The Hellenic Institute

Steering Group

• Professor Ruth Livesey, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation)
• Professor Giuliana Pieri, Vice-Principal (International), Executive Dean, School of Humanities
• Professor Robert Eaglestone, Vice-Dean for Research, School of Humanities
• Dr Rob Priest, Head of History Department
• Professor Christos Kremmydas, Head of Classics Department
• Dr Weipin Tsai, Director of Research, History Department
• Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, Director of The Hellenic Institute
• Dr Achilleas Hadjikyriacou, Deputy Director of the Hellenic Institute, Director of Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies (until 31 May 2024)
• Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis, Lecturer in Modern Greek History, Director of Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies
• Professor Veronica della Dorra, Co-Director of the Centre for the GeoHumanities
• Professor Mike Edwards, Honorary Research Fellow
• + Michael Heslop, Honorary Fellow (2002-2021)
• Dr John Kittmer, GCOP
• Mrs Edmée Leventis, OBE, Honorary Fellow (2000-2023)
• Mrs Louisa Leventis, Executive Director, A. G. Leventis Foundation
• Professor Francis Robinson, CBE, DL

Associated Staff

• Professor Richard Alston, BA, PhD: Roman history, especially Roman Egypt; urbanism in the ancient world; Roman arm
• Professor Kate Cooper, BA, MTS, PhD: The Mediterranean world in the Roman period, particularly daily life and the family, religion and gender, social identity; early Christianity, Christian saints and martyrs
• Professor Veronica Della Dora, BA, PhD: Cultural and historical geography; landscape studies; history of cartography; Byzantine and post-Byzantine sacred geographies
• Charalambos Dendrinos, MA, PhD (Senior Lecturer): Byzantine literature and Greek palaeography; editing and transmission of Byzantine texts
• Professor Mike Edwards, BA, PhD (Honorary Research Fellow): Classical oratory and rhetoric; Greek palaeography and textual criticism.
• Professor Manolis Galenianos, MA, PhD: Contemporary Greek economy; the Greek financial crisis.
• Liz Gloyn MA, PhD (Lecturer): Reception of classical Greece in popular culture, with a particular interest in film and children's literature.
• David Gwynn, MA, DPhil (Reader): Late Antique history and theology
• Professor Jonathan Harris, MA, PhD: Byzantine history, 1000-1453; Byzantium and the West, especially during the Crusades and the Italian Renaissance
• Richard Hawley, MA, DPhil (Senior Lecturer): Greek literature, especially drama; Greek social history; women in classical antiquity; later Greek literature
• Professor Andrew Jotischky, MPhil, PhD (History): Byzantium and the West, Byzantium and the Latin East; Eastern and Western Monasticism
  
• Professor Christos Kremmydas, MA, PhD (Lecturer): Greek rhetoric and oratory (especially Demosthenes); Athenian political and social history (especially law); Greek papyrology
• Nick Lowe, MA, PhD (Reader): Greek and Latin literature, especially comedy; Greek religion
• David Natal Villazala MA, PhD (Lecturer), Head of the ERC-project 'Connected Clerics', Christianity in Late Antiquity
• Professor Jari Pakkanen, BA, PhD: Greek archaeology and Architecture; the methodology of architectural reconstructions
• Paris Papamichos Chronakis, MA, PhD (Lecturer), Modern Greek History, Greek Jewry, Interrelations among Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Balkans, Greek cities, Greek Diaspora 
• Dimitra Kokkini Robson, MA, PhD (Language Tutor), Classical Greek & Latin language and literature; Greek Drama, Gender studies, Masculinities, Cultural History
• Professor Francis Robinson, MA, PhD: Greek influence on Islamic thought
• Professor Lene Rubinstein, MA, PhD: Athenian social history; Athenian oratory and law; papyrology; Roman Egypt
• John Sellars, MA, PhD (Reader): Hellenistic philosophy, the Stoic tradition
• Lucrezia Sperindio, MA, PhD (Language Tutor in Greek and Latin), Greek and Roman tragedy
• Efi Spentzou, MA, DPhil (Reader): Reception of the classical tradition, especially in modern Greece; classics and modern critical thought
• Polymnia Tsagouria, MA, PhD (Tutor seconded by Greek Ministry of Education): Modern Greek language, literature and culture
• Barbara Zipser, PhD (Senior Lecturer): Byzantine manuscripts; Greek medicine; history of texts

Research Associates

• Revd Andreas Andreopoulos, MA, PhD (Reader, Research Associate): Orthodox Christianity; Early and Orthodox ecclesiology; Christian Semiotics in Iconography, Liturgy and Holy Tradition
• Lia Chisacof, PhD (Research Associate): Post-Byzantine studies; Greek palaeography; modern Greek language and literature; Greek authors in the Romanian principalities (18th-20th c.)
• Professor Emeritus Richard Clogg, MA, DPhil (Honorary Research Associate): Modern Greek history
• Professor John Demetracopoulos, MA, PhD (Research Associate): Byzantine philosophy and theology, editor-in-chief of "Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus Project"
• Laura Franco, MA, PhD (Research Associate): Byzantine literature and hagiography, editions of Byzantine texts, Greek palaeography
• + Michael Heslop, MA (Honorary Research Associate, Honorary Fellow): The defence system of Rhodes and the Dodecanese in the medieval period (d. 5 April 2022)
• James M. Holt, MA (Research Associate): Greek paleography; editing of Greek texts
• + Kostas Kalimtzis, PhD (Honorary Research Associate): Greek philosophical and political thought (d. 17 November 2021)
• Chrysovalantis Kyriacou, MA, PhD (Lecturer, Research Associate), Late Antique, Byzantine and Medieval history and culture; History and culture of Cyprus; Orthodox theology and spirituality.
• Georgios Liakopoulos, MA, PhD (Research Associate): Ottoman Epigraphy and Palaeography, Historical Geography, the Greek world in the Ottoman Empire
• Maria Rosaria Marchionibus, MA, PhD (Research Associate, University of Naples "L'Orientale"): Byzantine art and architecture; iconography; magic and occult; sacred space
• Brian McLaughlin, MA, MSc, PhD (Research Associate): Byzantine history, 1204-1453; Byzantine historiography and literature
• Andreas Meitanis, MA, PhD (Research Associate, British School at Athens Centenary Fellow): History of Byzantine Studies in Britain; Byzantine literature, history and society; Greek palaeography; history of Greek and Cypriot Diaspora in Southern Africa (19th-20th c.)
• Sebastian F. Moro Tornese, MA, PhD (Research Associate): Ancient Greek philosophy; Neoplatonic aesthetics; philosophy of music; eudaimonia and music in Greek philosophy; Greek philosophy in the modern world
• Nikolaos Moschonas, MA, PhD (Professor Emeritus, Honorary Research Fellow): Greek and Latin palaeography; Byzantine relations with Western Europe
• Fevronia Nousia, MA, PhD (Research Associate): Byzantine literature and education; editions of Byzantine texts; Greek palaeography
• Robin Oakley, MA, DPhil (Honorary Research Fellow): History of Cypriot Diaspora in Britain
• Konstantinos Palaiologos, MA, PhD (Research Associate): editions of Byzantine texts; Orthodox theology; Greek palaeography; member of "Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus Project"
• Annaclara Cataldi Palau, MA, PhD (independent scholar): Greek palaeography 
• Vasos Pasiourtides, MA, PhD (Research Associate): editions of Byzantine texts; Orthodox theology; Greek palaeography; member of "Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus Project"
• Richard Price, MTh, DPhil (Professor Emeritus, Honorary Research Fellow): history of Christianity; Ecumenical Councils; relations between Greek East and Latin West
• Professor Emeritus Boris Rankov, MA, DPhil (Research Associate): Greek trireme project; Roman history; archaeology of the Roman Empire
• Michail Konstantinou-Rizos, MA, PhD (Research Associate): editions of Byzantine texts; Greek and Latin palaeography; member of "Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus Project"
• Professor Emerita Anne Sheppard, MA, DPhil (Research Associate): Greek philosophy, especially Neoplatonism; ancient literary criticism
• Philip Taylor (Honorary Research Associate): Porphyrogenitus Project, TeX editing; electronic editions of Byzantine texts
• George Vassiadis, MA, PhD (Research Associate): Modern Greek History; Anglo-Hellenic Relations; Greek Diaspora
• Christopher Wright, MA, PhD (Honorary Research Associate): Greek and Latin palaeography; editing of Greek texts; history of Byzantium and the Latin East; member of "Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus Project"

The Hellenic Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London

We are delighted to invite you to our forthcoming events below, organized also in collaboration with other institutions, addressed to students, scholars and the wider public this year. We look forward to seeing you, your family and friends.

You are also welcome to pray and attend meetings and Holy Services with Royal Holloway Multifaith Chaplaincy and the Greek Orthodox Church of St Andrew the Apostle in Englefield Green, Egham.

For a guide to travel to the College, please click here.

7 February-21 March 2025: The Letters of George of Cyprus

University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts

Room 103, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU and online via Zoom on Fridays 15:30-17:30 (GMT).

The Seminar is preparing a new annotated edition and translation of the Letters of George of Cyprus (later Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory II, 1283-1289). Scholars and graduate students from Colleges of the University of London and visiting students and scholars from other Universities and research centres are most welcome to participate. 

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos and Jack Dooley 

2 November 2024: “The current state of religious monuments in the occupied areas of Cyprus (1974-2024)” by Dr Charalampos Chotzakoglou

The Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, Marylebone, London W1U 5AS at 3pm

This year we commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Turkish Invasion in Cyprus (1974-2024). An important aspect of its repercussions is the destruction of the cultural heritage by the looting of ancient sites, religious monuments, museums, and private collections in the occupied areas. Thousands of antiquities, icons, detached murals, and artifacts were illegally sold outside Cyprus. As a result, in the last fifty years civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the Republic of Cyprus and cultural foundations in the Diaspora, notably the A. G. Leventis Foundation, coordinated efforts towards the repatriation, preservation and restoration of a very large number of these treasures. The Republic of Cyprus holds the first place for the repatriation of misappropriated cultural heritage internationally with the assistance of several foreign governments, including those of Australia, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, and USA. In this context, Dr Charalampos Chotzakoglou presented the current state of religious monuments belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus, the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Holy Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai, the Roman Catholic, Protestant, Anglican, Maronite and Armenian Churches, the Jewish community and the Alevis in the occupied areas of Cyprus, and discuss the progress of repatriation and restoration of Cypriot historic monuments as well as the study of returned artifacts and the role of the Cypriot Diaspora in identifying and preserving the misappropriated cultural heritage of Cyprus. The lecture, was introduced by Dr Naya Giakoumaki, Director of the Hellenic Centre, and followed by Q&A moderated by Mrs Evangelia Roussou. The event was attended by 60 students, academics and members of the public in the presence of the Consul General of Cyprus Mr Odysseas Odysseos, Μrs Edmée Leventis, former Ambassador of Cyprus to UNESCO and former member of the Hellenic Institute Steering Group, and Mrs Agatha Kalisperas, former Director of The Hellenic Centre.

Dr Charalampos Chotzakoglou is Director of the Cultural Foundation “World Forum of Religions and Cultures” of the Kykkos Monastery, Chairman of the Society of Cypriot Studies, Chairman of the Cypriot Commission for Byzantine Studies, and Secretary of the Society of the Asia-Minor Cypriots.

Organised jointly by The Hellenic Centre, and The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies of Royal Holloway, University of London with the support of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Cyprus. 

For further information please contact The Hellenic Centre at info@helleniccentre.org 

 

19 October 2024: “The Study of Byzantium: the Legacy of Baynes, Hussey and Chrysostomides” by Dr Andreas Meitanis, BSA Centenary Fellow

Sixteenth Annual Memorial Lecture for Julian Chrysostomides

The College Chapel, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 5pm

The Lecture presented the results of sifting through, cataloguing and preserving the private papers of the eminent Byzantinists Norman Hepburn Baynes (1877-1961), Joan Mervyn Hussey (1907-2006) and Julian Chrysostomides (1928-2008), who represent three successive generations of scholars and teachers closely linked with the History Department of Royal Holloway and the University of London, shedding further light to their contribution to the study of Byzantium in Britain and internationally. The mostly unpublished archival material, ranging from private letters, postcards and photos, to draft lectures and student reports, covers over a century. Funded by the School of Humanities and the British School at Athens, the cataloguing and study of these papers is part of a research project conducted by Jack Dooley and Dr Andreas Meitanis under the direction of Dr Charalambos Dendrinos at the Hellenic Institute, with the support of Anne-Marie Purcell, Archivist & Special Collections Curator at Royal Holloway. Hosted by the Reverend Daniel Walker, Anglican Chaplain at Royal Holloway, and introduced by Professor Francis Robinson, the Lecture was held at Royal Holloway Chapel followed by a reception in the Picture Gallery on Saturday 19 October 2024. Co-organised by The Hellenic Institute and the Royal Holloway Multifaith Chapel with the support of The Friends of the Hellenic Institute, the event was attended by 38 current and former students, staff, friends and members of the local community. 

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

 

14 October 2024: New volume published

Sacred Mobilities in Byzantium and Beyond: People, Objects and Relics, edited by Veronica della Dora, Charalambos Dendrinos, Marc Guscin, and David John Williams (The Medieval Mediterranean 140) (Brill: October 2024): E-Book ISBN: 978-90-04-70450-3, Hardback ISBN: 978-90-04-70158-8

Questions about space and the sacred are now central to Byzantine studies. Recent scholarship has addressed issues of embodiment and performance, power and identity, environmental perceptions and territorial imaginations. At the same time, the mobility turn in the humanities prompts new approaches to and understandings of processes of circulation of people, objects and ideas. Drawing together illuminating contributions from scholars in history, art history, literature, geography, architecture and theology, Sacred Mobilities in Byzantium and Beyond sets the stage for further cross-disciplinary dialogue concerning Orthodox Christian spiritual culture and society in the Byzantine Empire and in the centuries after its fall. Most of the chapters in the volume are based on presentations at the 2021 Byzantine Colloquium of the Institute of Classical Studies (ICS), University of London, School of Advanced Studies co-organised by The Hellenic Institute and Centre for the GeoHumanities of Royal Holloway, University of London (1–2 June 2021).

2 February-22 March 2024: The Letters of George of Cyprus

40th Anniversary of the University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts

Room 103, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU and online via Zoom on Fridays 15:30-17:30 (GMT).

The Seminar is preparing a new annotated edition and translation of the Letters of George of Cyprus (later Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory II, 1283-1289). Scholars and graduate students from Colleges of the University of London and visiting students and scholars from other Universities and research centres are most welcome to participate. This year we  celebrated the 40th Anniversary of our Seminar with a Reception held at Stewart House, University of London on 22 March 2024. The Reunion was attended by 28 current and past members, among whom the founding member Mrs Eirene Harvalia-Crook, Dr John Davis, Prof. Costas Constantinides and Dr Andreas Meitanis; another twenty members sent messages with their good wishes from all over the world, while a special birthday cake was graciously prepared by Mrs Sarah Dooley, to whom we offer our heartfelt thanks. The Seminar will resume its meetings between February and March 2025.

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos and Jack Dooley 

18 March 2024: “Harmonia and eudaimonia” : Greek philosophical ideas on musical education and the pursuit of happiness in the modern world

Twenty-second Annual Hellenic Lecture by Dr Sebastian F. Moro Tornese, with a response by Professor Emerita Anne Sheppard

In memory of Kostas Kalimtzis (1947-2021)

Windsor Building Auditorium, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 6.15pm

The lecture delved into the timeless philosophical ideals of harmony, virtue, and a meaningful life, exploring their contemporary relevance in a world often marked by cacophony and dissonance. The notion of cosmic harmony, far from being a mere metaphor or externally attractive image, emerges as an inner transformative symbol with practical value in our modern lives. Framed within the sublime dimension of reality, this symbol expands our imagination, fostering a deep longing for personal and social development in an organic and harmonious form. The concept of a harmonious soul activates our creative imagination, reminding us of our deepest human aspirations. Greek philosophical notions, such as harmonia as a virtue and the pursuit of the most human and better kind of life through exposure to scholê and theoria, as shared ideals practiced in youth education are integral to harmonious societies. Living in harmony with nature gives us the responsibility to create and maintain a harmonious world. We can choose either cacophony or symphony. It is in this context that music creates a space of scholê, where eudaimonia, real happiness, can flourish. Dr Moro Tornese discussed various Pythagorean, Platonic, Aristotelian and Neoplatonic views on virtuous life with relation to music and its contribution to the pursuit of harmonia and eudaimonia in contemporary societies dominated by inharmonious pursuit of material gain and instrumental activities, and then Professor Emerita Anne Sheppard offered a response, while Dr Henry Hobart gave the Vote of Thanks. Hosted by Professor Mark Fellowes, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Academic Strategy, Planning and Resources), the Lecture was followed by a drinks Reception in the Windsor Building Foyer and Dinner in honour of Dr Tornese and Professor Sheppard in the Picture Gallery, hosted by Professor Ruth Livesay, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research & Innovation) and Chair of the Hellenic Institute Steering Group. Dedicated to the memory of the distinguished Hellenist Kostas Kalimtzis, the event was attended by 90 students, staff, benefactors, sponsors, supporters and Friends of the Hellenic Institute. The Embassy of Greece was represented by the Consul General of Greece Mr Christos Goulas and the Educational Counsellor Mrs Eirene Veroni; our major benefactor, The A.G. Leventis Foundation, was represented by Mrs Edmée Leventis, former ambassador of Cyprus to UNESCO and member of the Hellenic Institute Steering Group, and her daughter Mrs Louisa Leventis, Executive Director of the Foundation. The family of the honorand also travelled from Greece and elsewhere to join us on this special occasion. Gemma Marenghi and Janice Rodriquez-Mendes from the College Philanthropy & Development Offices were also present.

