911³Ô¹Ï

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies is pleased to be hosting an international gathering of leading Marian scholars for a conference at 911³Ô¹Ï, running October 18-20th. The conference, entitled "The Virgin Without Borders: The Early Cult of Mary in Byzantium, Egypt, and Syria," seeks to bring together established and emerging academics for a multi-disciplinary event that will make connections across time periods, themes, and fields of inquiry.

October 18, 2018

Keynote Lecture 

• Female Deities of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Emergence of the Cult of the Virgin
  Dr. Niki Tsironis, National Hellenic Research Foundation

Lecture at 7pm, doors at 6:30pm

Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue
Salon 20, ICBC Concourse
580 West Hastings Street
Vancouver BC

*This event is free, but seating is limited. Please register online at 

October 19, 2018

Conference Panels

911³Ô¹Ï
Halpern Centre, Room 114
8888 University Drive
Burnaby BC

*Open to the public - no registration is required

PANEL ONE: MANUSCRIPT TRANSMISSION AND THE VIRGIN IN CROSS-CULTURAL DIALOGUES (10 A.M.)

• On the Coptic Literary Tradition of the Virgin Mary
  Prof. Tito Orlandi (Sapienza University of Rome)

• Coptic Texts Related to the Virgin Mary: Literary Genres, Milieus of Productions, Places of Circulation
  Prof. Paola Buzi (Sapienza University of Rome)

PANEL TWO: THE MATERIALITY OF MARIAN VENERATION (1 P.M.)

• La conversion du Parthénon en église dédiée à la Vierge: témoignages littéraires et épigraphiques
  Dr. Maria Xenaki (UMR 8167, Orient & Méditerranée, CNRS Paris)

• Devotion to the Virgin Mary on the Crossroads of Coptic and Syriac Culture
  Dr. Karel Innemée (University of Amsterdam)

• Localizing Mary: The Physical Evidence for the Early Cult of the Virgin in the Eastern Mediterranean
  Dr. Sabrina C. Higgins (911³Ô¹Ï)

PANEL THREE: BOOKS ON MARY AND MARY IN BOOKS (3 P.M.)

• The 3D Virgin: Mary’s Tears Reflecting Greek and Jewish Laments
  Dr. Niki Tsironis (National Hellenic Research Foundation)

• Mary and the Book and the Ode Pictures in Early Christian Art
  Dr. Elena Papastavrou (Director of Ephorate of Antiquities (Pieria), Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports)