Religion and power in the Eastern Mediterranean
'- 26 February 2025 Session title: From pagan to Christian emperors. The imperial power and the Christian Ecumenical Councils up to the Henoticon Decree (482 CE), - 5 March 2025 Session title: Imperial power from the Henoticon Decree to the end of the Justinian’s time 565 CE) - 12 March 2025 Session title:Eschatological ideas and their political role in Syriac and Greek texts. - 19 March 2025 Session title:Rabbinic literature up to the 6th c.CE – Its relation to the Christian and Sassanid imperial ideology. - 26 March 2025 Session title:Christian spirituality and ascetic literature in diverse political functions. - 2 April 2025 Session title:Qur’an and the Caliphate – public and private forms of religious piety patterns. - 9 April 2025 Session title:Other Christianities: Oriental, African and Western Christian communities after the end of Late Antiquity. - 30 April 2025 Session title:The Christian literature after Islam and its political background. There will be also an introductory session on 12 February 2025, where literature and necessary general knowledge will be provided Discover how the interaction between political power and Christianity, Judaism, Early Islam, and other religious currents shaped cultural and religious identities in the broader Eastern Mediterranean and explore ways of relating religion and politics in history and the present
Application Deadline
Virtual Part starting date
2025-02-12
Virtual Part closing date
2025-04-30
Total student workload
224
Specific field of studies
Religion, Political Science, Classical culture
Pre-requisite for selection
CV
Motivation Letter
Level of English (According to CEFR)
Academic pre-requisites for applicants
Student background: Bachelor's and Master's students at CIVIS member universities with general knowledge of events that happened from 4th to 7th c. CE. in the Eastern Mediterranean (students of history, Byzantine or medieval studies, Theology, religious studies)
Familiarity with elementary teachings of Christianity, Jewish religion and Islam
Ability to question texts and other historical sources.
Physical Part starting date
2025-06-30
Physical Part Description
'- Monday, 30 June 2025 15:00 - 19:00 CET "Transforming religion in the Eastern Mediterranean: tour and seminar session in the Byzantine Museum of Athens" (all instructors together)
- Tuesday 01 July 2025 10:00 - 18:00 CET Sessions on “The new Christian empire – Constantinople as a holy city from 7th to 9th c. – Religion and power in Iconoclasm. The emperor and the liturgy – The influence of Constantinople and the idea of the Empire in the Eastern Christian cult” Visit of a relative site. (Dimitrios Moschos)
- Wednesday 02 July 2025 9:00 - 18:00 CET Session on “legislation governing religions and heresies”. 14.00-18.00. Session on "Religion, culture, and war - Conceptions of the relation between religion and war" (Volker Drecoll).
- Thursday 03 July 2025 9:00 - 18:00 CET Christians and public space in late-antique Corinth (Dimitrios Moschos) Jews among Christians and the byzantine imperial power in the Eastern Mediterranean upon the text of Doctrina Addai, (Emmanouela Grypeou).
- Friday 04 July 2025 9:00 - 13:00 CET Tour at the Islamic Museum of Athens. "The encounter between the Coranic community, Christians and Jews", Holger Zellentin
Program subject to changes. The sessions will be combined with visits on sites of interest for the object of the courses (museum visits in Athens, visit of byzantine churches in the Attica district, visit of Greek-Roman excavations in Athens and Corinth).
Physical Part closing date
2025-07-04
Language level required
B2
Field of studies related to the course
Social Science and Humanities
Course location
Athens, Greece
Course language
English