July 8–11, 2025

This conference will gather scholars engaged in research on Greek hymns found in the earliest extant sources of all Eastern liturgical rites. The scope of inquiry includes not only hymns that may be regarded as part of the (pre-)history of the received Byzantine rite but also those composed in Greek for non-Byzantine traditions. We particularly invite contributions on hymns that did not withstand medieval processes of ritual hybridisation and standardisation and those thought to have been composed in Greek but preserved only in ancient translations (e.g. Georgian, Syriac, Armenian). A diversity of methodological approaches is welcomed, and papers that clearly combine philological and palaeographical research with innovative literary or cultural-historical analysis are warmly encouraged. Proposals to present previously unknown and unedited material and those dealing with material aspects of the field will be prioritised.

General inquiries and paper proposals should be submitted to Gregory Tucker (gregory.tucker@ur.de) by 5pm CET on 15th September 2024.