Organised jointly by The Hellenic Institute and The Friends of the Hellenic Institute, the event was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Cyprus. 

Please donate to The Kostas Kalimizis Memorial Bursary Fund in support of our students pursuing Hellenic and Byzantine Studies

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

 

Last year we celebrated the 30th Anniversary of The Hellenic Institute, which was founded in 1993. As part of our celebrations a number of events were organised also in collaboration with other institutions, addressed to students, scholars and the wider public. Below are some of these events and other activities.

3 December 2023: Lunch in honour of the Greek Orthodox Community of St Andrew the Apostle in Egham

Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Campus, Founders Building, Dining Hall, Surrey TW20 0EX at 6.15pm

To mark the celebration of the Feast of St Andrew the Apostle, Patron Saint of the Greek Orthodox Community in Egham, The Hellenic Institute organized buffet lunch hosted by The Very Reverend Archimandrite Grigorios Laurenzano, held in a warm and festive atmosphere in the Founders' Dining Hall, followed by a visit in the Picture Gallery. Attended by 88 students, staff and visitors with their families and friends, the event fostered the close relations between Royal Holloway and the local and wider Greek Orthodox Community enhancing its role as Civic University.

The event was co-organised by The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies and sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Cyprus. 

For further information please contact: Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

22 November 2023: “The Greek rebels’ reception of Greek Antiquity during the War of Independence (1821-1830): an interdisciplinary and overall approach” by Dr Εmmanouil G. Chalkiadakis (University of Crete)

Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Campus, International Building, Room 244, Surrey TW20 0EX at 6.15pm

Studies on the relationship of the Greek Revolution with Greek Antiquity mainly focus on how foreigners and Philhellenes perceived Ancient Greece and the relation of the modern Greeks with Greek Antiquity. Based on a range of source material, including correspondence, memoirs, proclamations, official documents, legislation press and visual art, the lecture explored how Greek rebels and their leaders, such as Theodoros Kolokotronis, Nikitas Stamatelopoulos, Ioannis Makriyiannis, and Papaflessas among others, perceived their relationship with ancient Greece, especially the Persian Wars and the classical period, during the period of their Struggle for the Independence of Greece from the Ottoman Empire (1821-1832) and how they connected these models with their own identity, ideals, hopes, and realities. The role of the intellectual movement of Greek Enlightenment represented by Rigas Feraios, Adamantios Korais, and Dionysius Thessalos, as well as the educational and cultural association Philomousos Hetaireia (Society of Lovers of Muses) and of the secret revolutionary organisation Philike Hetaireia (Society of Friends) was crucial in this construction of the Hellenic past. The Lecture was attended by 25 graduate and postgraduate students and members of the academic and research staff from various Departments and Schools, followed by a reception in the School of Humanities Foyer.

Co-organised by The Hellenic Institute, the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies and the Centre for the Reception of Greece and Rome, School of Humanities, Royal Holloway, University of London, the event was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Cyprus.

For further information please contact: Dr Charalambos Dendrinos and Dr Liz Gloyn

28 October 2023: “Thirty Steps” by Lydia Kakabadse

A concert performed by The Choir of Royal Holloway to mark the close of The Hellenic Institute's 30th Anniversary celebrations

In memory of Julian Chrysostomides (1928-2008) and Joseph Anthony Munitiz (1931-2022)

The College Chapel, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 7pm

To mark the close of celebrations for its 30th Anniversary, The Hellenic Institute presented "Thirty Steps" by  leading choral composer and Royal Holloway alumna Lydia Kakabadse. This new commissioned choral piece was inspired by the "Ladder of Divine Ascent", an ascetic guide written by St John Climacus of Sinai (ca. 579 - ca. 649 CE). In this remarkable work of Byzantine spirituality, St John guides his monks through spiritual struggles to reach perfection, an inner process of self-discovery comparable to climbing thirty steps on a ladder, leading to union with God and salvation of the soul. "Thirty Steps" were premiered by the Choir of Royal Holloway, conducted by Rupert Gough, Director of Choral Music and College Organist, accompanied  by the harpist Cecily Beer, flautist Mary Bull and percussionist Tom Wagner. Hosted by the co-founder of The Hellenic Institute, Professor Emeritus Francis Robinson CBE DL FRAS, on behalf of the Principal and Vice-Chancellor Professor Julie Sanders, the event was attended by over 130 guests, students, staff, benefactors, sponsors, supporters and Friends of the Hellenic Institute. The event was co-organised with the Royal Holloway Anglican Chaplain Revd Dr Orion Edgar, who attende with Dr Sharon Edgar. The concert was blessed by His Eminence The Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, escorted by the Archdeacon the Very Revd George Tsourous and Mrs Eutychia Tsourous. Our honorary guest was His Eminence The Archbishop Damianos of Sinai, Pharan and Raitho, and Abbot of St Catherine’s Holy Monastery on Mount Sinai, who travelled from Sinai for this occasion. His speech on "Saint John Climacus and Leadership in the Modern World" was read in English by Mrs Aikaterini Spyropoulou. Other distinguished guests include His Grace The Bishop of Coventry Christopher Cocksworth, The Revd Archimandrite Grigorios Laurenzano of the St Andrew the Apostle Church in Englefield Green, the Revd Professor Emeritus Richard Price, the RHUL Honorary Fellows and philanthropists Mr Anastasios P. Leventis and Mrs Edmée Leventis, and Mr Len Lazaris, Alumnus of Royal Holloway. Officials included the Consul General of Greece Mr Christos Goulas and Mrs Eireni Veroni, Deputy Education Counsellor of the Embassy of Greece, Counsellor (Maritime Affairs) of the High Commission for Cyprus Dr Christos Atalianis with Mrs Lisa Atalianis, Dr John Kittmer, former British Ambassador to Greece and member of the Hellenic Institute Steering Group, Mrs Diana Moran BEM with Mr Robin Sider, and many members of the local and London Greek and Cypriot Communities. The concert was followed by a reception in the Picture Gallery.

The event was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports of the Republic of Cyprus. It was dedicated to the loving memory of our teachers and distinguished Byzantinists Julian Chrysostomides and Joseph Antony Munitiz, S.J., who are deeply missed by their many devoted students, colleagues and friends.

Organised jointly by The Hellenic Institute, the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies, and The Multifaith Chaplaincy

For further information please contact: Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

Please donate to The Hellenic Institute Studentships and Bursaries Fund in support of our students pursuing Hellenic and Byzantine Studies

7 April 2023: Julian Suite, Opus 85 by Philippos Tsalahouris

In memory of Julian Chrysostomides (1928-2008)

Megaron, The Athens Music Hall, Vassilissis Sophias and Kokkali, 11521 Athens, Greece, at 8.30pm (local time)

Premiere performance in Greece of Julian Suite (Ιουλιανή Σουΐτα), Opus 85 by Philippos Tsalahouris. This musical piece was commissioned by The Hellenic Institute on the occasion of the Fifth Anniversary of Julian Chrysostomides’ passing away (18.X.2013). The concert was performed by the  Athens State Orchestra under the direction of  Vasilis Chistopoulos in the presence of the composer and members of Julian Chrysostomides' family at the Christos Lambrakis Hall with an audience of over 1,500 people. The Hellenic Institute was represented by the Director and Dr Maria Litina. A fitting tribute to a true scholar and a devoted teacher, who through her scholarship, her love for Hellenism, and her 'proud humility' inspires generations of students all over world. 

For further information please contact: Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

30 March 2023: Philanthropia, Paideia and Gaia: Philanthropy, education and the environment in the modern world

Twenty-first Annual Hellenic Lecture by Mrs Edmée Leventis, OBE

In memory of Constantine Leventis (1938-2002)

The Chapel of Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 6pm, preceded by Evensong at 5.30pm

In her Lecture the former Ambassador of Cyprus at UNESCO and Honorary Fellow of Royal Holloway, drawing from her rich experience as member of UNESCO and the work of the A. G. Leventis Foundation, reflected on the Greek tradition and the role of philanthropic institutions in the modern world, developing human potential, defending human dignity and improving societies through education, culture and care for the natural environment.

Organised jointly by the Hellenic Institute and the Multifaith Chaplaincy at Royal Holloway the event was hosted by Professor Julie Sanders, Principal of Royal Holloway. The Lecture was preceded by Evensong sung by The Choir of Royal Holloway under the direction of Dr Rupert Gough, Director of Choral Music & College Organist, and followed by a Reception in the Chapel and Dinner in honour of the Speaker in the Picture Gallery.

The event was attended by over 100 students, colleagues and Friends. Among our distinguished guests were The Very Revd Achimandrite Grigorios Laurenzano and The Revd Dr Andreas Andreopoulos representing His Eminence The Archbishop Nikitas of Thyateira and Great Britain, His Excellency The High Commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus Mr Andreas S. Kakouris and Mrs Kareen Farrell Kakouris, Mrs Ifigeneia Kanara, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Greece representing His Excellency The Ambassador of Greece Mr Yannis Tsaousis, together with Mrs Elena Soupiana, Press Counsellor, and Dr Eirini Veroni, Deputy Counsellor (Education) and Head of the Education Office at the Embassy of Greece, Mr Anastasios P. Leventis, Mrs Louisa Leventis with Mr Thomas O'Shea and their family, Mr George Lemos representing the Hellenic Foundation, and Dr Natasha Lemos, Mrs Agatha Kalispera and Mrs Sofie Kydoniefs representing the Hellenic Centre in London, Mrs Georgina Dimopoulou, International Programmes Manager of the A. G. Leventis Foundation, Dr Elena Ellioti, President of the A. G. Leventis Scholars Association, Dr Anja Ulbrich, A. G. Leventis Curator for the Cypriot Collection at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Mr John Chrysostomides, Mr Alexandros Kedros, and many other members, Friends and supporters of the Hellenic Institute.

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

18 March 2023: Refugee Cities: Displacement and Urbanisation in post-imperial Eastern Mediterranean and South Asia

International Conference 

Senate House, University of London, First floor, Room 102, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

Despite their apparent differences, Eastern Mediterranean and South Asia share a contested historical legacy and an experience of ethnic mixing and unmixing that has shaped the urbanization process in intersecting ways. To begin with, in the 1920s, the Eastern Mediterranean served as a precedent for how decolonising states dealt with the question of ethnic diversity in a post-imperial setting: a deliberate ‘exchange of populations’ policy was first devised there to homogenize new nation-states, which would later be in part adopted during the Partition of India. Then, there are the parallel histories of ethnic cleansing in cities like Smyrna/Izmir, Lahore and Amritsar or the gradual ethnic homogenization of others such as Salonica/Thessaloniki, Kolkata and Dhaka. Finally, new forms of refugee urban rehabilitation were first introduced in interwar Greece only to serve later as a model for the resettlement of Partition refugees in Pakistan in the 1950s.

In a series of panels and a public-facing conversation, we explored the evolution of these new patterns of uprooting and resettlement from a comparative and cross-regional perspective. Workshop participants will investigate the interconnections between ethnic displacement and place-making in violently changing cityscapes; the material links between displacement and urban transformation (from urban planning and the architecture of homes to the spatialities of memory and heritage); urbanization, alienation and the traumas of ethnic and religious conflict; social contests over city space and the forging of new collective identities after displacement; the spatial politics of memory; critical architecture and the links between scholarship and technocratic expertise; and the circulation of peoples, concepts and know-how on refugees and urban matters between Eastern Mediterranean and South Asia.

Panel 1 (10 am – 12:30 pm)
Refugees and urbanism in post-Partition South Asia
• Rajarshi Dasgupta (Jawaharlal Nehru University), “A refugee neighbourhood in south Kolkata: microhistories of frontier urbanism”
• Himadri Chatterjee (University of Calcutta), “Autonomous Resettlement and Reproduction of Refugee Rurality: Communal Dynamics at Kolkata’s Urban Frontier”
• Sushmita Pati (National Law School of India University, Bangalore), “Demolitions and the Shaping of Urban Frontiers”
• Saheli Roychowdhury (Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Vivekananda Vidyabhavan, Kolkata), “The Curation of Memory in Middle-Class Refugee Settlements”
• Kaustubh Mani Sengupta (Bankura University), “Some notes towards an understanding of paras of Calcutta”
Moderator: Markus Daechsel (Royal Holloway University of London)

Panel 2 (2:30 – 4:30 pm)
Refugee Cities in Greece and Turkey
• Paris Papamichos Chronakis (Royal Holloway University of London), "Refugee City? Muslim and Christian refugees in wartime Salonica, 1912-1914"
• Alexandros Lamprou (Marburg University), "Youth mobilization in a post-imperial East Mediterranean city: Nationalist students against minorities in interwar Izmir, Turkey"
• Ellinor Morack (Bamberg University), "Forced migration as post-Ottoman labour migration: the case of 'exchangees' in Turkey, 1923-1929"
• Melis Cankara (Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy-ELIAMEP), "The Spatial Results of the Population Exchange in Rethymno, Crete"
Moderator: Stelios Gidis (University of Athens)

Concluding Roundtable Discussion (5:00-6:00 pm)
Refugees and the Production of Urban Space. Thinking Cross-Regionally
Kalliopi Amygdalou (HomeAcross), Rajarshi Dasgupta, Markus Daechsel
Chair: Sarah Ansari (Royal Holloway University of London)

The conference was the offspring of the Frontier Urbanism Initiative. It is jointly organized by the ERC Starting Grant HOMEACROSS-Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy; The Hellenic Institute and Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies (Royal Holloway, University of London); the Centre for Global South Asia (Royal Holloway, University of London); and the Centre for Hellenic Studies (King’s College London).

The conference was sponsored by the Society for Modern Greek Studies UK and has received additional financial support from the Modern Greek Studies Association Innovation Grant and the Humanities and Arts Research Institute (Royal Holloway, University of London).

For further information please contact Dr Paris Chronakis

15 March 2023: Michael Frank, One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World

Hybrid Book Talk at 6.30-8pm 

The Wiener Holocaust Library and the Holocaust Research Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London, through its Holocaust and Genocide Research Partnership, in partnership with Jewish Renaissance and the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, co-hosted this in-conversation event featuring author Michael Frank in discussion with Bart van Es and Paris Chronakis on Frank’s newest book, One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World.

This book features the remarkable story of ninety-nine-year-old Stella Levi whose conversations with the author over the course of six years bring to life the vibrant world of Jewish Rhodes, the deportation to Auschwitz that extinguished ninety percent of her community, and the resilience and wisdom of the woman who lived to tell the tale.

With nearly a century of life behind her, Stella Levi had never before spoken in detail about her past. Then she met Michael Frank. He came to her Greenwich Village apartment one Saturday afternoon to ask her a question about the Juderia, the neighbourhood on the Greek island of Rhodes where she’d grown up in a Jewish community that had thrived there for half a millennium.

Neither of them could know this was the first of one hundred Saturdays over the course of six years that they would spend in each other’s company. During these meetings Stella travelled back in time to conjure what it felt like to come of age on this luminous, legendary island in the eastern Aegean, which the Italians conquered in 1912, began governing as an official colonial possession in 1923, and continued to administer even after the Germans seized control in September 1943. The following July, the Germans rounded up all 1,700-plus residents of the Juderia and sent them first by boat and then by train to Auschwitz on what was the longest journey—measured by both time and distance—of any of the deportations. Ninety percent of them were murdered upon arrival.

One Hundred Saturdays is a portrait of one of the last survivors drawn at nearly the last possible moment, as well as an account of a tender and transformative friendship between storyteller and listener, offering a powerful “reminder that the ability to listen thoughtfully is a rare and significant gift" according to The Wall Street Journal, which named it one of the ten best books of 2022. The books has received a Natan Notable Book Award, two Jewish Book Council Awards, and the Sophie Brody Medal for outstanding achievement in Jewish literature

About the Speakers:

Michael Frank is also the author of What Is Missing, a novel, and The Mighty Franks, a memoir, which was awarded the 2018 JQ Wingate Prize and was named one of the best books of the year by The Telegraph and The New Statesman. The recipient of a 2020 Guggenheim Fellowship, he lives with his family in New York City and Camogli, Italy.

Paris Chronakis is Lecturer in Modern Greek History at Royal Holloway, University of London, where he teaches and researches on the history and memory of the Modern Mediterranean. His work explores questions of transition from empire to nation-state bringing together the interrelated histories of Jewish, Muslim and Christian urban middle classes from the late Ottoman Empire to the Holocaust. In the last years, his research and publications have expanded to post-imperial urban identities, Balkan War refugees, Zionism and anti-Zionism in interwar Europe, the Holocaust of Sephardi Jewry and digital Holocaust Studies. Bart van Es is Professor of English Literature and a Fellow of St Catherine’s College. His academic books include Shakespeare in Company, which traces the influence of the playwright’s fellow actors on his writing style. In 2014 he began to look into his family’s wartime history, knowing that his grandparents had been part of the Dutch resistance. This work has resulted in a factual novel, The Cut Out Girl: a Story of War and Family, Lost and Found, which was the winner of the Costa Book Awards in 2018.

Moderated by Christine Schmidt, Deputy Director and Head of Research at The Wiener Holocaust Library.

