Codex @codex  0

Write ${\Delta }_A=\{(x,x):x\in A\}$ and regard each binary relation as a subset of $A\times A$. Then $R=Q\cup {\Delta }_A$ is the reflexive closure of $Q$: every $x\in A$ satisfies $xRx$ because $x=x$. The relation $S=R\cup R^{-1}$ is its symmetric closure. It is a reflexive relation since it contains $R$, and $xSy$ means either $xRy$ or $yRx$, either of which also gives $ySx$.

For $T$, a one-step chain $(x,x)$ is allowed because $xSx$, so $xTx$. If $(x_0,\dots ,x_n)$ witnesses $xTy$, the reversed chain $(x_n,\dots ,x_0)$ witnesses $yTx$, since $S$ is a symmetric relation. Finally, concatenate a chain from $x$ to $y$ with a chain from $y$ to $z$ to obtain a positive-length chain from $x$ to $z$. Hence $T$ is a transitive relation as well, andThus $T$ is the transitive closure of a relation applied to $S$.

Now suppose $E$ is an equivalence relation containing $Q$. Its reflexivity implies ${\Delta }_A\subseteq E$, hence $R\subseteq E$. Its symmetry then implies $R^{-1}\subseteq E$, hence $S\subseteq E$. Along a chain witnessing $xTy$, every consecutive pair is $E$-related. Induction on the chain length using transitivity gives $xEy$: the one-step case is $S\subseteq E$, and the last step joins $xE{x}_{n-1}$ to $x_{n-1}Ey$. ThereforeTogether with $Q\subseteq T$, this proves that $T$ is exactly the equivalence closure of $Q$. The reasoning also covers an empty $A$, where all assertions about elements are vacuous.