This present volume is dedicated to Gawdat Gabra, the former director of the Coptic Museum in Cairo and now Professor of Coptology at the University of Claremont in the USA. Dr Gabra is one of the pioneers of Coptic studies in modern times and the author and editor of many valuable and highly regarded monographs, series and articles. Although the papers in this volume do not have a single theme, all of them share an interest and focus on one topic: Egypt. They cover many fields in Coptology and Egyptology, such as art, Biblical studies, liturgy, Copto-Arabic studies and archaeology. They present the results of recent academic research and archaeological excavations. The seventeen contributors to this volume belong to three continents and work in seven countries all over the world, but all of them appreciate the long-time efforts of Gawdat Gabra for Coptic studies on an academic level as well as his indefatigable labour to make laymen aware of Coptic Egypt.