For further information please contact Dr Paris Chronakis

 

3 February-24 March 2023: The Letters of George of Cyprus

The University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts

Room 103, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU and online via Zoom on Fridays 15:30-17:30 (GMT).

The Seminar is preparing a new annotated edition and translation of the Letters of George of Cyprus (later Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory II, 1283-1289). 25 scholars and graduate students from Royal Holloway, King's College London, and Birkbeck College, University of London, the University of Athens and the University of Ioannina, and visiting students and scholars attended this year's meetings.

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos and Jack Dooley 

21 October 2022: Visit of HE the Deputy Foreign Minister for Diaspora Greeks Mr Andreas Katsaniotis to the College

At the invitation of The Hellenic Institute, HE the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister for Diaspora Greeks Mr Andreas Katsaniotis paid an official visit to the College on Friday 21 Οctober 2022 to discuss the present state and the future of Hellenic Studies at Royal Holloway. He was welcomed and guided around the College by the Vice-Principal (International) and Executive Dean of the School of Humanities Professor Giuliana Pieri, Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, Director of the Hellenic Institute and Dr Achilleas Hadjikyriacou, Manager of the Hellenic Institute and Director of the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies, Mrs Deborah Meyer, Head of Development and Operations, and Mrs Janice Rodriguez-Mendes, Development Manager (Major Gifts).

Mr Katsaniotis was accompanied by the Ambassador Mr Christodoulos Margaritis, Director of his Cabinet Office, Mrs Iphigenia Kanara, Deputy Head of the Diplomatic Mission of Greece in the UK representing HE the Ambassador of Greece in UK Mr Ioannis Raptakis, and Mrs Eleni Soupiana, Press Counsellor at the Embassy of Greece. The visit started with a guided tour in the Picture Gallery with the beautiful collection of Victorian paintings including “The Babylonian marriage market” by Edwin Long, inspired from Herodotus’ Histories, then through the North Quad with the imposing statue of Queen Victoria crowned by the College and the inscription of its inauguration, to The Emily Wilding Davison Building with the new Library and the Archive, where they examined, rare volumes with facsimile editions of eleventh- and twelfth-century Greek manuscripts with Aristophanes’ comedies and Sophocles’ tragedies, Bernard de Montfaucon’s Palaeographia Graeca with a dedication to King Louis XIV (Paris, 1708), and a second folio copy of William Shakespeare’s plays (1622) under the guidance of the Archives and Special Collections Curator Dr Anne Marie Purcell. Mr Katsaniotis was briefed by Dr Hadjikyriacou about the activities and research projects of the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies (CGDS). The visit concluded with Lunch in honour of HE the Deputy Foreign Minister hosted by Professor Pieri in the Large Boardroom in Founder’s Building in the presence of the Heads of Classics and History Departments, Dr Christos Kremmydas and Dr Daniel Beer respectively, the Modern Greek Language Tutor Dr Polymnia Tsagouria, Professor Konstantinos Markantonakis, Department of Information Security, and Mrs Meyer and Mrs Rodriguez-Mendes, representing the College Marketing and Communications Office.

During the Lunch, Professor Pieri thanked HE the Deputy Minister on behalf of the College and the School of Humanities for his Visit and his interest for the activities of The Hellenic Institute and the CGDS. On his part, Mr Katsaniotis expressed his warm thanks for the College’s hospitality and his appreciation for the work of the Institute and the CGDS: “Greek Diaspora is a very significant part of the Greek collective identity, history and culture. I am impressed by what I saw and heard today at Royal Holloway. The Greek State stands beside the The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies. We will support to the best of our abilities your copious efforts.” In his speech, Dr Dendrinos stressed “the tradition of the Greeks, from time immemorial to our own days, of exploring the world beyond the limits of their homeland, discovering new lands, seeking new ideas, opening new horizons and, most importantly, gaining a deeper understanding of themselves.” Finally, the Greek officials visited the College Chapel, which they admired for its symbolism and beauty. Before departing, Mr Katsaniotis expressed the wish to visit the College again.

15 October 2022: "Mneme / Lethe" by Panayiotis Gogos

A piano recital commemorated the centenary of the Asia Minor Catastrophe (1922) and opened the celebrations of the 30th Anniversary of The Hellenic Institute.

Dedicated to the memory of Julian Chrysostomides (1928-2008) and Michael Heslop (1941-2022)

Picture Gallery, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 7pm

The piano recital of pieces by Schubert, Bach and Beethoven expressed through the power of music of these great composers the dynamics of Mneme and Lethe (Memory and Oblivion). It opened with Schubert’s shorter A major, sonata D. 664, with a lyrical, buoyant, and poignant character, infused with seemingly happy memories of a summer in the Austrian country-side, which he described as “unimaginably lovely”. This was followed by Bach's chaconne, originally the final movement of the violin partita in the “anguished” key of D minor, a harrowing evocation of grief. In the late nineteenth century the virtuoso pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni brought the chaconne to renewed life as a piano transcription. The concert closed with Beethoven's famous “Moonlight sonata”, which predates by a year the composer's Heiligenstadt testament confessing his growing deafness. The sonata possesses an unusual structure for the time, with an end-weighted trajectory. The last movement, marked presto agitato, can be heard as a frenetic race to outrun the galloping horsemen of death, extinction, and oblivion, or a heroic facing of them. It is almost shocking in its ferocity, arguably unlike anything in western music before it. 

Sponsored by Dr Helen Heslop and co-organised by The Hellenic Institute, Royal Holloway Marketing & Communication, and the Friends of The Hellenic Institute, the concert was hosted by Professor Francis Robinson and was attended by over 140 students, colleagues, Friends and supporters.

To access the Audiovisual recording of the concert please click here.

Donations towards The Hellenic Institute in support of students pursuing Hellenic and Byzantine Studies at RHUL can be made online.

For further information please contact: Ch.Dendrinos@rhul.ac.uk

 

19 September 2022: Symphony "Arcadia", No 6, Opus 102 by Philippos Tsalahouris

Benaki Museum 138 Pireos & Andronikou Street, 118 54 Athens, Greece at 8.30pm (local time).

Premiere by the National Symphonic Orchestra of the Greek Radio and Television Service (ΕΡΤ) of the Symphony “Arcadia”, No. 6, Opus 102, composed and directed by Philippos Tsalahouris in memory of Angelos Dendrinos (1959-2021), Friend of the Hellenic Institute, commissioned by The Hellenic Institute and the International Society for Arcadia with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth of the Republic of Cyprus and anonymous donors. This concert honoured Angelos Dendrinos and his passionate love and inspiring work for Arcadia, real and ideal. The first part of the event was dedicated to the memory of Angelos Delivorias, former member of the Academy of Athens and director of the Benaki Museum, with the performance of works by the Greek composers Carrer, Skalkottas, Sicilianos and Tsalahouris. The concert was attended by over 250 colleagues, Friends, supporters and members of the public.

To access the audio-recording of the Symphony “Arcadia” please use the following hot links to each Part:

I. Arcadia silvis lux 

II. Nympharium Chorus 

III. Pan et Luna (solo flute by Melina Makri) 

IV. Deorum et hominum cunabulum 

For further information please contact Ch.Dendrinos@rhul.ac.uk

 

4 February-25 March 2022: The Letters of George of Cyprus

The University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts

Room 103, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU and online via Zoom on Fridays 15:00-17:00 (GMT).

The Seminar is preparing a new annotated edition and translation of the Letters of George of Cyprus (later Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory II, 1283-1289). Scholars and graduate students from University of London Colleges, other Colleges and Universities, and visiting students and academics, are most welcome to attend.

To join our meetings please use the link Zoom.

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos.

February-July 2022: 'Creating Diasporic Worlds' Creative Commissions 2022

February-July 2022: 'Creating Diasporic Worlds' Creative Commissions 2022

The Greek word diaspora indicates the dispersal of a group of people from one original country to other countries, or the act of spreading in this way. Embedded in its etymology (dia ‘across’ + speirein ‘sow seed’, ‘scatter like seed’) is a centrifugal movement away from a shared place of origin. This physical movement is usually balanced by a centripetal imaginary movement towards a longed-for homeland, which often translates into nostalgia (nostos ‘return home’ + algos ‘pain’) – the yearning for return home, or to an irrecoverable past condition. Lingering between past and present, and crossing geographical and political boundaries, diasporas are nonetheless deeply rooted in territorial imaginations and in a sense of place. They at once transcend and rest on the map. Diasporas are thus commonly defined by their geographical, social, political and spiritual liminality. Yet diasporas are also culturally expressed, creatively practiced and continually performed. In scattering seeds across the world, they create their own worlds and fertilize others.

The Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies and the Centre for the GeoHumanities at Royal Holloway, University of London in collaboration with the Cyprus High Commission in London and the Fitzwilliam Museum – University of Cambridge, funded three Creative Commissions on the theme of ‘Creating Diasporic Worlds’. Each of the three Commissions were funded with £3,000. The programme was open to any collaboration between creative practitioners and early career researchers.

The Call was announced on 3 February 2022. 22 applications were received, 9 projects were shortlisted, 5 teams were interviewed, and 3 proposals were selected and are currently under implementation. The artistic outcomes of these projects, which include video installations, soundscapes, art installations and prints, were displayed in an exhibition that  took place at the Cyprus High Commission, 13 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4L between 5-7 July 2022 and attracted a large audience.

These Creative Commissions emerge from a collaboration between the Cyprus High Commission - Cultural Section, the Fitzwilliam Museum – University of Cambridge (under the project “Being an Islander: Art and Identity of the Large Mediterranean Islands”), the Hellenic Institute, the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies (http://hellenic-institute.uk/) and the Centre for the GeoHumanities at Royal Holloway, University of London. 

For enquiries please contact: geohumanities@rhul.ac.uk 

 

7 February 2022: Bibliophilos. Festschrift in honour of Professor Costas N. Constantinides

Presentation of honorary volume

The volume Bibliophilos. Books and Learning in the Byzantine World published by Walter De Gruyter in the series Byzantinisches Archiv (Band 39) was presented online to the distinguished Byzantinist Costas N. Constantinides by former students, colleagues and friends. The title of the volume reflects Professor Constantinides’ major contribution to the fields of Greek palaeography, editions of Byzantine texts, Byzantine history, scholarship and education, and Cypriot manuscripts and culture. The volume is introduced by a preface and a tabula gratulatoria dedicated to the honorand, followed by twenty articles, written by seasoned and younger scholars, who are former colleagues and students of Professor Constantinides. These articles, which appear in alphabetical order, offer new material and shed fresh light to the study of Greek manuscripts, binders and scribes, and the life, works and activities of Byzantine scholars, teachers and students, providing editions of unpublished texts, including letters and poems, and exploring various aspects of Byzantine and Cypriot history, literature, art, science and culture. In the process the authors often challenge earlier views and offer new interpretations and insights. Bibliophilos is a book for the student, teacher and scholar of Byzantium in particular, and for every bibliophile in general. The volume, co-edited by Charalambos Dendrinos and Ilias Giarenis, and prepared under the auspices of the Hellenic Institute and the Ionian University, can be ordered online. Organised jointly by the Ionian University and the Hellenic Institute the event was attended by 35 students, colleagues and friends.

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

24 March 2022: Orthodox Liturgy to the Annunciation of the Mother of God

Royal Holloway Chapel, Surrey TW20 0EX at 7.30-9pm

An Orthodox Service dedicated to the Annunciation to the Mother of God, officiated by Father Andreas Andreopoulos will be sung for students, staff, members of the Orthodox local parish of St Andreas the Apostle of The Holy Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, and other Christian communities of Egham and Englefield Green. Prayers will be offered especially for the victims of the war and for divine protection in our College, parish and the world.

For further information please contact: aandreopoulos@hotmail.com

 

6-7 May 2022: Borderland:
Christian Identities and Cultures in Early Modern Cyprus and Beyond

International Virtual Colloquium

The Colloquium is dedicated to the loving memory of Michael Heslop (1941-2022), whose scholarly work enlightened perceptions of borderlands between Latins, Greeks and Others in Late Byzantium.

The fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed the emergence of new confessional identities throughout Europe as well as the re-negotiation and adaptation of earlier confessional self-perceptions. Over the past four decades, medieval and early modern Cyprus has attracted the attention of the international scholarly community as a geographically distinct zone of religious diversity. So far, research in the field covers aspects of identity formation, religious contention and conviviality as well as the construction of institutional, social and economic structures. Less attention has been paid, however, to the dynamics and mechanisms of Christian co-existence and strife in relation to religious culture. Equally important, yet largely unexplored, is the impact on Cypriot Christian self-perceptions and religious culture of major and broader developments in Europe (e.g., the Renaissance, Reformation and Counter-Reformation) and the Levant, at the time of the Ottoman expansion and the transformation of the post-Byzantine “Commonwealth”.

Since Fredrik Barth’s work on the development, maintenance and negotiation of group boundaries (1969), scholars have been focusing on the relationship between identity and boundary construction, especially in multi-confessional and multi-ethnic societies. Although hardly impenetrable, boundaries ―physical/territorial and imaginary/psychological/spiritual― diachronically function as visible, audible, tangible and performed markers of religious and cultural perception and self-perception. The aim of our conference is to address the status of Cyprus as a “borderland” or “frontier-zone”, already noted but not adequately investigated and analysed in historiography. In what ways were religious and cultural borders defined, constructed, negotiated, performed, and crossed in Cyprus between ca. 1500 and 1600? How can borders help us better understand Cypriot Christian identities (Orthodox, Latin, Maronite, Armenian, among others) and forms of cultural expression? By bringing together scholars working on early modern multi-confessionalism and Cyprus from different disciplines and perspectives, and employing different sources, approaches and methodologies, we seek to offer a channel for fruitful dialogue and exchange of views and ideas on key themes related to the island’s religious geography and cultural physiognomy in this critical period. These include, but are not restricted to, the following:

• Borders and confessional relationships: communal inclusivism and exclusivism, shared beliefs, perceptions and practices
• Cyprus and broader perceptions of the border (e.g., insularity, connectivities and fragmentation) in relation to identities
• Cypriot diasporic communities and their borders in Western European societies
• Boundaries (or lack of) in secular and sacred space between Christianity and Islam
• Ritual as border performing and crossing: liturgy and theology, marriage, processions, and political choreographies
• Literature, visual culture and multi-confessionalism: borders imagined and represented
• Colonial, anti-colonial, de-colonial and post-colonial readings of the multi-confessional past: the making and un-making of borders (e.g., instrumentalisation of confessional identities —inclusions and exclusions— in historiography and literature).

Co-organised by the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation,  The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, the conference is part of the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation’s research project CyChrist (POST-DOC/0916/0060). Funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation, CyChrist explores aspects of multi-confessionalism and human geography in early modern Cyprus, during the transitional period between the Venetian and Ottoman rule (ca. 1560-1670). The Conference was attended by over thirty students and scholars from Europe and the United States of America.

To download the programme with summaries of the papers please use this link.

To access the recording of the Conference please us the following links:

6 May 2022: https://youtu.be/rHVB7xBsCf4

7 May 2022, Part 1: https://youtu.be/IKlNgFYgUT4

7 May 2022, Part 2: https://youtu.be/Oh8r3S46Zis

7 May 2022, Part 3: https://youtu.be/iKiDFfa3UM0

For further information please contact Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriacou 

 

30 May2022: Looking East in Winter: Contemporary Thought and the Eastern Christian Tradition 

Twentieth Annual Hellenic Lecture by The Right Reverend and Right Honourable Lord Williams of Oystermouth

The Chapel of Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 6pm, preceded by Evensong at 5.30pm

Looking in the Western world today in many ways we seem to be living in wintry times. In his lecture the former Archbishop of Canterbury and eminent scholar of Eastern Christian thought reflected on Orthodox Christian spirituality. Based on his new book and taking as a point of departure the desert Fathers of the fourth century he looked at the Orthodox tradition in search of inspiration that brings light and warmth in our lives. Focusing on the contemporary Greek theological thinkers Christos Yiannaras, John Zizioulas and Nikolaos Loudovikos, Lord Williams showed how this rich tradition opens up new ways of thinking about spirit and body, prayer and action, worship and social transformation. He offered a vision of a world where Eastern Christian thought and experience offers an enlightened way to face our contemporary impasses, a ‘climate and landscape of our humanity that can indeed be warmed and transfigured’.

Organised jointly by the Hellenic Institute and the Multifaith Chaplaincy at Royal Holloway the event was hosted by Professor Paul Layzell, Principal of Royal Holloway. The Lecture was preceded by Evensong sung by The Choir of Royal Holloway under the direction of Dr Rupert Gough, Director of Choral Music & College Organist, and was followed by a Reception and Dinner in honour of the Speaker in the Picture Gallery. Over 100 students, colleagues, and Friends attended this special event.

