Byzantine Studies at Notre Dame Expands Research Resources

In preserving and developing the intellectual and literary traditions of the Greco-Roman world, in fashioning eastern orthodox Christianity, and in defining the notion of a Christian empire that was a center of intellectual and commercial trade, the Byzantine Empire was one of the great formative cultures in European history.

Although its rule ended in 1453 C.E., Byzantium’s influence was far from over, and the University’s Byzantine Studies at Notre Dame initiative continues to explore this influential period in medieval history.

Faculty and student research into this area of inquiry will also now benefit from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Reading Room for Byzantine Studies, located on the seventh floor of the University’s Hesburgh Libraries. The February 2012 dedication was attended by Greek Orthodox Bishop Demetrios of Mokissos from Chicago, Consul of Greece Ioanna Efthymiadou, and Stelios Vasilakis, a representative of the Niarchos Foundation.

“The inauguration of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Reading Room not only provides an appropriate home for one of the great research collections in this field of study, it also firmly embeds Byzantine Studies at Notre Dame within the Medieval Institute, the crown jewel of humanities research here at the University,” says Charles Barber, professor of medieval art history and Byzantine Studies at Notre Dame scholar.

Click here to read this article from the University of Notre Dame