic Studies), under the patronage and in close cooperation with the International Association of Coptic Studies.
The congress will take place from Monday, July 27 to Saturday, August 1, 2026 at the main campus site of the University of Göttingen. All information about the congress will be available on the following website: https://iccs13.com. All questions or requests concerning the congress etc. should be directed to the following email address: coptic-congress-2026@uni-goettingen.de.
1. Venues
The inaugural morning session of the congress, on Monday, July 27, will take place in the 19th century Aula (festal hall) of the University in the city centre.
The plenary sessions, the panels, and the individual papers will all be presented in the Central Lecture Building (Zentrales Hörsaalgebäude, ZHG) on the main Campus of the University. The Campus area is in walkable distance from all locations in the city centre of Göttingen.[1] In the ZHG, two large lecture theatres and four lecture halls will host all sessions of the congress. The plenary sessions will be held in the lecture theatres, and the parallel sessions of the panels etc. will be allocated to any of the available spaces. One exception to this is the Digital Coptic Tutorial Sessions on Thursday, 30 July, which have been moved to a nearby lecture hall with tables and a larger number of power sockets (VG 4.101, see the plan).
2. Registration
Registration for the congress closed on 1 July. We kindly remind all registered participants who have not yet done so to transfer their registration fees before the start of the event. As an exception, on-site payment in cash will be accepted from individual participants unable to complete the transfer in advance. As previously communicated, this option continues to be available to residents of Egypt.
We regret to inform you that, due to the caterer’s requirements, bookings for the congress dinner have now closed and can no longer be modified (see also below 4.1).
3. Accommodation – Recommended Hotels
If you have not yet booked your accommodation, we would advise you to do so as soon as possible, as availability in the city centre may now be limited. Should you still be seeking a room, we recommend contacting the hotels on our list directly, as they may be able to assist you.
Hotels in Göttingen:
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Romantik Hotel Gebhards **** |
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Goethe-Allee 22-23 (0.3 km distance from the station; old town)
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Hotel Stadt Hannover *** |
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Goethe-Allee 21 (0.4 km distance from the station; old town)
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G-Hotel **** |
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Bahnhofsallee 1a (0.4 km distance from the station)
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Hotel Freigeist „Innenstadt“ **** |
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Berliner Straße 30 (0.4 km distance from the station)
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Box-Hotel |
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Weender Landstraße 3-5 (0.6 km distance from the station)
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B&B Hotel *** |
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Maschmühlenweg 19-21 (0.7 km distance from the station)
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Holiday Inn Express *** |
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Carl-Zeiss-Straße 1 (0.7 km distance from the station) https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/de/de/gottingen/zeugt/hoteldetail
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Leine-Hotel *** |
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Groner Landstraße 55 (0.9 km distance from the station)
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Hotel Central *** |
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Jüdenstraße 12 (1.0 km distance from the station; old town)
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Hotel Freigeist „Nordstadt“ **** |
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Weender Landstraße 100 (1.6 km distance from the station)
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Eden Hotel **** |
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Reinhäuser Landstraße 22a (1.9 km distance from the station)
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Hotel Novostar *** |
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Kasseler Landstraße 25d (2.0 km distance from the station) |
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Park Inn by Radisson **** |
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Kasseler Landstraße 25c (2.1 km distance from the station)
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Parkhotel Ropeter **** |
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Kasseler Landstraße 45 (2.3 km distance from the station)
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Jugendherberge Göttingen |
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(Please note: Youth Hostel Association membership required) |
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Hotel Astoria *** |
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Hannoversche Straße 51/53 (2.4 km distance from the station)
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Best Western Hotel **** |
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Hermann-Rein-Straße 2 (2.5 km distance from the station) https://www.bestwestern.com/en_US/book/hotels-in-goettingen/best-western-hotel-am-papenberg/propertyCode.95275.html
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Adesso Hotel *** |
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Kasseler Landstraße 118-120 (2.7 km distance from the station) |
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Hotel Rennschuh *** |
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Kasseler Landstraße 93 (2.8 km distance from the station) |
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The following hotels have reserved a special room allocation under the keyword “Coptic Congress 2026”: Hotel Astoria, B&B Hotel, Hotel Stadt Hannover, Leine Hotel, and Hotel Rennschuh. Participants wishing to avail themselves of this offer should use the following link: https://s.gwdg.de/UawlWI. Please note that the preset dates (26.7.-1.8.26) can be changed, and arrival and departure dates as well as occupancy (e.g. single or double) can be adjusted individually. |
4. Programme
The final congress programme, along with a floor plan, is available for your reference on the congress website: http://iccs13.com/. Please note that, due to potential last-minute adjustments, minor changes to the programme will continue to occur.
