Art. 1. The name of this learned society in the field of Coptic Studies shall be the International Association for Coptic Studies.

Art. 2. Purposes of the Association. The Association shall be a non-profit organization designed to encourage and contribute to the progress of all aspects of Coptic Studies. It shall promote international cooperation among individuals as well as among organizations and institutions. It shall advance the dissemination of information about work in progress, new discoveries and new results, organize periodic Congresses on Coptic Studies, facilitate full access to and the rapid publication of source materials, identify priorities for research at a given time, bring to the attention of younger scholars the whole range of Coptic Studies, etc.

Art. 3. Membership. The Association is open to all who are interested in Coptic Studies. All participants in the First International Congress of Coptology as well as those not present but known to be interested in membership, are given the opportunity through the end of 1977 to be charter members. Subsequent members will be elected by a poll of the Board if nominations are submitted by at least two members to the 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. The annual membership fee will be set by the Business Meeting of the Association, with a reduced rate for students. Institutional memberships are permitted; a representative of such an institution would have one vote.

Art. 4. Officers.

a. Honorary Officers. The Association may choose to elect permanent Honorary Presidents.

b. Executive Officers. There will be five non-permanent officers: President, President-Elect, Congress Secretary, Editor of the Association’s Newsletter, and the Director of the Cairo Center of the Association. The terms of office of the executive officers are from one stated Business Meeting to the next, i.e. four years, and will expire with the election of new officers. Only the Editor of the Newsletter and the Director of the Cairo Center are subject to reelection without intervening term. The President-Elect presides in the absence of the President and normally succeeds him as President. The office of the Editor of the Newsletter also functions as a clearing-house of information to members; the Editor will act as the Treasurer of the Association, in which capacity he will submit an annual report to the Board.

Art. 5. Board. The Board will consist of all executive officers plus four members at large. The members at large have staggered terms in two classes of two members each. Initially two will be elected to serve until the second Congress and two until the third. Decisions will be by a majority vote of those present at the meeting. The Board receives and approves reports from the officers for presentation at the Business Meeting, and is responsible for the Association’s activity between Congresses. It holds stated meetings just before and after each Congress. Special meetings of the Board may be called by a request of three of its members approved by a majority of its members and scheduled at least three months in advance; a quorum shall consist of five members. The Board will have the right in the case of a vacancy to elect a replacement to serve until the next Business Meeting. During each Congress, a Nominations Committee will choose a new slate of Board members for nomination during the Business Meeting at the end of the Congress. The Nominations Committee will be formed by the President, the President-Elect, the Congress Secretary, the Editor of the Newsletter, the Director of the Cairo Center, and the two continuing board members at large. If any members of the Nominations Committee are absent, the President will make a reasonable effort to solicit their opinions for consideration.

Art. 6. Congresses. The Association will meet normally at four year intervals. Priority should be given to locations at which members are not excluded from attending. A Business Meeting of the Association will be held at each regular Congress. A provisional agenda for the Business Meeting will be published in the Newsletter. 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. The Business Meeting confirms members elected by the Board, elects officers, sets dues, endorses research projects, and takes other actions advancing Coptic Studies. Decisions will be by a majority vote of those present at the Business Meeting. Special meetings may also be convened in addition to the Congresses. Visitors may be admitted to the Congresses but not to the Business Meeting.

Art. 7. Finances. The expenses of the Association will be borne by the members in the form of annual dues and registration fees at the Congresses, as well as by donations and grants from individuals and institutions.

Art. 8. The Cairo Center. This Center will be set up in cooperation with the Société d’Archéologie Copte through a mutually adopted Agreement.

Art. 9. The Statutes may be revised by a majority vote at a Business Meeting. Proposals for changes in the Statutes must be submitted in writing to the Editor of the Newsletter, who will publish them in the Newsletter before the Business Meeting at which they are to be considered.