On December 16, 2023 at 17:00 an International Online Scientific Symposium will be held on “Early Christmas Customs and Practice“. The aim of the Symposium is to open scientific dialogue on the Christmas worship practices of the early Christian centuries, which formed the foundations of the Christmas celebration as we experience it today.

The topics covered by the Symposium concern the historical, archaeological and theological context, at an academic and ecumenical level. More specifically, there will be five different talks: Dr. Elisa Emaldi (Italy), who will speak on the cultic practices of the Magi from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages; Prof. Oleg Ulianov (Russia) on the oldest depiction of birth in Rome and the gifts of the Magi; Dr. Gabriel Pistea (Romania), who will present on the theme of the baptism of Jesus and how it shaped the early Christian church; Linda Vogt Turner (Canada), will present the theme on the Birth and the Bible, and Dr. John J. Gallagher (Ireland) will close the Symposium with a presentation on the writings of the hieromonk St. Veda (673-735 AD) on the coming of Jesus and Christmas in the Middle Ages.

The Symposium is organized by the Orthodox Academy Crete, the International Medievalists Network Medievalists.net based in Canada and the Academy’s Digital Journal After Constantine: Stories from the Late Antique and Early Byzantine Era. The language of the Symposium will be English, and there will be a parallel translation into Greek.

You can attend the Symposium by registering here https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_EeL6qbC8T_a1QfzMlqZg7g?fbclid=IwAR1qmKzrYyzrp3P36v49YTf4HohTJi584vHJPeQ8JY4Rvb5nxAL6bMrmCPI#/registration or you may visit the OAC website.

The event will also be broadcast on the Academy’s YouTube channel. All that is required is to log in via the link: https://bit.ly/2J7COjq by selecting the specific event, which will be marked “LIVE”.