4.1 On-Site Registration
On-site registration will be available for participants on Sunday, 26 July, from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Geiststrasse 10, conveniently located near the train station. On Monday, 27 July, registration will be open from 7:30 am to 12:00 noon in the Emmy-Noether-Saal at the University, Wilhelmsplatz 4, directly across from the Aula building. From 12:00 noon onwards, registration will continue in the ZHG, near the lecture theatres.
At the registration desk, you will receive a name badge, which you are kindly requested to wear at all times during the congress. Please present your badge for admission to the opening ceremony (Aula Building, Monday), the reception (Old Town Hall, Tuesday), and the Congress Dinner (Thursday). For security reasons, access to these venues will require a badge check. Should you forget your badge, please have a valid ID available to confirm your identity.
4.2 Plenary Sessions
The 13 plenary papers will be given from Tuesday to Friday in the morning sessions of each day (9:00–10:30 or 11:00) in one of the large lecture theatres. A Bibliography of each plenary paper will be available on the congress website: http://iccs13.com/.
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Archaeology in Christian Egypt (2022–2026) |
Ina Eichner |
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Coptic Bible (2016–2026) |
Frank Feder |
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Coptic History and Historiography (2016–2026) |
Mary Farag |
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Gnosticism and Manichaeism in Egypt (2016–2026) |
Eric Crégheur |
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Coptic Linguistics (2022-2026) |
Ivan Miroshnikov |
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Christian Art in Egypt and Museology (2022–2026) |
Dobrochna Zielińska |
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Coptic Literature (2022–2026) |
Hugo Lundhaug |
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Copto-Arabic Studies (2022–2026) |
Perrine Pilette |
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Monasticism in Egypt (2022–2026) |
Paul Dilley |
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Coptic Papyrology (2022–2026) |
Esther Garel |
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Copts in Modern Egyptian History (2022–2026) |
Nelly van Doorn-Harder |
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Ethiopic Literary Production Related to Christian Egyptian Culture (2012–2026) |
Martina Ambu |
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Coptology and Digital Humanities |
Caroline T. Schroeder |
4.3 Panels, Papers, and Posters
Both the individual papers and the panels will be divided into six parallel sessions, typically running from mid-morning (11:00) until the evening.
Exceptions are:
- Monday: Sessions start after the lunch break (14:00).
- Wednesday: The afternoon after the lunch break is reserved for cultural activities (exhibition visits, guided tours of Göttingen, and individual sightseeing).
Each paper is allotted a time slot of no more than 20 minutes, followed by five minutes for discussion and questions.
We strongly recommend that you submit your presentation(s) during on-site registration on Sunday or Monday, or well in advance of your session — ideally the day before. As you will know your time slot by then, you are welcome to meet the student assistants in the corresponding lecture theatre to upload your files.
Please note that if you are using PowerPoint, non-Latin fonts must be embedded in your .ppt file, as such fonts cannot be installed on the fixed-installation computers in the lecture theatres. We therefore kindly ask you to bring your presentation(s) in PDF format as well, with fonts embedded. Although it is possible to use your own laptop, we strongly advise against it, as this frequently causes technical difficulties and delays that affect the entire session. Please ensure that your files are uploaded to the lecture theatre computers well in advance.
For internet access during the conference, participants may use the Eduroam network. If your institution is not affiliated with Eduroam, a temporary guest account can be assigned to you at the registration desk.
Please hand in your posters (A0 format) at the registration desk when you register.