To access the recording of the event online please use this link: https://vimeo.com/717937426    

For further information please contact: Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

 

7-8 June 2022: The Late Byzantine Mediterranean: Byzantine Connectivities, Experiences
and Identities in a Fragmented World

2022 Institute of Classical Studies Byzantine Colloquium

The Colloquium took place via Zoom

The period between the two falls of Constantinople, namely the Crusader conquest of 1204 and the Ottoman conquest of 1453, witnessed the radical transformation of Byzantium from empire into a mosaic of autonomous and semi-autonomous polities. The fascinating survival and transformation of Byzantine identities in a world dominated by Latin Christian and Muslim powers was the result of complex dynamics, with Constantinople functioning, more or less, as a magnet for the Orthodox populations beyond its narrow political borders. Theodoros Metochites’ (d. 1332) rhetoric eloquently captures the ideological, spiritual and cultural radiance of the “Queen City”. In his laudatory oration on the Byzantine capital, Metochites describes Constantinople as “the citadel of the whole world” (ἀκρόπολιν τινὰ τῶν ὅλων) and the “shared fatherland of all people” (κοινοπολιτεία πάντων ἀνθρώπων), stressing the city’s role as a centre, in both geographic and symbolic terms.

Over the past two decades, there has been a remarkable progress in the way scholars approach the history and culture of former Byzantine areas under Latin Christian and Muslim rule in the period between 1200 and 1400. The picture emerging from these studies embraces unity and diversity, interaction and contention, synthesis and conservativism, new identities and old. Research on the history of Mediterranean has also shown that the political, religious and cultural fragmentation of the Eastern Mediterranean increased, rather than restrained, the development of multiple connectivities, among the peoples inhabiting this vast liquid area. Yet, the nature and degree of bonds of unity between Late Byzantium and the former Byzantine lands —encompassing the physical mobility of humans and objects, as well as institutional, ideological, religious and cultural links— requires a more systematic and in-depth exploration.

The Colloquium re-addressed questions related to Byzantine connectivities, experiences and identities in Latin- and Muslim-ruled Mediterranean areas once belonging to the Byzantine Empire. Focusing on religion and culture as the main strands of identity preservation, negotiation and adaptation, our Colloquium  examined the threads weaving the tapestry of a “Late Byzantine Mediterranean”: a fluidly-defined κοινοπολιτεία under the enduring influence of Constantinople, but in constant communication and exchange with the religious and ethnic Other. The main themes of the Colloquium included, but were not restricted to, the following:

• Byzantine legacies in the Eastern Mediterranean after 1200
• Worlds of interaction and conflict (e.g., Asia Minor, the Holy Land, Egypt, Cyprus and the Aegean)
• The role of Byzantine culture as a transcultural language of communication
• The impact of intra-Byzantine conflicts in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Experiences of colonisation and foreign rule
• Instrumentalisation of identities in historiography (inclusions and exclusions)

Seventeen speakers from Britain, Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Serbia and the United States of America representing a variety of scholarly fields and methodological approaches, navigated the sea of Byzantine encounters in the Latin and Muslim worlds from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. By paying close attention to the continuities and discontinuities that (re-)shaped Byzantine identities in the Eastern Mediterranean, they provided fresh and stimulated perspectives on the sense of belonging to Byzantium and its broader significance.

The Colloquium was dedicated to the loving memory of two great scholars, Speros Vryonis, Jr. and Elizabeth A. Zachariadou, who transformed our perception of the Byzantine legacy in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Co-organised by the Institute of Classical Studies, The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, the Society of Cypriot Studies and the Cyprus Committee for Byzantine Studies, the Colloquium was attended by 88 students and scholars.

To download the program with summaries of papers please use this link.

For further information please contact Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriacou and Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

26 November 2021: Imagining a Free Greece: British, Cypriot and Russian engagement

Part of 21 in 21 programme of events celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Greek War of Independence (1821-2021).

The event took place via MS Teams at 6pm (GMT)

Taking as a point of departure the famous Ionian Academy established by the great Philhellene Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford (1766-1827), being the first University established on Greek soil (1824-1827), this event, led by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis, explored the history of intellectual movements that led to the liberation of the Greeks, including the contribution of the Cypriots and the Greek communities in Britain and Russia. Professor Sakis Gekas (York University, Toronto)  delivered the main lecture on Lord Guilford and British cultural politics in the Ionian Islands followed by a panel discussion with Professor Lucien Frary (Rider University, New Jersey) on philhellenism and the Greek diaspora in the Russian Empire, and Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriacou (Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation/Royal Holloway) on Cyprus and Greek Cypriots in the Greek War of Independence. The event was attended by an audience of 34 students, scholars and friends.

The event is moderated by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis and hosted by the Hellenic Institute and Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies, Royal Holloway University of London.

Lecture

Sakis Gekas, ‘Lord Guildford, British cultural politics and colonialism in the Ionian Islands’

The opening of the Ionian Academy in Corfu is often presented as the personal project of Lord Guilford. Within the local and the imperial context of British colonialism, however, the institution represents a shift in the colonial practices and mode of rule, from the military-commercial to the cultural-civilizational, still at an early stage in the empire’s history of cultural politics and education. The talk will place the Ionian Academy within the constellation of Guilford’s ambitions and the context of colonial rule of the Ionian Islands as a protectorate. The contrast with the years of the revolutionary war in Greece could not be starker. Previous educational-cultural activities and institutions in the Ionian Islands allow us to understand the local context and the landscape in which the Ionian Academy emerged and functioned within the British protectorate. Guilford’s personal project and ambition for a centre of higher education predates the period of British rule in the Ionian Islands and reflects the impact of classical education on cultural projects and politics of the time.

Interventions

Professor Lucian Frary (Rider University, New Jersey), “Russophilia in the Ionian Islands and the Coming of the Greek Revolution”

Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriakou (Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation / Royal Holloway), “The Cypriots and the Greek Revolution of 1821”

To watch the event please click here.

 

27 October - 19 November 2021: Rethinking the City: Ethnic Displacement and Memory Politics in South Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean

The Centre of Global South Asia and The Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London, are proud to host a series of online lectures, workshops and research conversations on ethnic displacement, memory, and the city in the Eastern Mediterranean and South Asia. "Frontier Urbanism" refers to two fault lines that have shaped the cities in South Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean: the ever-expanding frontier between urban and rural, and the frontiers created by ethnic cleansing and religious communalism in the process of nation formation. In a series of events, we seek to illuminate how these two frontiers have intersected and overlapped in surprising ways, often long after traumatic events of Partition and displacement have passed into memory. Join our conversations with academics and artists from the UK, Greece, India, and Bangladesh, on the following dates. To register please press the links below.

Wednesday 27 October, 16:30-18:00 UK time

Keynote lecture

Ian Talbot (Southampton), "Lahore, Amritsar and the Indo-Pakistan Frontier"

Wednesday 3 November, 16:30-18:00 UK time

In conversation

Renee Hirschon (Oxford) in conversation with Paris Chronakis (RHUL) on "Refugee Resettlement and Urban Development in twentieth-century Greece"

Please note that this event was cancelled for reasons beyond our control.

Wednesday 10 November, 16:00-18:30 UK time

Research Workshop

Alekos Lamprou (Marburg), Hareem Mirza (RHUL), Kalliopi Amygdalou (HFEFP, Athens), and Himadri Chatterjee (University of Calcutta) on "Refugees and their Cities" 

• Alekos Lamprou, 'Violent Youths: Student Mobilization Against Minorities in Interwar Izmir'
• Hareem Mirza, 'Whose Heritage? Colonial Heritage in Post-Colonial Cities'
• Kalliopi Amygdalou, 'Spatial Experiences of Refugee Resettlement: The Case of Kaisariani in Athens'
• Himadri Chatterjee, "'Crops of Our Fathers': Refugee Spirituality and The Urban Frontier"

Friday 19 November, 16:30-18:30 UK time

Art and Concluding Roundtable Discussion

Art by Shawon Akand (Dhaka)

Shubhra Gururani(York University, Toronto) and Rajarshi Dasgupta (JNU, New Delhi) on "Frontier Urbanism

18 October 2021: "Music for Tempestuous times" by Panayiotis Gogos

A piano recital to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the Greek War of Independence and in memory of Julian Chrysostomides

Picture Gallery, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 7pm

The concert opened with Beethoven’s tragically powerful 1802 masterpiece “The Tempest”  sonata in D minor. The first movement alternates brief moments of seeming peacefulness with extensive passages of turmoil, expanding into a haunting “storm”. This was followed by a selection of works by Chopin, starting with the stirring Polonaise in A, nicknamed the “Military”, continuing with several of his Préludes and his Bolero, and closing with his Waltz in A flat.

Organised jointly by The Hellenic Institute, the Department of Music, Royal Holloway Marketing & Communication, and the Friends of The Hellenic Institute.

Donations towards the Julian Chrysostomides Bursaries Fund in support of students pursuing Hellenic and Byzantine Studies at RHUL can be made online.

 

31 July-1 August 2021: “Tasting the Lotus”

International Conference on the Reception of and Reaction to the Transmission of Latin Works in Byzantium

The Conference was held online via Zoom

The theological and philosophical dialogue between the Greek East and the Latin West has witnessed a revival of interest among theologians, philosophers, historians, philologists, and palaeographers.  Fourteen scholars from Austria, Britain, Greece, Italy, France, Portugal, the Russian Federation and the United States of America explored the reception of and reaction to the transmission of Latin authors in Byzantium. Focusing on the reception of Thomas  Aquinas’ works, they presented and discussed findings of their research including work on critical editions of translations of, and commentaries on Thomisitic works by Byzantine scholars and theologians as part of the ongoing research project Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus.

Co-organised by The Hellenic Institute, the University of Patras and Saints Cyril and Methodius Byzantine Catholic Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the conference was attended by 36 students and scholars. For the programme of the conference with abstracts of the papers please visit https://www.workinbyzantium.com/. 

For further information please contact Revd Dr Christiaan Kappes

 

1-2 June 2021: Sacred Mobilities in Byzantium and Beyond: People, Objects and Relics

2021 Institute of Classical Studies Byzantine Virtual Colloquium

The Colloquium took place via Zoom

All religious belief implicates space; all religious practice makes geography. In the broad sense, the term ‘sacred’ indicates something ‘different’, ‘set apart’, ‘other’, as well as something invested with special meaning. Yet, where do the boundaries of the sacred lie? Is sacred space an ontological given, or is it a social construction? Is it a portion of territory or the product of a set of embodied practices? Is it permanent or ephemeral?

Over the past two decades, the construction, experience and use of sacred space have generated increasing scholarly interest in the humanities, including Byzantine studies—from Alexei Lidov’s pioneering studies in hierotopy (2006) to more recent interdisciplinary initiatives (e.g., Mapping the Sacred in Byzantium at Newcastle University). Far from being understood as a fixed given entity, in these recent studies sacred space has intersected with issues of embodiment and performance, with environmental perceptions, attitudes and practice, with social mobility and identity, with the relations of private and public space, and with geopolitics and territorial imaginations. At the same time, the so-called ‘Mobility Turn’ (Sheller and Urry 2006) has extended from the domain of the social sciences to the humanities, prompting among historians, archaeologists and art historians new questions, approaches and understandings of issues of transport, movement and circulation of people, objects and ideas. Our Colloquium aims at setting these two strands—sacred space and mobility—in conversation with each other, in order to gain further insight into Byzantine and post-Byzantine spiritual culture.

In addition to conventional sacred spaces such as churches, shrines and religiously significant topographical features (such as holy mountains or caves, for example), holy people, sacred objects and relics were frequently used to create or sanctify other public or private profane spaces in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine world, and remain key to Orthodox worship. The mobility of certain sacra linked sacred sites with potentially new sacred destinations; it created new trajectories; it helped articulate and sustain the extra-ordinary within the ordinary. Sacred mobilities thus upset the dichotomy of the sacred and the profane as mutually exclusive. Examples of such mobilities include, but are not limited to travelling icons, processions, pilgrimages, the translation of relics, the reproduction of holy images and architecture. 

Eleven speakers from Britain, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Russia and the USA reflected on different types of sacred mobilities, including the use of sanctifying materialities, the duration of the transformation of sacred space, and the creation of ‘infrasecular geographies’ in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine world.

Co-organised by the Institute of Classical Studies, The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for the Geohumanities at Royal Holloway the Colloquium was attended by over seventy-five guests. To download the programme with abstracts of papers please use the following link: https://ics.sas.ac.uk/events/event/23337. For further information please contact Dr Mark Guscin and Revd David-John Williams

22 April 2021: “The Greek Revolution through the Eyes of 'Others'”

Part of 21 in 21 programme of events celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Greek War of Independence (1821-2021)

The event took place online via MS Teams at 6.00-7.30pm (GMT)

Panel discussion focusing on perceptions of the Greek War of Independence across Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean during and after the event, including attitudes of early nineteenth-century Albanian warlords, interwar Sephardi Jews, and mid-twentieth century Turkish historians. Speakers include Dr Antonis Hadjikiriakou (Panteion University, Athens), Dr Sukru Ilicak (Research Centre for the Humanities, Athens), and Dr Paris Chronakis (Royal Holloway, University of London). Respondent: Dr Konstantina Zanou (Columbia University, NYC).  The event was attended by over 80 guests. For further information on the talks and the speakers please visit 21 in 21.

For further information please contact Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis

14 April 2021: “Virtual Book Talk: Sephardi Holocaust Histories: Families Adrift”

Part of the Family Histories of the Holocaust events series, at The Wiener Holocaust Library, 29 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DP

The event took place online at 7-8pm (GMT).

Panel discussion led by Dr Paris Chronakis exploring Sephardi family microhistories of the Holocaust including Thessalonian Jewry. Professor Sarah Abrevaya Stein will discuss her book Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey through the Twentieth Century (2020), based on the copious Levy family papers, which helped chronicle Sephardi Jewish life across and beyond the Ottoman Empire; and François Matarasso Matarasso will discuss his father’s and grandfather’s memoirs, published in Talking Until Nightfall: Remembering Jewish Salonica, 1941-44 (2020). Hosted by The Wiener Holocaust Library in partnership with the Hellenic Institute, Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies and Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London, the event was attended by over sixty guests.

To see and listen to the discussion please press here.

For further information please press this link or contact: Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis

19, 26 March and 2, 9 April 2021: Greek Orthodox Salutations to the Mother of God

Cathedral of the Divine Wisdom, Bayswater, London W2 4LQ

Greek Orthodox Services dedicated to the Salutations to the Mother of God officiated by His Eminence the Archbishop Niketas of Thyateira and Great Britain. To attend the services online please press here.

11 March 2021: The Greek Revolution of 1821 and its Multiple Legacies

Nineteenth Annual Hellenic Lectureby by Professor Gonda Van Steen

Part of 21 in 21 programme of events celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Greek War of Independence (1821-2021)

The Lecture took place online via Zoom at 6pm (GMT)

Since the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence in 1821, the Greek people have celebrated three major anniversaries: the 50th, 100th, and 150th anniversary date of the inception of this revolutionary war that led to sovereign statehood after nearly four centuries of Ottoman rule. These three jubilees, each with their own legacies, have come to represent three different ways of celebrating Greek statehood that have, nonetheless, much in common. They posited a linear progression from Greek antiquity through postclassical, Byzantine, and post-Byzantine (Ottoman) times. The lecture explored in what ways the celebrations and re-enactments, with their commemorative events and symbolic images, acquired a prescriptive character, which advanced their aim to educate youth in state-promoted nationalism, and to what extent the present 200th anniversary celebrations differ from the three aforementioned ones.

Professor Gonda Van Steen holds the Koraës Chair of Modern Greek and Byzantine History, Language and Literature, Director of Centre for Hellenic Studies, King’s College London.

Hosted by Professor Ken Badcock, Senior Vice-Principal (Academic Strategy, Partnerships and Resources) and Chairman of the Hellenic Institute Steering Group at Royal Holloway, University of London, the Lecture was attended by 100 guests.

To see and listen to the Lecture please press here.

For further information please contact Dr Achilleas Hadjikyriacou.

5 February-26 March 2021: The University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts

The Seminar meetings were held online on Fridays 15:00-17:00 (GMT).

The Seminar continued its work preparing a new annotated edition and translation of the Letters of George of Cyprus (later Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory II, 1283-1289). Twelve scholars and graduate students from Birkbeck College, Royal Holloway, University College London, University of Athens, University of Ioannina and the Ionian University attended the Seminar.

For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos.

17 October 2020: Scholê and Paideia: Leisure in Liberal Education as a Political End  

Twelfth Memorial Lecture for Julian Chrysostomides, delivered by Dr Kostas Kalimtzis online 

For the Greek citizens of the polis, leisure, or what they called scholê (from which the word school and scholar derives) came to be viewed as a necessary condition for freedom,for participation in the commons, and for cultivating bonds of political friendship. The concept of scholê found its grandest expression in Aristotle’s Politics where he argued that happiness occurs in leisure and that politics must have this as its aim. Legislators, he held, must educate with this end-in-view. Is the life of leisure a utopian ideal or is it a concept that continues to beckon us to actualize our deepest humanity within a commonwealth of friends? 

Organised jointly by The Hellenic Institute and the Friends of The Hellenic Institute the memorial event was attended by 50 students, colleagues and friends. A fitting tribute to a great teacher and a true scholar, whose spirit and vision still lives, and guides us.

To listen to the audio recording of the lecture please press here.  

Donations towards the Julian Chrysostomides Bursaries Fund in support of students pursuing Hellenic and Byzantine Studies at RHUL can be made online. For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos.

