It is with much sadness and regret that we note the passing of our great colleague, Peter Nagel, Professor of Christian Orient at the Universities of Halle/Saale and Bonn.
Professor Nagel had been a member of the IACS board since 1976 and president of our association from 1988 to 1992. His manifold contributions to Coptic studies relate to early monasticism, Manichaeism, and Gnostic texts, to the grammatical investigation of the Lycopolitan and Akhmimic dialects, and last but not least, to the Coptic translation of the Septuagint. He continued to work until a few weeks ago. His most recent printed books include new editions and translations of several texts from the Nag Hammadi codices and the Codex Tchacos and the Epistula Apostolorum (Codex apocryphus gnosticus Novi Testamenti, vol. 2, 2023), as well as editions of books of the Sahidic Pentateuch – Genesis (2022), Deuteronomy (2020) – and of the Sahidic Psalter (2022). He could still complete a manuscript of a new, critical edition of the Apocalypse of Elijah in March 2024. For some of us, he was an inspiring and caring teacher; many of us remember this learned man as an exceedingly modest personality and scholar of great courtesy and respect towards colleagues. He lived to the age of 86.