Middle Eastern Christianity Unit
Liturgy in the Life of Middle Eastern Christians
This panel invites papers on the centrality of liturgy in the lives of Middle Eastern Christians across denominations, both in their homelands, and in the diaspora. We welcome interdisciplinary approaches, including but not limited to theologies of liturgy, liturgical history, anthropology of ritual, and literary or philological studies of liturgical texts. Topics of interest include connections between liturgy and hagiography, shared saint veneration, the material and sensorial dimensions of worship, ecotheology, and the influence of the Hagiopolite liturgy on subsequent traditions.
This Unit is devoted to the study of developments within Coptic, Armenian, Chaldean/Assyrian, Syrian, Maronite, and other relevant communities living inside the Middle East or in lands of immigration. The Unit promotes scholarship on themes from the early Christian period to the present, encompassing various approaches and subjects. Its aim is to establish an interdisciplinary platform for fostering scholarly approaches to Middle Eastern Christianity, and to provide opportunities for scholars to discuss their work in relation to the overall field of the study of religion.