Between November 13th and 14th, 2025, the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, in partnership with the "Simon Dubnow" Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture in Leipzig, is organizing an international workshop titled "The Legacy of the First Council of Nicaea among Christians, Jews, and Muslims", to be held online, via Zoom.
2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the discussions and debated that took place as part of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (held in 325), which laid the foundations of Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire and provided a model of universality and unity for all subsequent synods of the Church.
The participants in the international workshop, each and all renowned specialists from all corners of the world, shall aim to analyse a series of lesser-studied aspects of the Nicaean Council's legacy and impact across the Eastern world from the perspective of Christian (Byzantine, Syriac), Hebrew, and Muslim texts.
PROGRAMME
Thursday, November 13th, 2025 (all times EET)
(9:00 – 9:20) Opening remarks | Cătălin-Ștefan Popa, Introduction | Ali B. Langroudi
Chair: Cătălin-Ștefan Popa
(9:20 – 9:50) The Council of Nicaea as a Philosophical Event: The Inculturation of Christianity into Greek Thought and its Rupture with Judaism | Raffaele Guerra
(9:50 – 10:20) Reciting the Creed during the Sermon: The Case of an Unedited Byzantine Homily on Transfiguration | Radu Gârbăcea
(10:20 – 10:50) Some Thoughts on Nicaea in Alexandrian and Antiochian Traditions | Victor Marola
(10:50 – 11:10) Discussion
Chair: Ali B. Langroudi
(11:10 – 11:40) The Placement of the Fathers of the Council of Nicaea in Syriac Manuscripts: Considerations on Scribal Intentions in the Sequencing of Narratives | Cătălin-Ștefan Popa
(11:40 – 12:10) The Council of Nicaea in Photius’ Library | Ana Maria Răducan
(12:10 – 12:40) Post-Nicene Patristic Reception in Cleopa of Sihăstria | Harri Huovinen
(12:40 – 13:00) Discussion
Friday, November 14, 2025 (EET Time)
Chair: Cătălin- Ștefan Popa
(9:20 – 9:50) The Faces of the Council: A Semiotic Analysis of the Visual Production Concerning Nicaea I | Antonio Pio Di Cosmo
(9:50 – 10:20) Nicaea’s Council and the decisions of Mar Aba the Great | Said Hayati
(10:20 – 10:50) The early Syriac versions of the Nicene Creed: Some observations on Christological terminology | Baby Varghese
(10:50 – 11:10) Discussion
Chair: Ali B. Langroudi
(11:10 – 11:40) After Nicaea I and Further: Jesus’ Sonship and/or Divinity as Perceived by Jews, Samaritans, Armenians and Georgians, Ethiopians and Arabians, and Late Sasanians | Dan Shapira
(11:40 – 12:10) A Rhetorical Mu‘ārada: Traces of the Nicene Creed in the Qur’ān | Angelika Neuwirth, Dirk Hartwig
(12:10 – 12:40) Lost in Translation: The Qur’an and the Concept of Begotten of God | Abdulla Galadari
(12:40 – 13:00) Discussion
(13:00 – 13:20) Concluding remarks
The online workshop sessions can be followed live via the following links:
November 13, 2025, 9.00 – 13.00 EET
Zoom Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3873806205...
Meeting ID: 387 380 6205
Passcode: isaacl
November 14, 2025, 9.20 – 13.20
Zoom Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/3873806205...
Meeting ID: 387 380 6205
Passcode: isaacl
Cătălin-Ștefan Popa
The Director General of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization. Cătălin-Ștefan Popa is a PhD Coordinator and Scientific Researcher at the School of Advanced Studies established at the Institute of History of Religions of the Romanian Academy(SCOSAAR). Dr. Popa defended his PhD thesis at the “Georg August” University of Göttingen in 2016, subsequently receiving his Habilitation in Church History (Kirchengeschichte) from the “Karl Franzens” University of Graz in 2021, where he continues to be an AssociatedDocent.