13 March 2020: Greek Orthodox Salutations to the Mother of God

Royal Holloway Chapel, Surrey TW20 0EX at 7.30-9pm

A Greek Orthodox Service dedicated to the Salutations to the Mother of God, officiated by Father Asterios was performed for students, staff, members of the Greek Orthodox local parish of St Andreas the Apostle of The Holy Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, and other Christian communities of Egham and Englefield Green. Prayers were offered especially for the victims of Covid-19 and for the divine protection of health in our College, parish and the world from the  pandemic. For further information please contact: apostolos.andreas.windsor@gmail.com

 

9 March 2020: Greek-Orthodox Religioscapes 

Exhibition and Lecture by Dr Georgios E. Trantas

The Hellenic Centre, Friends & Members Room, 16-18 Paddington Street, Marylebone, London W1U 5AS, 6-9pm (lecture at 7.30pm)

Dr Georgios E. Trantas, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, Ashton University, will presented a showcase of the European Union Commission Horizon 2020 research project ‘GO Religioscapes’, examining and comparing the migratory narratives of the Greek and Greek-Cypriot migrant communities in present day Germany and Britain respectively from the perspective of religious aesthetics. Either previously heterodox converted to Greek-Orthodox or newly built, the churches of these communities contain traces of migratory narratives in their icons, frescoes, architectural and linguistic elements. This study sheds light on how the migratory establishment in the receiving country has been experienced, perceived and immortalised by religious means. The exhibition ws organised jointly by The Hellenic Institute, Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies and Centre for the GeoHumanities at Royal Holloway, and Aston University, and supported by the Hellenic Centre. For further information please contact Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis.

 

5 March 2020: The Power of Logos: Classical Greek Rhetoric and the Modern World

Eighteenth Annual Hellenic Lecture by Professor Michael Edwards

Moore Building Auditorium, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 6.15pm

What relevance does classical Greek rhetoric have to the world today? In 2016, the then President of the United States, Barack Obama, delivered a speech at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in which he praised Greece’s contribution to humanity through the ages. In the course of his speech Obama spoke, among other things, about the concept, ideals and importance of democracy, and the belief in equality before the law for all. In this lecture Professor Edwards  discussed these themes, illustrating them by comparisons of ancient texts with modern examples drawn from American, British and Greek political contexts. Michael Edwards is Professor of Classics, former Director of the Institute of Classical Studies, University of London, and currently Senior Research Fellow at Royal Holloway. Hosted by Professor Paul Hogg it was attended by over 80 students, colleagues, Friends, members of the Steering Group, sponsors and supporters. It was followed by drinks in the Moore Building Foyer and dinner in honour of Professor Edwards in the Herringham Room, Founders' Building. Among our distinguished guests were The Very Reverend Aimilianos Papadakis, representing the Archbishop Niketas of Thyateira and Great Britain, H.E. The Ambassador of Greece in UK, Mr Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras, H.E. The High Commissioner for Cyprus in UK, Mr Andreas S. Kakouris, Dr Marios Psaras, Cultural Counsellor of the High Commission for Cyprus, Mrs Edmée Leventis, Mr Michael Heslop and Dr Helen Heslop, Mr George Lemos, Secretary of the Hellenic Foundation, and Dr Natasha Lemos, Member of Executive Board of the Hellenic Centre. For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos.

24 February 2020: The Early Ottoman Peloponnese by Georgios Liakopoulos

Book Launch at the British School at Athens

British School at Athens, 52 Souedias Street, Athens 10676, Greece at 7pm (Athens time)

Dr Georgios Liakopoulos’ study The Early Ottoman Peloponnese: A study in the light of an annotated editio princeps of the TT10-1/14662 Ottoman taxation cadastre (ca. 1460–1463), published by The Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Fund, The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, in conjunction with the Gingko Library, was launched in the Director’s residence at the British School at Athens in the presence of many academics and Friends. Speakers included Professor Francis Robinson (Royal Asiatic Society, and Royal Holloway, University of London), Associate Professor Paraskevas Konortas (University of Athens), Research Professor Georgia Katsouda (Academy of Athens), and the author, Dr Georgios Liakopoulos (Max Planck Institute, Jena). The event was organised jointly by the British School at Athens, The Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Fund, The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, The Gingko Library, and The Hellenic Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London. The volume was dedicated to the memory of Julian Chrysostomides.

7 February-27 March 2020: The University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts

Room 103, Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU, Fridays 15:00-17:00.

The Seminar continued its work preparing a new annotated edition and translation of the Letters of George of Cyprus (later Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory II, 1283-1289). This year the seminar was attended by eleven students and scholars, including students and staff from Royal Holloway, UCL, Birkbeck, and Oxford. The Seminar had to postpone its last two meetings due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos.

12 October 2019: Grand Vespers and Eleventh Annual Memorial for Julian Chrysostomides

Royal Holloway Chapel, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, 4.00-5.30pm.

Grand Vespers and Memorial Service to the distinguished Byzantinist Julian Chrysostomides, former Director of the Hellenic Institute were officiated by Father Asterios followed by a Memorial Lecture by Professor Evangelos Chrysos delivered in absentia by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis. Julian Chrysostomides will be remembered as a true scholar and an affectionate and inspiring teacher. Organised by The Hellenic Institute, the event was attended by thirty students and former students, former colleagues and Friends. Donations towards the Julian Chrysostomides Bursaries Fund in support of students pursuing Hellenic and Byzantine Studies at RHUL can be made online. The programme of the event is available here. For further information please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos.

4-5 June 2019: Polities of Faith: Theology, Ecclesiology, and Spatiality in the Christian world

2019 ICS Byzantine Colloquium

Senate House, University of London, Third Floor, Room 349/350, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

In 1932 Olof Linton’s dissertation Das Problem der Urkirche in der neueren Forschung overturned the existing consensus that presented the Church as a historical construct that followed the triumph of Christianity. According to Linton, the Church already existed in the minds of the earliest Christian thinkers, who had envisaged a structured community of believers and clerics. More recently, sociologists have similarly responded to previous approaches focused on the efficiency of institutions by emphasising the key role that intellectual legitimisation plays in the survival of organisational structures. While Late Antique and Medieval historians have underlined the importance of discourse and ritual in the construction of a Christian world-view, there is still much work to be done in assessing how theological and ecclesiological discussions shaped the structure, organisation and ongoing development of the Christian Churches. Our colloquium contributed in this direction. It brought together scholars working on the construction of the Christian Churches from Late Antiquity to the early Renaissance.

In this two-day colloquium we explored three main topics: 1. How Christian intellectuals applied classical political theory in their theological and ecclesiological analyses. 2. How clerical writings used ritual descriptions, theology, and memory to rationalise the social and political context and to justify a specific hierarchical structure of offices within the Church. 3. How letter and treatise exchanges contributed to strengthen different geographical ideals of the Church, ranging from a universal, united organisation to a decentralised structure.

Beyond its scholarly aims, this colloquium also addressed issues of wider concern for students and the wider public; many of the institutional structures and behaviours that rule the Christian Churches today were devised in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. In addition, the challenges to the process of European integration have also shown how difficult it can be for supranational institutions to foster legitimacy and belonging. Late Antique and Medieval clerics faced similar crises in their attempts to preserve unity in such a vast and expanding organisation, and this colloquium examined some of the intellectual strategies they used to confront them.

Speakers included Kate Cooper (Royal Holloway), James Corke-Webster (King's College London), Anthony Dupont (Louvain), Tom Hunt (Newman College, Birmingham), Andrew Jotischky (Royal Holloway), Chrysovalantis Kyriacou (Cyprus), Ioannis Papadogiannakis (King's College London), and Richard Price (Royal Holloway). 

This colloquium stemmed from research conducted at The Hellenic Institute and the ERC-Starting Grant project ‘Connected Clerics: Building a Universal Church in the Late Antique West (380-604)’ based at the History Department, Royal Holloway, University of London and The Austrian Academy of Sciences.

The colloquium was sponsored by the Institute of Classical Studies, ERC-Starting Grant project ‘Connected Clerics: Building a Universal Church in the Late Antique West (380-604), and The Hellenic Institute.

Organisers: David Natal Villazala, Sapfo Psani, Brian McLaughlin, Chris Hobbs and Charalambos Dendrinos.

For the Programme of the Colloquium and abstracts of papers please click here

For further information on the Colloquium please contact David.Natal@rhul.ac.uk

29 April 2019: Greek Orthodox Matins and Holy Liturgy for the feast of St George

Royal Holloway Chapel, Surrey TW20 0EX at 9.30am-12.00

Greek Orthodox Service for Matins and Holy Liturgy for the feast of St George, officiated by Father Asterios was performed in the presence of students, staff, members of the Greek Orthodox parish of St Andreas the Apostle, and Friends of the College and the Hellenic Institute. For further information please contact: apostolos.andreas.windsor@gmail.com

15 March 2019: Greek Orthodox Salutations to the Mother of God

Royal Holloway Chapel, Surrey TW20 0EX at 7.30-9pm

A Greek Orthodox Service dedicated to the Salutations to the Mother of God, officiated by Father Asterios was performed in the presence of students, staff, members of the Greek Orthodox parish of St Andreas the Apostle, and Friends of the College and the Hellenic Institute. For further information please contact: apostolos.andreas.windsor@gmail.com

1 February-29 March 2019: The University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts

Institute of Historical Research, Pollard Room (N301), Senate House, University of London, Malet Street, London WC1E , Fridays 15:00-17:00.

The Seminar, which this year celebrates its 35th Anniversary (1984-2019), continued its work preparing a new annotated edition and translation of the Letters of George of Cyprus (later Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory II, 1283-1289). A reunion of old and current members of the Seminar to celebrate the 35th Anniversary took place in the presence of its co-founder Revd Dr Joseph. A. Munitiz, S.J., at RHUL, 11 Bedford Square, London on 29 March 2019.

The Seminar will resume its meetings next Spring. Scholars and graduate students from University of London Colleges, other Colleges and Universities, and visiting students and academics, are most welcome to attend. Please contact the convenors, Dr Charalambos Dendrinos and Dr Brian McLaughlin.

7 March 2019: Christianity and Greek Paideia

Seventeenth Annual Hellenic Lecture by the Revd Professor Richard Price

Moore Building Auditorium, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 6.15pm

Did Jewish Christianity and Greek culture have much in common? Or was Christianity the product of a distinctively Jewish culture, which, on entering the Greco-Roman world, had to be translated into the concepts of Greek paideia (education and culture)? If so, does it need to be ‘de-hellenized’ in order to speak to our own post-classical world? This debate has died down in the context of contemporary eclecticism, which views the Hellenic inheritance as something to be plundered, or ignored, at will. Is the study of ancient Greek culture an aid, a distraction, or a hindrance in the quest for a Christianity at once faithful to its biblical roots and relevant in today’s world? These questions were explored by Revd Dr Richard Price, Professor Emeritus of the History of Christianity, Heythrop College, University of London, and RHUL Honorary Research Fellow. You can listen to the podcast of the Lecture by clicking here.

The lecture was hosted by the Principal, Professor Paul Layzell. Attended by over eighty students, colleagues and Friends, it was followed by drinks in the Moore Building Foyer, and Dinner in honour of Professor Price in the Large Boardroom, Founders' Building.

27 October 2018: “Odyssey” by Lydia Kakabadse

A concert to performed by The Choir of Royal Holloway to mark the closing of The Hellenic Institute 25th Anniversary celebrations

In memory of Julian Chrysostomides (1928-2008)

The College Chapel, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 7pm

The premiere of a specially commissioned choral piece, Odyssey, composed by leading choral composer and RHUL alumna  Lydia Kakabadse, was performed by the Choir of Royal Holloway , accompanied by the harpist, fellow RHUL alumna and former Choir Scholar Cecily Beer, under the direction of Rupert Gough, Director of Choral Music and College Organist. The lyrics is a synthesis of selected Greek poetry from Homer and the Classical period, through the Hellenistic and Roman times, to Byzantium, post-Byzantium and Modern Hellenism. A musical journey through centuries of Greek history and culture marked the closing of The Hellenic Institute 25th Anniversary celebrations. The concert was followed by drinks in the Picture Gallery. Hosted by Professor Francis Robinson, the event was attended by 130 guests, including HE the Ambassador of Greece in UK, Mr Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras, Mr and Mrs George Lemos, Mr and Mrs Michael Heslop, Mr and Mrs Jonathan Woolley, and many former and current students, colleagues, supporters and Friends of The Hellenic Institute.

18 October 2017: Ninth Annual Memorial for Julian Chrysostomides

The Holy Church of Apostle Barnabas, The “Apostle Barnabas” Seminary of the Church of Cyprus, 85 Steliou Chatzipetri Street, 1304 Nicosia, Cyprus, after matins and the holy liturgy, 7-9am.

A Memorial Service for Julian Chrysostomides former Director of  The Hellenic Institute and Emeritus Reader in Byzantine History, University of London was officiated by the Director of the Seminary, the Very Rev. Archimandrite Benedict Ioannou,followed by a Memorial Lecture by Dr Vasilis Pasiourtides. Julian Chrysostomides will be remembered as a true scholar and an affectionate and inspiring teacher. The memorial event was co-organised by the Alumni and Friends of the Hellenic Institute and the “Apostle Barnabas” Seminary of the Church of Cyprus. Donations towards the Julian Chrysostomides Bursaries Fund in support of students pursuing Hellenic and Byzantine Studies at RHUL can be made online.

For further information please contact Dr Christina Kakkoura and Dr Vasilis Pasiourtides. 

30 November 2017: Memory and Harmony

An evening celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London with Bettany Hughes and Panayiotis Gogos

In this event, which celebrated the opening of the Hellenic Institute’s 25th Anniversary, the well-known historian, author and broadcaster Dr Bettany Hughes shared her thoughts on the study of Hellenism, followed by a recital of music with Greek association by the celebrated Greek pianist Panayiotis Gogos, under the theme Metamorphoses. The repertoire includes Schubert-Liszt, Der Atlas, Der Müller und der Bach, Liebesbotschaft, Aufenthalt, Der Doppelgänger, Erikönig, Schumann-Liszt, Frühlingsnacht, Widmung, and Chopin, Scherzo No 2.

 

15-16 December 2017: Thomas Latinus – Thomas Graecus

International Conference on Thomas Aquinas and his Reception in Byzantium 

National Library of Greece, Books Tower, Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, Athens, Greece

The Conference explored the reception of Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) in Byzantium. The first day of the conference was devoted to Aquinas’ Philosophy and Theology, while on the second day scholars presented findings of their research as part of the ongoing research project Thomas de Aquino Byzantinus, co-hosted by the University of Patras and The Hellenic Institute, and currently funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation through the Artos Zois Foundation. The Conference was co-organised by the National Library of Greece, the University of Patras and The Hellenic Institute.

 

2 February-23 March 2018: The University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts

The Warburg Institute, University of London, Classroom 2, Ground Floor, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB, Fridays 15:45-17:45. The Seminar continued its work preparing a new annotated edition and translation of the Letters of George of Cyprus (later Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory II, 1283-1289). Scholars and graduate students from University of London Colleges, the University of Oxford, and the University of Sydney participated this year. For further information please contact the convenors, Dr Charalambos Dendrinos and Dr Christopher Wright.

For further information please see the Seminar webpage.

 

6 March 2018: "Ruins" of Athens: ancient modes reimagined by Carlo Grante 

A piano recital for the benefit of The Hellenic Institute

Windsor Building Auditorium, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX at 7pm

A concert of classical piano works with links to ancient and modern Greece. The eminent pianist Carlo Grante began with Beethoven’s thrilling Variations on “The Ruins of Athens”, in Liszt’s transcription. They were written in 1811 as incidental music for a play of that name in which Minerva and Mercury meet Greeks dreaming of their liberation. The rest of the concert, featuring some of the best-loved works in the classical repertoire, illustrated how the music of the ancient world lives on in the DNA of western music. The programme included also Chopin, Mazurkas, op. 24/2, op. 30/4, op. 68/4, Satie, Gnossiennes, nos.  3, 4, 5, Debussy, Hommage à Rameau (Images, I/2), Danseuses de Delphes (Préludes, I/1), Brouillards (Préludes, II/1) and Canope, II/10, and Bartók, Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56.

The Concert was followed by drinks in the Picture Gallery and Dinner in honour of our Donors.

The Hellenic Institute coordinates the following MA courses:

• MA Late Antique and Byzantine Studies: An intercollegiate University of London course taught jointly with University College London and the collaboration of King's College London and Birkbeck, University of London. This course is designed especially for those who are interested in progressing to doctoral research in Late Antique and Byzantine studies. It also aims to relate the history of Late Antiquity and Byzantium to the wider world.
• MA History: Hellenic Studies: This course aims to give students from various backgrounds the opportunity to have an overall view and appreciation of Greek history and culture embracing the Homeric and Classical ages, the Hellenistic and Roman world, the Byzantine and Post-Byzantine periods, and the modern world. Its diachronic and interdisciplinary nature enable students to examine the elements which characterise Hellenic culture through the centuries, at the same time acquiring a deeper knowledge of a certain period and discipline, including philosophy, history, law, religion, theatre, language, literature, papyrology and palaeography.

