1. Student Catalogue
  2. Religion and power in the Eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

Religion and power in the Eastern Mediterranean in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages

1.     From pagan to Christian emperors. The imperial power and the Christian Ecumenical Councils up to the Henoticon Decree (482 CE), Volker Drecoll, 28.03.2023 2.     Imperial power from the Henoticon Decree to the end of the Justinian’s time 565 CE), Volker Drecoll, 04.04.2023 3.     Eschatological ideas and their political role in Syriac and Greek texts. Emmanouela Grypeou, 18.04.2023 4.      Rabbinic literature up to the 6th c.CE – Its relation to the Christian and Sassanid imperial ideology. Holger Zellentin, 25.04.2023 5.     Christian spirituality and ascetic literature in diverse political functions. Dimitrios Moschos, 02.05.2023 6.     Qur’an and the Caliphate – public and private forms of religious piety patterns. Holger Zellentin, 09.05.2023 7.     Other Christianities: Oriental, African and Western Christian communities after the end of Late Antiquity. Dimitrios Moschos, 16.05.2023 8.     The Christian literature after Islam and its political background. Emmanouela Grypeou, 23.05.2023 There will be also an introductory session on 14.02.2023, 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
Application Deadline
Virtual Part starting date 2023-02-14
Virtual Part closing date 2023-05-23
Total student workload 184
Specific field of studies Theology, Religious studies, Cultural Studies, History, Political science, Archeology
Pre-requisite for selection CV Motivation Letter Level of English (According to CEFR)
Academic pre-requisites for applicants General knowledge of events happened from 4th to 7th c. CE. Ability to question the texts and aquire theological knowledge.
Physical Part starting date 2023-06-26
Physical Part Description · Monday, 26.06.2023 15.00 – 19.00 "Transforming religion in the Eastern Mediterranean: tour and seminar session in the Byzantine Museum of Athens" (all instructors together) · Tuesday 27.06.2023 10.00-18.00 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” (Dimitrios Moschos) · Wednesday, 28.06.2023 9.00-13.00 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, 29.06.2023 Imperial donation policy towards religion in the Eastern Empire during the 5th c. – The case of late antique Athens (Dimitrios Moschos) "The encounter between the Coranic community, Christians and Jews", Holger Zellentin · Friday, the 30.06.2023 9.00-13.00 Jews among Christians and the imperial power in the Eastern Mediterranean. Tour at the Jewish Museum of Athens. Jews among Christians and the byzantine imperial power in the Eastern Mediterranean upon the text of Doctrina Addai, (Emmanouela Grypeou). 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 2023-06-30
Language level required B2
Field of studies related to the course Social Science and Humanities
Course location Athens, Greece
Course language English German