Medieval Studies-Mary Jaharis Center Lecture in Byzantine Studies

Date: 

Thursday, February 17, 2022, 5:00pm to 6:30pm

Location: 

Zoom presentation

Nina Glibetić (University of Notre Dame), The History and Significance of the Byzantine Prothesis Ritual. Co-sponsored by the Committee on Medieval Studies and the Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture at Hellenic College-Holy Cross. This event will take place on the Zoom meeting platform; please click here to register.

The Middle Byzantine period witnessed a striking ritualization of the act of preparing bread and wine for the Divine Liturgy. Known as the Prothesis, this ritual both reflects and caused significant developments in the interpretation of the liturgy, liturgical objects, and visual representations decorating church spaces. This talk brings together manuscripts in several languages in order to trace the shifts and expansions of the Prothesis over time. It also nuances previous scholarly narratives by pointing to early Byzantine antecedents to this ritual and highlighting the diversity in local practices that characterized this rite prior to the emergence of its definitive form in Late Byzantium.