Other related MA Programmes are offered at Royal Holloway, Classics Department: 

• MA in Ancient History
• MA in Classical Art and Archaeology
• MA in Classics
• MRes in Rhetoric
• MRes in Classical Reception

The Hellenic Institute offers supervision of doctoral research in a wide range of topics. The following students are currently conducting MPhil/PhD research in Hellenic and Byzantine subjects at the Departments of Classics, History, Drama, Theatre & Dance, and Media Arts:

Despoina Christianoudi (PhD, Drama &  Theatre), Contemporary actor training for Ancient Greek Tragedy: Teaching Chorus with the use of Traditional Greek Dances

James Cook (PhD, Classics), Thersites and the Voice of the Subaltern in ancient Greek epic poetry  

Jack Dooley (MPhil/PhD, History), Late Byzantine perceptions of the "Other": Gasmouloi in the Palaeologan period

Charlotte Gauthier (PhD, History), The Marketplace of Salvation: the English experience of crusading, 1396-1526

Peter Holson (MPhil, Classics), An introduction and commentary on the first book of St. Augustine’s De Genesi contra Manichaeos, chapters 1-17

Francesca Kaminski-Jones (MPhil/PhD, Classics), The modern perception of the Homeric similes

Michael McTiernan (MPhil/PhD, History), British Military Involvement in the European Intervention in Crete, 1897 – 1913

Ann Morrison (PhD, History), Feeding the people in Byzantium (c.800 – c.1260)

James Norman (PhD, Classics), The Liminal Underworld in Homer: Examining how the dead in Hades represent a Liminal State of Being 

Petros Nicolaou (MPhil/PhD, History), Byzantium and Psychological Warfare 900-1204: Tactics and Strategy

Yiannis Papadimitriou (MPhil/PhD, History), Who, Ηow and Why they Fought: Examining Identities and Motives in the Greco-Turkish War of 1919-1922

Alexander Sandiford (MPhil/PhD, History), Influences and Inspirations in Michael Kritovoulos’ Historiae

Amal Shehata (MPhil/PhD, History), Religious violence in Late Antique Alexandria

David Williams (PhD, History), Shared Sacred Spaces: Saints, Relics and Sacred Objects in the Byzantine Mediterranean (7th-15th c.)

Recently submitted thesis

Nikolaos Tzoumerkas (PhD, History) Pain and Punishment in Late Antique Egypt

Successfully completed theses (2001-present)

Sandor Aladics, Aristotle and the Atomists on the nature of space – PhD (2017)

Sofia Alagkiozidou, Existential and political agony in Sophocles, Trachiniae and its dramatic reception – PhD (2017)

Georgios Argiantopoulos, The British Occupation of Egypt in 1882 and its consequences for the Greek and Cypriot Communities – PhD (2024)

Antiopi Argyriou-Casmeridis, The concept of Aretē in Hellenistic honorary decrees – PhD (2022)

†David Bennett, Xenonica: Medical texts associated with hospitals in the late Byzantine period – PhD (2003)

Carolyn Bowyer, Echoes of the Salpinx: The lone trumpeter and the trumpet in the ancient Greek world – PhD (2017)

Toby Bromige (PhD, History), Strangers in a foreign land: the assimilation and alienation of the Armenians in the Byzantine Empire c.867-1100 – PhD (2020)

David Bullen, Performing the Feminisms of Euripides' The Bacchae in Britain – PhD (2019)

Mike Carr, Motivations and Response to Crusades in the Aegean, 1302-1348 – PhD (2011)

Georgios Chatzelis, The Syllogē Tacticorum and the development of Byzantine warfare in the tenth century – PhD (2016)

Nikolaos Chrissis, Crusading in Romania: A Study of Byzantine-Western Relations and Attitudes, 1204-1276 – PhD (2008)

Stella Chrysochoou, The Chartographical Tradition of Claudius Ptolemaeus’ Γεωγραφική Ὑφήγησις in the Palaeologan Period and the Renaissance (13th-15th century) – PhD (2010)

William Coles, Envoys and Eloquence: Ambassadorial Speeches in the Hellenistic Period – PhD (2023)

Andriana Domouzi, Fragments of Euripides, Melanippe – PhD (2018)

Niccolò Fattori, Identity and integration in the Greek community of Ancona in the sixteenth century – PhD (2017)

Laura Franco, A Study of the Metaphrastic Process: an annotated critical edition of the Vita of Saint Hilarion, and the Passiones of Saints Iakovos and Platon by Symeon Metaphrastes – PhD (2009)

Daniel Goad, Performance reception of Aristophanes – PhD (2019)

Mark Guscin, The Tradition of the Image of Edessa – PhD (2015)

Robert Heller, Unifying the Stoic System: the concept of time in Stoicism – PhD (2018)

Christopher Hobbs, A Study of the Historia Byzantina of Doukas  – PhD (2016)

Edward Humphreys, Epictetus on Anger – PhD (2019)

Christina Kakkoura, An annotated critical edition of Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus’ Seven Ethico-political Orations – PhD (2012)

Sophia Kapetanaki, An annotated critical edition of Makarios Makres’s "Life of St Maximos Kausokalyves", "Enconium on the fathers of the seven ecumenical councils", "Consolation of a sick person", "Verses on the Emperor Manuel ll Palaeologos", "Letter to Hieromonic Symeon", "Supplication on barren olive-trees" – PhD (2002)

Michael Kaplanoglou, Contribution to the Economic History of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople under the Ottoman Rule (15th-19th c.) – MPhil (2004)

Eleni Katsae, The concept of daimon in Homer – PhD (2016)

Stavroula Kiritsi, Menandrian Characters in Context – PhD (2016)

Michael Konstantinou-Rizos, An edition of Prochoros Cydones’ (ca. 1330-1369/71) unpublished Greek translation of Thomas Aquinas’ Quaestiones disputatae de potentia and Quaestio disputata de spiritualibus creaturis – PhD (2017)

Chrysovalantis Kyriacou, The Orthodox Church in Late Frankish and Venetian Cyprus (1191-1571): Society, Spirituality and Identity – PhD (2016)

Georgios Liakopoulos, The Historical Geography of the Late Byzantine and Early Ottoman Peloponnese – PhD (2008)

Peter Long, The role of guarantors in agreements involving the city-state in ancient Greece – PhD (2016)

Jarrid Looney, Mrs. Robinson Before and After: An Existential Character Analysis of Euripides’ Hippolytos in Reception – PhD (2017)

Stephanie Magowan, The development of psychological thought in early Greek philosophy and medicine – PhD (2018)

Elliot Mason, An annotated edition of the unpublished metaphrasis of St. John of Sinai’s Ladder of Divine Ascent by Matthaios Blastares – PhD (2018)

Julia Maltagliati, Persuading by paradeigmata: the use of historical examples in Attic Oratory  – PhD (2020)

Lilly Markaki (PhD, Media Arts), "Yes and Love": Marcel Duchamp's Philosophy of Life – PhD (2022)

Brian McLaughlin, An annotated translation of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos, History, Book III – PhD (2018)

Andreas Meitanis, Aspects of Violence in Byzantium – PhD (2001)

Andria Michael, Antigone on the Modern Greek Stage – PhD (2018)

Sebastian Moro, Music and Philosophy in the Neo-Platonic tradition – PhD (2011)

Fevronia Nousia, Byzantine Textbooks of the Palaeologan Period (13th-15th century) – PhD (2007)

Peter Olive, The Greek vocabulary of Incest Prolegomena to a Cultural History of Forbidden Propinquity – MPhil (2019)

Nil Palabiyik, The First Greek Press of Constantinople (1625-1628) – PhD (2014)

Konstantinos Palaiologos An annotated critical edition of the Refutation of the Error of the Latins by Matthaios Blastares – PhD (2011)

Vasos Pasiourtides, An annotated critical edition of Demetrios Chrysoloras’ Dialogue on Demetrios Kydones’ Antirrhetic against Neilos Kabasilas – PhD (2013)

Stephen Pearce, What happened to the Late Roman Army in the Notitia Dignitatum? – PhD (2022)

Christina Pouros, The murderous relationship between mothers and children: the evolution of myths concerning Medea, Clytemnestra and Electra from Homeric epic to Seneca – MPhil (2019)

Kostas Prapoglou (Classics) Late Roman residences in Thessalonica – PhD (2014)

David Preston, Plato and Greek comedy – PhD (2018)

Eleni Rossidou-Koutsou, John Eugenikos’ Antirrhetic of the Act of Union of the Churches at the Council of Ferrara-Florence - PhD (2004)

Eugenia Russell, Fourteenth Century Byzantine Encomia to St. Demetrius – PhD (2009)

Quentin Russell, Greek Identity in Victorian London: Community and Assimilation – PhD (2011)

Kenneth Scot Parker, The Impact of the Crusades on the Christian Churches of the Near East, 1291-1402 – PhD (2011)

Peggy Shannon, Catharsis, trauma and war in Greek tragedy: an inquiry into the therapeutic potential of Greek tragedy, with special reference to the female experience – PhD (2017)

Jack Sheard, Byzantium and the Black Sea, 1080-1230 – PhD (2021)

Robin Shields, Trade and Diplomacy in the fifteenth-century Balkans: Carlo II Tocco and the Despotate of Arta (1429-1448) – PhD (2020)

Will Shuler, The Teaching Theatre of Ancient Athens – PhD (2015)

Stephen Smith,Greek architectural forms in Republican Rome – PhD (2016)

Kit Tempest-Walters, A translation of and commentary on Plotinus' Ennead III.7  with  an interpretive essay – PhD (2020)

Dawn Thomas, Galen’s Hygiene in Context – PhD (2011)

Panayiotis Tofis, Libraries in Thessalonike in the Palaeologan period (1246-1430) – PhD (2020)

Dmitri Tolstoy-Miloslavsky, The Italian Policy of Manuel I Komnenos, 1135-1180 – PhD (2008)

Christos Triantafyllopoulos, An annotated critical edition of the treatise Against the Errors of the Latins by Macarios, Metropolitan of Ankyra (1397-1405) – PhD (2009)

Aaron Turner, The role of the individual in Thucydides – PhD (2018)

Mark Whelan (History), Sigismund of Luxemburg and the Imperial Response to the Ottoman Turkish Threat, c.1396-1437 – PhD (2014)

Jenny Winter, The Rhetoric of Leadership in Xenophon – PhD (2016)

Christopher Wright, The Gattilusi of Lesbos: Diplomacy and Lordship in the Late Medieval Aegean – PhD (2006)

Andrea Zerbini, Production and trade in marginal lands: a study of the Levantine agricultural economy in Late Antiquity – PhD (2013)

Further information on the Institute’s MPhil/PhD programme is available from Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis and Dr Charalambos Dendrinos 

 

Bursaries

George of Cyprus Bursaries

Established thanks to a generous grant awarded by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Cyprus, in honour of George of Cyprus, later Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (under the name Gregory II, 1283-9). Born in Cyprus, in 1240, then under Latin occupation, at the age of seventeen he fled to Nicaea, the Byzantine Empire in exile, in order to pursue his studies. After the restoration of the Byzantine Empire in 1261, he settled in Constantinople, where he completed his higher education and subsequently taught the eminent scholars of the next generation. One aspect of his personality was his tenacity and dedication to his studies, despite enormous adversities.

The Julian Chrysostomides Bursaries in Hellenic and Byzantine Studies 

Established in memory of Julian Chrysostomides (1928-2008), Emeritus Reader in Byzantine History in the University of London and former Director of the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway.

The Kostas Kalimtzis Memorial Bursaries in Hellenic and Byzantine Studies 

In memory of the distinguished Hellenist Kostas Kalimtzis (1947-2021), Honorary Research Associate and Friend of the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London.

The Konstantinos Kokonouzis Memorial Bursaries in Hellenic and Byzantine Studies 

Established thanks to an annual donation by Mr Yiannis Chronopoulos, graduate and Friend of the Hellenic Institute, in memory of his cousin Konstantinos Kokonouzis (1974-1997), who served as Second Lieutenant (Engineer) in the Hellenic Air Force (offered only to self-supported students).

The Pat Macklin Memorial Bursaries in Hellenic and Byzantine Studies 

In memory of Pat Macklin (1915-2009), former student and Friend of the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London.

The Joseph Anthony Munitiz Memorial Bursaries in Hellenic and Byzantine Studies 

In memory of the distinguished Byzantinist Joseph Anthony Munitiz, S.J (1931-2022), co-founder of the University of London Postgraduate Working Seminar on Editing Byzantine Texts and Friend of the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London.

All Bursaries are offered towards support and research expenses to part-time and full-time students who pursue MA programmes and MPhil/PhD research in Hellenic and Byzantine Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. There is no closing date for submission of applications for these bursaries.

Prizes

The John Penrose Barron Prize in Hellenic Studies 

In memory of the eminent Hellenist Professor J.P. Barron (1934-2008), former Master of St Peter's College, Oxford, Director of the Institute of Classical Studies, and Friend and member of the Steering Group of the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway College. The Prize (£200) is offered to students who complete the MA History: Hellenic Studies at the Hellenic Institute with the mark of distinction.

The Joan Mervyn Hussey Prize in Byzantine Studies

In memory of the distinguished Byzantine scholar and teacher J.M. Hussey (1907-2006), Emeritus Professor of History in the University of London and former Head of the History Department at Royal Holloway College. The Prize (£200) is awarded annually to Hellenic Institute students who complete the MA in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies with the mark of distinction.

If you wish to apply for a bursary please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, Director, The Hellenic Institute, School of Humanities, History Department, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK.

Please note that funding towards these awards are subject to renewal of voluntary donations by our donors. For this reason we cannot guarantee that all aforementioned Studentships and Bursaries would be available annually.

For the work of the Hellenic Institute to continue, the next generation of teachers and scholars has to be trained and endowed with essential skills.

The Friends of the Hellenic Institute have come together to provide a Postgraduate Studentship in memory of Nikolaos Oikonomides and have established two Prizes: The Joan Mervyn Hussey Memorial Prize in Byzantine Studies, and The John Penrose Barron Memorial Prize in Hellenic Studies.

In addition, the Friends have established Memorial Bursaries to honour the memory of Julian Chrysostomides, Kostas Kalimitzis, Konstantinos Kokonouzis, Pat Macklin and Joseph A. Munitiz.

Friends pay an annual subscription of £15. Voluntary donations above and beyond this sum help fund studentships, bursaries, and prizes. Friends also receive the Institute’s  Newsletter, which presents our activities.

Donations to the Hellenic Institute can be made online at: https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/giving/donatetohellenicinstitute.aspx 

If you would like to know more about supporting The Hellenic Institute, please contact us on: development@royalholloway.ac.uk or 01784 443100

The Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies (CGDS) has been established within The Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London. The foundation of the CGDS represents the fulfilment of a long-term aim of the Hellenic Institute. The initiative was first proposed by Professor Richard Clogg on 14 March 2013, at the end of the Twelfth Annual Hellenic Lecture, “Xeniteia: the Greek Diaspora in Modern Times.” Two years later, on 17 March 2015, the establishment of the CGDS was formally announced following the Fourteenth Annual Hellenic Lecture, "From Greeks Abroad to the Greek Diaspora: Hellenism in a Changing World," delivered by Professor George Prevelakis. Dr George Vassiadis served as CGDS's first Director (2015-2019), succeeded by Dr Achilleas Hadjikyriakou (2021-31.V.2024). The current Director is Dr Paris Chronakis.

Activities

The CGDS aims at creating an active international network of scholars and students interested in all aspects of the Greek and Cypriot Diaspora communities around the world. The involvement of members of the general public is encouraged as well. The Centre examines the history and contribution of Greek and Cypriot migrants to their host communities and countries internationally, and promotes interdisciplinary cooperation through the sharing of ideas and information, and the coordination of collaborative research projects. Since the establishment of The Hellenic Institute, a particular area of interest has been the history of the Greek Community in London, and the CGDS continues to encourage research into this promising subject.

Associate members of the CGDS include postgraduate students and staff from History and other Royal Holloway departments who are working in related fields. Students and scholars from other universities and institutions worldwide are warmly invited to participate in the Centre’s activities. The CGDS welcomes support from members of the public, and private, public and corporate funding bodies.

In September 2019, to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of The Hellenic Institute a four-year Scholarship in Greek Diaspora Studies was established in the History Department of Royal Holloway, thanks to generous donations from The Hellenic Foundation (London), The Samourkas Foundation (New York), The Bodossaki Foundation (Athens), The Friends of the Hellenic Institute, and private sponsors and donors. The 25th Anniversary Scholarship was awarded by the History Department Postgraduate Awards Committee to Georgios Argiantopoulos, who has successfully defended his thesis (approved with minor amendments in June 2024) "The British Occupation of Egypt in 1882 and its consequences for the Greek and Cypriot Communities", supervised by Professor Dan Stone and Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis. 

Events

25 October 2024: New publication

Paris Papamichos Chronakis, The Business of Transition. Jewish and Greek Merchants of Salonica from Ottoman to Greek Rule, Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture (Princeton University Press, 2024), 416 pp, Hardcover ISBN: 9781503639669, Ebook ISBN: 9781503640931

The Business of Transition examines how the cosmopolitan bourgeoisie of the Eastern Mediterranean navigated the transition from empire to nation-state in the early twentieth century. In this social and cultural history, Paris Papamichos Chronakis shows how the Jewish and Greek merchants of Salonica (present-day Thessaloniki) skillfully managed the tumultuous shift from Ottoman to Greek rule amidst revolution and war, rising ethnic tensions, and heightened class conflict. Bringing their once powerful voices back into the historical narrative, he traces their entangled trajectories as businessmen, community members, and civic leaders to illustrate how the self-reinvention of a Jewish-led bourgeoisie made a city Greek.

Papamichos Chronakis draws on previously untapped local archival material to weave a rich narrative of individual portraits, introducing us to revered philanthropists and committed patriots as well as vilified profiteers and victimized Salonicans. Offering a kaleidoscopic view of a city in transition, this book reveals how the collapse of empire shook all the constitutive elements of Jewish and Greek identities, and how Jews and Greeks reinvented themselves amidst these larger political and economic disruptions.