Dr. Popa is the foundingEditor-in-chief of two scientific publications, “The Syriac Annals of the Romanian Academy” (SARA) and “The International Journal of Levant Studies.” (IJLS)
His main areas of scholarly interest include the field of Syriac studies; tradition and society in the history of the Middle East; Christian material heritage; Oriental manuscripts; Syriac written culture; cultural diplomacy and the evolution of interfaith dialogue through history across the Mediterranean basin.
Ali B. Langroudi
The main co-organizer of the International Workshop on “The Legacy of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea among Christians, Jews and Muslims”, Dr. Langroudiis a research fellow in the Ignaz Goldziher Program at the “Simon Dubnow” Institute for Jewish History and Culture in Leipzig, where he is currently working on a project focusing on "Religious and Social Interactions between Jews and Muslims in Modern Isfahan."
Having obtained Bachelor's and Master's degrees in History and Religious Studies from the “Sapienza” University of Rome and a Master's degree in Ecumenical Studies from the University of Bonn, in 2025 Ali Langroudidefended his PhD thesis, “On the oldest Persian manuscript of the first Gospel,” at the “Georg-August” University of Göttingen in a thorough analysis of the oldest known Persian-language manuscript of the Gospel according to Matthew.
His main areas of scholarly interest include Persian manuscripts, Biblical translations into Persian, as well as the history of Christian and Jewish communities in the Persian world.
Raffaele Guerra
An Italian-born Scientific Researcher and Professor at the University of Ferrara, Raffaele Guerra is also a Deacon within the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Italy.
He holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Philosophy and the History of Philosophy from the “Sapienza” University of Rome, as well as having defended his PhD in Medieval Philosophy at the University of Salerno and having obtained further specializations in Archival Science, Palaeography, and Diplomatics from the State Archives in Rome.
His main areas of scholarly areas of interest include Eastern theology and mysticism; the relationship between theology and medieval philosophy; and the theology of St. Gregory Palamas.
Radu Gârbăcea
An Orthodox priest and university lecturer at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the "Andrei Șaguna" University in Sibiu, Radu Gârbăcea defended his PhD thesis on "The Transfiguration of the Savior in the Interpretation of the Eastern Fathers.A Spiritual Hermeneutics" at the “Andrei Șaguna” University of Sibiu, having since conducted a number of research internships in Germany and Italy.
His thorough research efforts are mainly focused upon the field of Greek patristic philology, with a keen interest shown towards the editing, translation and interpretationof the homiletic works of the Eastern Church Fathers.
Harri Huovinen
A university lecturer at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Eastern Finland, Harri Huovinen is the President of the Patristic Society of Finland.
His PhD thesis, defended in 2012 at the University of Eastern Finland, aimed to reevaluate 4th-century perspectives on church membership. In addition to his extensive academic workand membership in numerous international research projects, Harri Huovinen has spent over 15 years in service to church communities across both Japan and Finland.
His main areas of scholarly interest include catechetical rhetoric; the reception of Scripture in the early Church; the historiography of the Church in Late Antiquity; and the role of religious experience in ecclesiology.
Antonio Pio di Cosmo
A Scientific Researcher at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and an Associate Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, Antonio Pio di Cosmo has studied history, law, and archaeology at the Universities of Macerata, Foggia, and Cordoba, defending his PhD in Archaeology in 2017 at the University of Córdoba, Spain, with a thesis titled "I motivierranti della regalità: evidenzearcheologiche e indicatorideiprocedimenti di transito e diffusionenell'area della koinébizantina" (The Errant Motifs of Royalty: Archaeological Evidence and Indicators of Transit and Diffusion Processes in the Byzantine koine).
In addition to his published studies and articles, Antonio Pio di Cosmo has also taught at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome as an Associate Lecturer, holding numerous lectures on topics primarily related to Byzantine imperial ideology and its influence over other monarchical institutions across the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe.
His main areas of scholarly interest include the visual culture of Byzantine emperors; iconography; and the symbolism of the afterlife in the Eastern Roman world.
Ana-Maria Răducan
A Scientific Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization, Ana-Maria Răducanisthecoordinator of the Institute’s Annual School of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Studies and of its Annual Interdisciplinary School of Egyptology, Ancient Greek, and Oriental Languages.