5. Sustainability Policy
The aim of the conference is to be as sustainable as possible. Various measures are planned to avoid general and food waste as much as possible, including:
the use of reusable cups, plates and cutlery
- the provision of tap water (which in Göttingen comes from the Harz mountains and is of excellent quality)
- a separate registration for the congress dinner for better advance planning of the catering
6. Social and Cultural Events
All participants are warmly invited to attend a reception on Tuesday, 28 July, which will be held at the historic Göttingen City Hall.
The conference dinner on Thursday, 30 July required individual registration and separate payment. We regret to inform you that registration for this event has now closed. Kindly ensure you bring your name badge for admission to both the reception and the conference dinner, as it will be required for entry.
For those who wish to take an active break from sitting all day, the University’s Health Campus will offer an Active Break with gentle exercise on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 4:00 pm. The meeting point will be in front of Lecture Theatre 011.
To help you plan your visit to Göttingen more efficiently and to assist with general orientation, a Travel Guide is available on the Congress website: http://iccs13.com/.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, 29 July, a variety of activities will be offered for your enjoyment:
6.1 Exhibition Visits
The exhibition Entangled Communities: Global Egypt and Its Multilingual Manuscript Heritage will be open to congress participants and the general public from 27 to 31 July, daily between 14:00 and 17:00, at the Göttingen State and University Library. An Exhibition Guide will be available online via http://iccs13.com/.
As Wednesday, 29 July, is the congress’s panel-free day, we expect many participants to take the opportunity to visit the exhibition that afternoon. To help ensure a pleasant experience for everyone and to avoid overcrowding, we kindly ask those planning to visit on Wednesday to follow the suggested time slots below:
• Surnames A–E: 14:30–15:15
• Surnames F–O: 15:15–16:00
• Surnames P–Z: 16:00–17:00
These time slots are intended solely to facilitate a smoother flow of visitors on Wednesday afternoon. Since the exhibition will remain open every afternoon from 27 to 31 July (14:00–17:00), participants are warmly invited to visit on any of those days if that is more convenient.
5.2 History of Scholarship in Göttingen
A small poster exhibition curated by students from the Institute of Egyptology and Coptic Studies will give a glimpse into the history of scholarship in Göttingen. The posters will be shown near the lecture theatres ZHG 008 and 009.
5.3 City Tours
Additionally, on Wednesday afternoon, students will offer guided tours through the historic centre of Göttingen. These tours will pass by the homes of the late 18th- and early 19th-century scholars who worked on the decipherment of hieroglyphs. If you would like to participate in one of these guided city tours, please indicate your interest during registration on Sunday, 26 July, or Monday, 27 July.
5.4 Post-Congress Visits
After the congress, participants may wish to visit the Egyptian and Coptic collections of nearby German museums. The closest museums with extensive collections of Egyptian and Coptic artefacts are in Hannover and Hildesheim, which are 25–35 minutes away by high-speed train or 75 minutes by local train. The museums in Berlin are approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes away by train.
You can organise your trips via the Deutsche Bahn website or app. Participants may also wish to visit the Coptic Monastery near Göttingen, the residence of His Eminence Metropolitan Damian. For further information or assistance with transport logistics, please enquire at the registration desk.
7. Timeline
| First circular | January 30, 2025 |
| Second circular, registration opening and call for papers | June 25, 2025 |
| Deadline for panel submission | March 31, 2026 (Extended) |
| Deadline for abstract/poster submission | March 31, 2026 (Extended) |
| Third circular | February 10, 2026 |
| Regular registration closure | March 31, 2026 |
| Fourth circular and congress programme | May 2026 |
| Fifth and last circular | July 17, 2026 |
| IACS Congress | July 27 – August 1, 2026 |
Organising Committee
Heike Behlmer, Carolina Kolze, Heidi Köpp-Junk and Orell Witthuhn
(Georg–August–Universität Göttingen)
Frank Feder (Congress Secretary), Leila Hyde, Theresa Kohl, Malte Rosenau, and Selina Schuster (Niedersächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Göttingen)
[1] For orientation this interactive map can be used: https://lageplan.uni-goettingen.de