21 October 2022: Visit of HE the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister for Diaspora Greeks Mr Andreas Katsaniotis to the College

At the invitation of The Hellenic Institute, HE the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister for Diaspora Greeks Mr Andreas Katsaniotis paid an official visit to the College on Friday 21 Οctober 2022 to discuss the present state and the future of Hellenic Studies at Royal Holloway. He was welcomed and guided around the College by the Vice-Principal (International) and Executive Dean of the School of Humanities Professor Giuliana Pieri, Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, Director of the Hellenic Institute and Dr Achilleas Hadjikyriacou, Manager of the Hellenic Institute and Director of the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies, Mrs Deborah Meyer, Head of Development and Operations, and Mrs Janice Rodriguez-Mendes, Development Manager (Major Gifts).

Mr Katsaniotis was accompanied by the Ambassador Mr Christodoulos Margaritis, Director of his Cabinet Office, Mrs Iphigenia Kanara, Deputy Head of the Diplomatic Mission of Greece in the UK representing HE the Ambassador of Greece in UK Mr Ioannis Raptakis, and Mrs Eleni Soupiana, Press Counsellor at the Embassy of Greece. The visit started with a guided tour in the Picture Gallery with the beautiful collection of Victorian paintings including “The Babylonian marriage market” by Edwin Long, inspired from Herodotus’ Histories, then through the North Quad with the imposing statue of Queen Victoria crowned by the College and the inscription of its inauguration, to The Emily Wilding Davison Building with the new Library and the Archive, where they examined, rare volumes with facsimile editions of eleventh- and twelfth-century Greek manuscripts with Aristophanes’ comedies and Sophocles’ tragedies, Bernard de Montfaucon’s Palaeographia Graeca with a dedication to King Louis XIV (Paris, 1708), and a second folio copy of William Shakespeare’s plays (1622) under the guidance of the Archives and Special Collections Curator Dr Anne Marie Purcell. Mr Katsaniotis was briefed by Dr Hadjikyriacou about the activities and research projects of the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies (CGDS). The visit concluded with Lunch in honour of HE the Deputy Foreign Minister hosted by Professor Pieri in the Large Boardroom in Founder’s Building in the presence of the Heads of Classics and History Departments, Dr Christos Kremmydas and Dr Daniel Beer respectively, the Modern Greek Language Tutor Dr Polymnia Tsagouria, Professor Konstantinos Markantonakis, Department of Information Security, and Mrs Meyer and Mrs Rodriguez-Mendes, representing the College Marketing and Communications Office.

During the Lunch, Professor Pieri thanked HE the Deputy Minister on behalf of the College and the School of Humanities for his Visit and his interest for the activities of The Hellenic Institute and the CGDS. On his part, Mr Katsaniotis expressed his warm thanks for the College’s hospitality and his appreciation for the work of the Institute and the CGDS: “Greek Diaspora is a very significant part of the Greek collective identity, history and culture. I am impressed by what I saw and heard today at Royal Holloway. The Greek State stands beside the The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies. We will support to the best of our abilities your copious efforts.” In his speech, Dr Dendrinos stressed “the tradition of the Greeks, from time immemorial to our own days, of exploring the world beyond the limits of their homeland, discovering new lands, seeking new ideas, opening new horizons and, most importantly, gaining a deeper understanding of themselves.” Finally, the Greek officials visited the College Chapel, which they admired for its symbolism and beauty. Before departing, Mr Katsaniotis expressed the wish to visit the College again next year to attend the Twenty-first Annual Hellenic Lecture on 30 March 2023, which coincides with the 30th Anniversary since the founding of The Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway.

Photo 1: Roof of Emily Wilding Davison Building (from left): Dr Achileas Hadjikyriacou, Mr Christodoulos Margaritis, Mr Andreas Katsaniotis, Dr Charalambos Dendrinos.	Photo 2: Roof of Emily Wilding Davison Building (from left): Dr Achileas Hadjikyriacou, Mrs Deborah Meyer, Mrs Eleni Soupiana, Dr Anne Marie Purcell, Mr Christodoulos Margaritis, Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, Mr Andreas Katsaniotis, Prof. Giuliana Pieri, Mrs Iphigenia Kanara.
Photo 3: Emily Wilding Davison Building, Library Archive (from left): Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, Mr Andreas Katsaniotis, Mr Christodoulos Margaritis.	Photo 4: Royal Holloway Chapel (from left): Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, Mr Andreas Katsaniotis, Dr Achileas Hadjikyriacou, Mr Christodoulos Margaritis.

February-July 2022: 'Creating Diasporic Worlds' Creative Commissions 2022

The Greek word diaspora indicates the dispersal of a group of people from one original country to other countries, or the act of spreading in this way. Embedded in its etymology (dia ‘across’ + speirein ‘sow seed’, ‘scatter like seed’) is a centrifugal movement away from a shared place of origin. This physical movement is usually balanced by a centripetal imaginary movement towards a longed-for homeland, which often translates into nostalgia (nostos ‘return home’ + algos ‘pain’) – the yearning for return home, or to an irrecoverable past condition. Lingering between past and present, and crossing geographical and political boundaries, diasporas are nonetheless deeply rooted in territorial imaginations and in a sense of place. They at once transcend and rest on the map. Diasporas are thus commonly defined by their geographical, social, political and spiritual liminality. Yet diasporas are also culturally expressed, creatively practiced and continually performed. In scattering seeds across the world, they create their own worlds and fertilize others.

The Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies and the Centre for the GeoHumanities at Royal Holloway, University of London in collaboration with the Cyprus High Commission in London and the Fitzwilliam Museum – University of Cambridge, funded three Creative Commissions on the theme of ‘Creating Diasporic Worlds’. Each of the three Commissions were funded with £3,000. The programme was open to any collaboration between creative practitioners and early career researchers.

The Call was announced on 3 February 2022. 22 applications were received, 9 projects were shortlisted, 5 teams were interviewed, and 3 proposals were selected and are currently under implementation. The artistic outcomes of these projects, which include video installations, soundscapes, art installations and prints, were displayed in an exhibition that  took place at the Cyprus High Commission, 13 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4L between 5-7 July 2022 and attracted a large audience.

These Creative Commissions emerge from a collaboration between the Cyprus High Commission - Cultural Section, the Fitzwilliam Museum – University of Cambridge (under the project “Being an Islander: Art and Identity of the Large Mediterranean Islands”), the Hellenic Institute, the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies (http://hellenic-institute.uk/) and the Centre for the GeoHumanities at Royal Holloway, University of London. 

7-8 June 2022: The Late Byzantine Mediterranean: Byzantine Connectivities, Experiences and Identities in a Fragmented World

2022 Institute of Classical Studies Byzantine Colloquium

The Colloquium took place via Zoom

The period between the two falls of Constantinople, namely the Crusader conquest of 1204 and the Ottoman conquest of 1453, witnessed the radical transformation of Byzantium from empire into a mosaic of autonomous and semi-autonomous polities. The fascinating survival and transformation of Byzantine identities in a world dominated by Latin Christian and Muslim powers was the result of complex dynamics, with Constantinople functioning, more or less, as a magnet for the Orthodox populations beyond its narrow political borders. Theodoros Metochites’ (d. 1332) rhetoric eloquently captures the ideological, spiritual and cultural radiance of the “Queen City”. In his laudatory oration on the Byzantine capital, Metochites describes Constantinople as “the citadel of the whole world” (ἀκρόπολιν τινὰ τῶν ὅλων) and the “shared fatherland of all people” (κοινοπολιτεία πάντων ἀνθρώπων), stressing the city’s role as a centre, in both geographic and symbolic terms.

Over the past two decades, there has been a remarkable progress in the way scholars approach the history and culture of former Byzantine areas under Latin Christian and Muslim rule in the period between 1200 and 1400. The picture emerging from these studies embraces unity and diversity, interaction and contention, synthesis and conservativism, new identities and old. Research on the history of Mediterranean has also shown that the political, religious and cultural fragmentation of the Eastern Mediterranean increased, rather than restrained, the development of multiple connectivities, among the peoples inhabiting this vast liquid area. Yet, the nature and degree of bonds of unity between Late Byzantium and the former Byzantine lands —encompassing the physical mobility of humans and objects, as well as institutional, ideological, religious and cultural links— requires a more systematic and in-depth exploration.

The Colloquium re-addressed questions related to Byzantine connectivities, experiences and identities in Latin- and Muslim-ruled Mediterranean areas once belonging to the Byzantine Empire. Focusing on religion and culture as the main strands of identity preservation, negotiation and adaptation, our Colloquium  examined the threads weaving the tapestry of a “Late Byzantine Mediterranean”: a fluidly-defined κοινοπολιτεία under the enduring influence of Constantinople, but in constant communication and exchange with the religious and ethnic Other. The main themes of the Colloquium included, but were not restricted to, the following:

• Byzantine legacies in the Eastern Mediterranean after 1200
• Worlds of interaction and conflict (e.g., Asia Minor, the Holy Land, Egypt, Cyprus and the Aegean)
• The role of Byzantine culture as a transcultural language of communication
• The impact of intra-Byzantine conflicts in the Eastern Mediterranean
• Experiences of colonisation and foreign rule
• Instrumentalisation of identities in historiography (inclusions and exclusions)

Seventeen speakers from Britain, Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Serbia and the United States of America representing a variety of scholarly fields and methodological approaches, navigated the sea of Byzantine encounters in the Latin and Muslim worlds from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries. By paying close attention to the continuities and discontinuities that (re-)shaped Byzantine identities in the Eastern Mediterranean, they provided fresh and stimulated perspectives on the sense of belonging to Byzantium and its broader significance.

The Colloquium was dedicated to the loving memory of two great scholars, Speros Vryonis, Jr. and Elizabeth A. Zachariadou, who transformed our perception of the Byzantine legacy in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Co-organised by the Institute of Classical Studies, The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, the Society of Cypriot Studies and the Cyprus Committee for Byzantine Studies, the Colloquium was attended by 88 students and scholars.

To download the program with summaries of papers please use this link.

For further information please contact Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriacou and Dr Charalambos Dendrinos

6-7 May 2022: Borderland: Christian Identities and Cultures in Early Modern Cyprus and Beyond

International Virtual Colloquium

The Colloquium is dedicated to the loving memory of Michael Heslop (1941-2022), whose scholarly work enlightened perceptions of borderlands between Latins, Greeks and Others in Late Byzantium.

The fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries witnessed the emergence of new confessional identities throughout Europe as well as the re-negotiation and adaptation of earlier confessional self-perceptions. Over the past four decades, medieval and early modern Cyprus has attracted the attention of the international scholarly community as a geographically distinct zone of religious diversity. So far, research in the field covers aspects of identity formation, religious contention and conviviality as well as the construction of institutional, social and economic structures. Less attention has been paid, however, to the dynamics and mechanisms of Christian co-existence and strife in relation to religious culture. Equally important, yet largely unexplored, is the impact on Cypriot Christian self-perceptions and religious culture of major and broader developments in Europe (e.g., the Renaissance, Reformation and Counter-Reformation) and the Levant, at the time of the Ottoman expansion and the transformation of the post-Byzantine “Commonwealth”.

Since Fredrik Barth’s work on the development, maintenance and negotiation of group boundaries (1969), scholars have been focusing on the relationship between identity and boundary construction, especially in multi-confessional and multi-ethnic societies. Although hardly impenetrable, boundaries ―physical/territorial and imaginary/psychological/spiritual― diachronically function as visible, audible, tangible and performed markers of religious and cultural perception and self-perception. The aim of our conference is to address the status of Cyprus as a “borderland” or “frontier-zone”, already noted but not adequately investigated and analysed in historiography. In what ways were religious and cultural borders defined, constructed, negotiated, performed, and crossed in Cyprus between ca. 1500 and 1600? How can borders help us better understand Cypriot Christian identities (Orthodox, Latin, Maronite, Armenian, among others) and forms of cultural expression? By bringing together scholars working on early modern multi-confessionalism and Cyprus from different disciplines and perspectives, and employing different sources, approaches and methodologies, we seek to offer a channel for fruitful dialogue and exchange of views and ideas on key themes related to the island’s religious geography and cultural physiognomy in this critical period. These include, but are not restricted to, the following:

• Borders and confessional relationships: communal inclusivism and exclusivism, shared beliefs, perceptions and practices
• Cyprus and broader perceptions of the border (e.g., insularity, connectivities and fragmentation) in relation to identities
• Cypriot diasporic communities and their borders in Western European societies
• Boundaries (or lack of) in secular and sacred space between Christianity and Islam
• Ritual as border performing and crossing: liturgy and theology, marriage, processions, and political choreographies
• Literature, visual culture and multi-confessionalism: borders imagined and represented
• Colonial, anti-colonial, de-colonial and post-colonial readings of the multi-confessional past: the making and un-making of borders (e.g., instrumentalisation of confessional identities —inclusions and exclusions— in historiography and literature).

Co-organised by the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation,  The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, the conference is part of the Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation’s research project CyChrist (POST-DOC/0916/0060). Funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the Republic of Cyprus through the Research and Innovation Foundation, CyChrist explores aspects of multi-confessionalism and human geography in early modern Cyprus, during the transitional period between the Venetian and Ottoman rule (ca. 1560-1670). The Conference was attended by over thirty students and scholars from Europe and the United States of America.

To download the programme with summaries of the papers please use this link.

To access the recording of the Conference please us the following links:

6 May 2022: https://youtu.be/rHVB7xBsCf4

7 May 2022, Part 1: https://youtu.be/IKlNgFYgUT4

7 May 2022, Part 2: https://youtu.be/Oh8r3S46Zis

7 May 2022, Part 3: https://youtu.be/iKiDFfa3UM0

For further information please contact Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriacou 

For further information please contact Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriacou and Dr Achilleas.Hadjikyriacou@rhul.ac.uk

26 November 2021: Imagining a Free Greece: British, Cypriot and Russian engagement

Part of 21 in 21 programme of events celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Greek War of Independence (1821-2021).

The event took place via MS Teams at 6pm (GMT)

Taking as a point of departure the famous Ionian Academy established by the great Philhellene Frederick North, 5th Earl of Guilford (1766-1827), being the first University established on Greek soil (1824-1827), this event, led by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis, explored the history of intellectual movements that led to the liberation of the Greeks, including the contribution of the Cypriots and the Greek communities in Britain and Russia. Professor Sakis Gekas (York University, Toronto)  delivered the main lecture on Lord Guilford and British cultural politics in the Ionian Islands followed by a panel discussion with Professor Lucien Frary (Rider University, New Jersey) on philhellenism and the Greek diaspora in the Russian Empire, and Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriacou (Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation/Royal Holloway) on Cyprus and Greek Cypriots in the Greek War of Independence. The event was attended by an audience of 34 students, scholars and friends.

The event is moderated by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis and hosted by the Hellenic Institute and Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies, Royal Holloway University of London.

Lecture

Sakis Gekas, ‘Lord Guildford, British cultural politics and colonialism in the Ionian Islands’

The opening of the Ionian Academy in Corfu is often presented as the personal project of Lord Guilford. Within the local and the imperial context of British colonialism, however, the institution represents a shift in the colonial practices and mode of rule, from the military-commercial to the cultural-civilizational, still at an early stage in the empire’s history of cultural politics and education. The talk will place the Ionian Academy within the constellation of Guilford’s ambitions and the context of colonial rule of the Ionian Islands as a protectorate. The contrast with the years of the revolutionary war in Greece could not be starker. Previous educational-cultural activities and institutions in the Ionian Islands allow us to understand the local context and the landscape in which the Ionian Academy emerged and functioned within the British protectorate. Guilford’s personal project and ambition for a centre of higher education predates the period of British rule in the Ionian Islands and reflects the impact of classical education on cultural projects and politics of the time.

Interventions

Professor Lucian Frary (Rider University, New Jersey), “Russophilia in the Ionian Islands and the Coming of the Greek Revolution”

Dr Chrysovalantis Kyriakou (Bank of Cyprus Cultural Foundation / Royal Holloway), “The Cypriots and the Greek Revolution of 1821”

To watch the event please click here.

27 October - 19 November 2021: Rethinking the City: Ethnic Displacement and Memory Politics in South Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean

The Centre of Global South Asia and The Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London, are proud to host a series of online lectures, workshops and research conversations on ethnic displacement, memory, and the city in the Eastern Mediterranean and South Asia. "Frontier Urbanism" refers to two fault lines that have shaped the cities in South Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean: the ever-expanding frontier between urban and rural, and the frontiers created by ethnic cleansing and religious communalism in the process of nation formation. In a series of events, we seek to illuminate how these two frontiers have intersected and overlapped in surprising ways, often long after traumatic events of Partition and displacement have passed into memory. Join our conversations with academics and artists from the UK, Greece, India, and Bangladesh, on the following dates. To register please press the links below.

Wednesday 27 October, 16:30-18:00 UK time

Keynote lecture

Ian Talbot (Southampton), "Lahore, Amritsar and the Indo-Pakistan Frontier"

Wednesday 3 November, 16:30-18:00 UK time

In conversation

Renee Hirschon (Oxford) in conversation with Paris Chronakis (RHUL) on "Refugee Resettlement and Urban Development in twentieth-century Greece"

Please note that this event was cancelled for reasons beyond our control.