With a Bachelor's in Classical Philology and a Master's in Medieval Studies from the Faculty of Foreign Languages of the University of Bucharest, Ana-Maria Răducandefended her PhD thesis focusing on “The Mystical Eros in the Work of St Simeon the New Theologian” at the University of Bucharest in 2015, going on to win the University’s coveted "Ad Astra" Prize for Excellence in Doctoral Research for her effort.
She has since undertaken a number of research internships, including at the Central European University (Budapest), the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), the Accademia di Romania(Rome) and the Romanian Institute of Culture and Humanistic Research (Venice), with her main areas of scholarly interest convergingupon Byzantine literature and society in the Middle Ages, with a special focus placed on the cultural heritage of Antiquity.
Baby Varghese
A Humboldt fellow, Malankara Orthodox priest and Professor of Theology at the Orthodox Theological Seminary, the “St. Ephrem” Ecumenical Research Institute and the “Mahatma Gandhi” University in Kottayam (India), Baby Varghese defended his PhD thesis at the Catholic University of Paris, focusing on the study of Syriac liturgy and the traditions of the West Syrian Church.
He has since has published numerous books on West Syrian Christianity, with his main areas of scholarly interest including Syriac liturgy; the history of the Syriac Church; the ecclesiology of Eastern traditions; and the translation and editing of Syriac patristic texts.
Dan Shapira
A Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the “Bar-Ilan” University of Israel, Dan Shapira is also a Professor of Eastern European Jewish History and Culture at the University’s Faculty of Jewish Studies, having defended his PhD in Oriental History in 2000 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
A true polyglot, Dan Shapira is fluent in Hebrew, English, Russian, German, Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Crimean Tatar, Arabic (including the Palestinian, Egyptian, and Iraqi dialects), Urdu, Hindi, Yiddish, Ukrainian and Maltese.
His main areas of scholarly interest include: Hebrew studies and languages; minorities in the Ottoman Empire; and the history and culture of the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union.
Abdulla Galadari
Born in the United Arab Emirates, Abdulla Galadari is a Professor of Islamic Studies at the Khalifa University of Science and Technology of Abu Dhabi. Having completed his Bachelor's and Master's studies at the University of Colorado, he holds a PhD in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the University of Aberdeen.
His scholarly work focuses on the hermeneutics of the Qur'an and on interaction of the sacred text of Islam with other with Near Eastern traditions across Late Antiquity, seeking to further scholarly understanding of the Qur'an and the Bible and to build bridges of knowledge between the two Abrahamic traditions.
Galadari is also the chief coordinator of the "Quran and Islamic Tradition in Comparative Perspective" section of the Society of Biblical Literature, and regularly takes part in high-level international forums, such as the Parliament of the World's Religions, contributing directly to initiatives that promote interfaith dialogue and understanding.
Angelika Neuwirth
A Professor of Qur’anic Studies at the Free University of Berlin and Director of the "Corpus Coranicum"research project, Angelika Neuwirth has studied Semitic, Arabic and Classical languages at the Universities of Berlin, Tehran, Göttingen, Jerusalem and Munich.
The former Director of the German Institutesof Oriental Studies in Beirut and Istanbul, she is an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a Fellow of the British Academy, with her main areas of scholarly interest including Quranic studies; Eastern Mediterranean Arabic literature; and Palestinian poetry.
Dirk Hartwig
A Scientific Researcher deeply embedded in the "Corpus Coranicum" project undertaken by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Dirk Hartwig is also a university lecturer at the Centre for Islamic Theology of the University of Münster and at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Leipzig.
A student of Hebrew and Arabic at the Universities of Berlin, Jerusalem, New York, and St Andrews, his current scholarly research interests primarily revolve around the study of the Qur’an and Islamic exegesis, an endeavour in which he has attempted to map out the ways in which the Qur’an continuously interacts with the traditions of both Jewish communities (notably, with Rabbinic literature) and early Christianity (notably, with the writings of the Church Fathers).