Wednesday 10 November, 16:00-18:30 UK time

Research Workshop

Alekos Lamprou (Marburg), Hareem Mirza (RHUL), Kalliopi Amygdalou (HFEFP, Athens), and Himadri Chatterjee (University of Calcutta) on "Refugees and their Cities" 

• Alekos Lamprou, 'Violent Youths: Student Mobilization Against Minorities in Interwar Izmir'
• Hareem Mirza, 'Whose Heritage? Colonial Heritage in Post-Colonial Cities'
• Kalliopi Amygdalou, 'Spatial Experiences of Refugee Resettlement: The Case of Kaisariani in Athens'
• Himadri Chatterjee, "'Crops of Our Fathers': Refugee Spirituality and The Urban Frontier"

Friday 19 November, 16:30-18:30 UK time

Art and Concluding Roundtable Discussion

Art by Shawon Akand (Dhaka)

Shubhra Gururani(York University, Toronto) and Rajarshi Dasgupta (JNU, New Delhi) on "Frontier Urbanism

1-2 June 2021: Sacred Mobilities in Byzantium and Beyond: People, Objects and Relics

2021 Institute of Classical Studies Byzantine Virtual Colloquium

The Colloquium took place via Zoom

All religious belief implicates space; all religious practice makes geography. In the broad sense, the term ‘sacred’ indicates something ‘different’, ‘set apart’, ‘other’, as well as something invested with special meaning. Yet, where do the boundaries of the sacred lie? Is sacred space an ontological given, or is it a social construction? Is it a portion of territory or the product of a set of embodied practices? Is it permanent or ephemeral?

Over the past two decades, the construction, experience and use of sacred space have generated increasing scholarly interest in the humanities, including Byzantine studies—from Alexei Lidov’s pioneering studies in hierotopy (2006) to more recent interdisciplinary initiatives (e.g., Mapping the Sacred in Byzantium at Newcastle University). Far from being understood as a fixed given entity, in these recent studies sacred space has intersected with issues of embodiment and performance, with environmental perceptions, attitudes and practice, with social mobility and identity, with the relations of private and public space, and with geopolitics and territorial imaginations. At the same time, the so-called ‘Mobility Turn’ (Sheller and Urry 2006) has extended from the domain of the social sciences to the humanities, prompting among historians, archaeologists and art historians new questions, approaches and understandings of issues of transport, movement and circulation of people, objects and ideas. Our Colloquium aims at setting these two strands—sacred space and mobility—in conversation with each other, in order to gain further insight into Byzantine and post-Byzantine spiritual culture.

In addition to conventional sacred spaces such as churches, shrines and religiously significant topographical features (such as holy mountains or caves, for example), holy people, sacred objects and relics were frequently used to create or sanctify other public or private profane spaces in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine world, and remain key to Orthodox worship. The mobility of certain sacra linked sacred sites with potentially new sacred destinations; it created new trajectories; it helped articulate and sustain the extra-ordinary within the ordinary. Sacred mobilities thus upset the dichotomy of the sacred and the profane as mutually exclusive. Examples of such mobilities include, but are not limited to travelling icons, processions, pilgrimages, the translation of relics, the reproduction of holy images and architecture. 

Eleven speakers from Britain, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Israel, Russia and the USA reflected on different types of sacred mobilities, including the use of sanctifying materialities, the duration of the transformation of sacred space, and the creation of ‘infrasecular geographies’ in the Byzantine and post-Byzantine world.

Co-organised by the Institute of Classical Studies, The Hellenic Institute and the Centre for the Geohumanities at Royal Holloway the Colloquium was attended by over seventy-five guests. To download the programme with abstracts of papers please use the following link: https://ics.sas.ac.uk/events/event/23337. For further information please contact Dr Mark Guscin and Revd David-John Williams

22 April 2021: “The Greek Revolution through the Eyes of 'Others'”

Part of 21 in 21 programme of events celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Greek War of Independence (1821-2021)

The event took place online via MS Teams at 6.00-7.30pm (GMT)

Panel discussion focusing on perceptions of the Greek War of Independence across Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean during and after the event, including attitudes of early nineteenth-century Albanian warlords, interwar Sephardi Jews, and mid-twentieth century Turkish historians. Speakers include Dr Antonis Hadjikiriakou (Panteion University, Athens), Dr Sukru Ilicak (Research Centre for the Humanities, Athens), and Dr Paris Chronakis (Royal Holloway, University of London). Respondent: Dr Konstantina Zanou (Columbia University, NYC).  The event was attended by over 80 guests. For further information on the talks and the speakers please visit 21 in 21.

For further information please contact Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis

14 April 2021: “Virtual Book Talk: Sephardi Holocaust Histories: Families Adrift”

Part of the Family Histories of the Holocaust events series, at The Wiener Holocaust Library, 29 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DP

The event took place online at 7-8pm (GMT).

Panel discussion led by Dr Paris Chronakis exploring Sephardi family microhistories of the Holocaust including Thessalonian Jewry. Professor Sarah Abrevaya Stein will discuss her book Family Papers: A Sephardic Journey through the Twentieth Century (2020), based on the copious Levy family papers, which helped chronicle Sephardi Jewish life across and beyond the Ottoman Empire; and François Matarasso Matarasso will discuss his father’s and grandfather’s memoirs, published in Talking Until Nightfall: Remembering Jewish Salonica, 1941-44 (2020). Hosted by The Wiener Holocaust Library in partnership with the Hellenic Institute, Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies and Holocaust Research Institute, Royal Holloway, University of London, the event was attended by over sixty guests.

To see and listen to the discussion please press here.

For further information please press this link or contact: Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis

Exhibition and Lecture on “Greek-Orthodox Religioscapes. Dr Georgios E. Trantas, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, Ashton University, presented a showcase of the European Union Commission Horizon 2020 research project ‘GO Religioscapes’, examining and comparing the migratory narratives of the Greek and Greek-Cypriot migrant communities in present day Germany and Britain respectively from the perspective of religious aesthetics. Either previously heterodox converted to Greek-Orthodox or newly built, the churches of these communities contain traces of migratory narratives in their icons, frescoes, architectural and linguistic elements. This study sheds light on how the migratory establishment in the receiving country has been experienced, perceived and immortalised by religious means. The event was organised jointly by The Hellenic Institute, Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies and Centre for the GeoHumanities at Royal Holloway, and Aston University, and supported by the Hellenic Centre. The event took place in The Hellenic Centre, Friends & Members Room, 16-18 Paddington Street, Marylebone, London W1U 5AS, on 9 March 2020.

Article by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis, “Between Liberalism and Slavophobia. Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism, and the (re)making of the Interwar Modern Greek State,” Jewish Social Studies 25/1 (2020): 20-44.

Navigating Dark Waters. Diaspora Greeks, Port-City Jews, and a Mediterranean History of Modern Antisemitism, 1830-1912. Paper delivered by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis at Royal Holloway History Department Research Seminar on 19 May 2020.

A Blood-Dark Sea? Greek Antisemitism across the Eastern Mediterranean, 1830-1912. Paper delivered by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis at the Oxford Seminar in Modern Jewish History, University of Oxford on 17 February 2020.

A “Sephardi Holocaust”? Mediterranean and Sephardi Jewries during World War Two.  This International Workshop situated the Holocaust in Greece within the broader contours of the Mediterranean. Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis examined the entangled escape networks of Greek Christians and Jews across the Aegean Sea. Sponsored by Royal Holloway’s Holocaust Research Institute and The Wiener Holocaust Library with the support of The Hellenic Institute, the event was co-organised by Dr Pedro Correa Martin Arroyo and Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis at The Wiener Holocaust Library, London on 17 December 2019.

Cosmopolitan port cities, trans-regional migrations and the cross-Mediterranean circuit of modern antisemitism, 1830-1912. Paper delivered by Dr Paris Papamichos Chronakis at the workshop Decolonising Colonial Ports and Global History: Rethinking Archives of Power held at the University of Oxford on 9 November 2019.

Introduction of MA modules in Modern Greek and Cypriot History and Diaspora in the History Department of Royal Holloway (2019/20 & 2020/21):

• Refugees: A global twentieth-century History involves the Asia Minor, Greek Civil War and Cypriot refugee experience, introducing students to the history of refugees in the twentieth century.
• Concepts in History: Space discusses the importance of space to the study of the past through the examples of neo-classical Athens and multi-ethnic Thessaloniki, among others.
• Bloodlands: Violence, Democracy and Authoritarianism in Eastern Europe, 1912-1945 situates the history of interwar Greece to the broader regional history of Eastern and South-Eastern Europe.
• Diasporas, Refugees, and Minorities in twentieth-century Europe and the Mediterranean is offered as part of MA History, MA History: Hellenic Studies and MA Holocaust Studies programs. The course draws from the rich history of the Greek diaspora, minorities in Greece, and refugees in Greece and Cyprus to discuss the interrelated histories of population displacement and minority groups in Europe’s tumultuous twentieth century.

International Conference: Greeks and Cypriots in the United Kingdom, 1815-2015: Culture, Commerce & Politics. This two-day conference was the first time researchers studying the history of the Greek and Cypriot communities in the United Kingdom came together and presented their work. Papers covered a broad range of topics related to social, cultural, commercial and political history and diaspora studies. The conference took place on Friday 14 October and Saturday 15 October 2016 at the Hellenic Centre, 16-18 Paddington Street, Marylebone, London W1U 5AS, United Kingdom. Over 150 students, scholars, officials and members of the general public attended the event. Co-organised by The Hellenic Institute / Centre for Greek Diaspora Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, the Cyprus High Commission, Cultural Section, and the Embassy of Greece, with the support of the Hellenic Centre and under the auspices of the High Commissioner for the Republic of Cyprus, Euripides L. Evriviades, and the Ambassador of the Hellenic Republic, Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras. To download abstracts of the papers, please click here.

Fifteenth Annual Hellenic Lecture: The Gennadius Library in Athens: The Vision of a Greek of the Diaspora by Dr Maria Georgopoulou, Director, The Gennadius Library, American School of Classical Studies at Athens. In 1926 John Gennadius, a retired Greek diplomat in London, offered his 30,000-volume library to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for the use of “the scholars of all nations” following the example of earlier benefactors from the Greek diaspora. The guiding principle of his collecting was to illuminate the history of the Greek “genius” through the ages. Dr Georgopoulou's lecture assessed the significance of the Gennadius Library for the development of post-antique Hellenic studies over the past ninety years and the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead. The Lecture, followed by Reception and Dinner in honour of Dr Georgopoulou, was held at Royal Holloway, University of London on 22 March 2016.

Greeks and Others in the Centre: the London Launch of Discovering Downtown Cairo: Architecture...and Stories (Berlin: Jovis, 2015). Downtown Cairo is a unique, living treasure house of nineteenth and twentieth century residential and commercial architecture. Until the 1950s, it was home to a flourishing Greek community numbering many thousands. Most Cairene Greeks lived downtown, close to their shops, offices, restaurants, schools, churches and clubs. Some Greek-Egyptians still live and work there today. At the London launch of their book, Dr Vittoria Capresi and Barbara Pampe spoke about "The Making of Discovering Downtown Cairo: Architecture ...and Stories", Dr Alexander Kazamias (Coventry University) responded with thoughts on "'A Piece of Europe'? Reflections on Khedivial Cairo after the Opening of the New Suez Canal", and Dr George Vassiadis (RHUL) provided an introduction entitled "Greeks and Others in Downtown Cairo from Khedive Ismail to the Arab Spring". This event, organised in cooperation with the Society of Modern Greek Studies and Baladilab, was held at The Hellenic Centre in London on 29 October 2015.

Making Space for Diasporas and the Sacred. The first CGDS event, a postgraduate workshop organised in cooperation with HARC and the Royal Holloway Geography Department, took place at Royal Holloway on 29 May 2015.

For information on the CGDS please contact the Director Dr Achilleas Hadjikyriacou

A Descriptive Catalogue of the Greek Manuscript Collection of Lambeth Palace Library

Lambeth Palace Library (LPL) is the historic library of the archbishops of Canterbury and the principal library and record office for the history of the Church of England. Founded as a public library by Archbishop Bancroft in 1610, its collection have been freely available for research ever since. Officially designated by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council as outstanding in national and international importance, the LPL Collection, which includes Western medieval and Byzantine manuscripts, focuses on ecclesiastical history. The Library forms part of the National Church Institutions and, as such, receives no public funding.

As part of an on-going collaborative programme which dates from 2003, University of London students attending Greek Palaeography courses and research students in Classical and Byzantine Studies have been visiting LPL at the invitation of the Librarians and Archivists Dr Richard Palmer and Giles Mandelbrote and the Archivist Mrs Clare Brown, to examine and study original Greek manuscripts as part of their training in Greek Palaeography and Codicology.

The Greek Manuscript Collection consists of fifty-five Greek codices acquired by LPL since its founding in 1610, including those received in 2006 from Sion College, an institution for clergy founded in the City of London in the late 1620s. Dated between the tenth and nineteenth centuries, these manuscripts include Gospel and Acts and Epistles Books and Lectionaries, an Octateuch with catena, patristic and other theological texts including works of John Chrysostom, Gregory of Nazianzus and John of Damascus, liturgical and hymnographic texts, classical texts by Aeschylus, Dionysios Periegetes, Pseudo-Aristotle, Plutarch, Lycophron and Demosthenes, chronographic and legal texts, post-Byzantine texts including an anonymous Chronicle in vernacular Greek and Damaskenos Stoudites, On Animals, and descriptions and collations of LPL manuscripts. Among the most important manuscripts is MS 461, containing a theological treatise on the procession of the Holy Spirit by George Scholarios (later Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Gennadios II), with his autograph signature, notes and corrections.

An exhibition of the Greek Manuscript Collection was organised jointly by LPL and The Hellenic Institute on the occasion of the 21st International Congress of Byzantine Studies in London between 23-24 August 2006. The exhibition comprised the following sections: Doctrine; Liturgy and Spirituality; Byzantium, its Provinces and Neighbours; Before and after Byzantium; From Manuscript to Print. The last section, on Anglicanism and Orthodoxy, included printed books, documents and photographs illustrating the dialogue, past and present, between the two Churches. The exhibition catalogue included the first complete inventory of the LPL Greek Manuscript Collection.

Thanks to a generous grant (£121,000 over two years) awarded by The A. G. Leventis Foundation and with the support of LPL and Royal Holloway, University of London, a full descriptive catalogue of this important collection has been compiled by Dr Christopher Wright and Ms Maria Argyrou under the supervision of Dr Dendrinos and the guidance and support of eminent scholars and technical advisors, member of the Project Board:

• Mrs Clare Brown, LPL Archivist - Internal LPL Advisor
• Dr Annaclara Cataldi Palau, Visiting Professor in Greek Palaeography, RHUL Hellenic Institute, History Department - Internal RHUL Advisor
• Dr Rachel Cosgrove, LPL Senior Archivist - Internal LPL Advisor
• Dr Charalambos Dendrinos, Senior Lecturer in Byzantine Literature and Greek Palaeography, Director, RHUL Hellenic Institute, History Department - Project Director
• Dr Pat Easterling, Emeritus Regius Professor of Greek, Cambridge University - External Advisor
• Giles Mandelbrote, LPL Librarian and Archivist - Chairman of the Project Board
• Revd Dr Joseph A. Munitiz, S.J., former Master of Campion Hall, Oxford University - External Advisor
• Professor Nicholas Pickwoad, Director of the Ligatus Research Centre, University of the Arts London - Internal LPL Advisor
• Philip Taylor, Honorary Research Associate, Hellenic Institute, History Department, former RHUL webmaster - Internal RHUL IT Advisor

A Descriptive Catalogue of the Greek Manuscript Collection of Lambeth Palace Library  was published online in Adobe PDF format on the websites of both LPL and the Hellenic Institute on 25 February 2016 (and revised in 2022), thus further enhancing the accessibility of, and interest in, this collection among scholars and the public worldwide. To access the electronic catalogue please click here.

 

The Editorial Board would be very pleased to receive any comments, corrections, criticisms, and/or suggestions for possible improvements. These should be sent by e-mail to: LPL-Greek-MSS-Catalogue@Hellenic-Institute.Uk

The publication of this catalogue sheds light on textual, palaeographical and codicological aspects of these important manuscripts which so far remain largely unexplored and advances our knowledge on the relations between the Anglican Church and the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchates between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, a period of major political and ecclesiastical changes in Europe and the Middle East.

The Hellenic Institute would like to express its deepest thanks to the Most Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and to his predecessor the Most Reverend Dr Rowan Williams, now Baron Williams of Oystermouth, for allowing us to pursue our research in the Greek collections of their Library; His Beatitude Theophilos III Patriarch of Jerusalem and All Palestine, His Eminence the Archbishop of Constantina Aristarchos, Chief Secretary of the Patriarchate, the Librarian of the Patriarchal Library, Father Aristoboulos; and Professor Agamemnon Tselikas, Director, Centre for History and Palæography, National Bank of Greece Cultural Foundation, for their kindness, invaluable help and guidance in our research concerning the MSS returned to the Patriarchal Library by LPL in 1817; the LPL Librarian and Archivist Giles Mandelbrote and LPL Archivist Mrs Clare Brown and their staff for their support and co-operation; the Members of the Project Board for their advice and guidance; scholars who contributed with their expertise in specialised topics; and last but not least the A.G. Leventis Foundation for its generous grant and continued support towards The Hellenic Institute's research activities for the promotion of Hellenic Studies in general and Anglo-Hellenic Relations in particular.

For further information on the LPL Greek Manuscript Collection and its Cataloguing Project please contact Dr Charalambos Dendrinos and Dr Christopher Wright.