Praised by Peter Brown as "a master-work- a triumph of everything that is best in Kirchengeschichte [...] truly the beginning of a new age in Patristic studies,” Volker Menze’s new volume, Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria: The Last Pharaoh and Ecclesiastical Politics in the Later Roman Empire, explores late Roman imperial politics and reframes key events in early Christian history. Those same themes were on display during last week’s conference at CEU, where both Menze’s new book and Richard Price’s seminal translations of ecumenical councils were frequently referred to.
On Wednesday, Prof. Price introduced Prof. Menze’s volume with a clear and exhaustive review of both the context in which the book can be set, and the key arguments of Menze’s volume, and ended his introduction with an amusing anecdote and words of praise for the volume. Prof. Menze’s response explained his interest in the topic, the process of publication and the contributions that Prof. Price’s insightful questions made to the development of the book. He also indicated future directions for his research and answered many interesting questions from the audience.
The book launch and discussion is available here. There will also be a reading group dedicated to the book, held on November 10 and organized by our graduate students, Dunja Milenkovic and Osman Ozdemir.
The following day, Prof. Price gave the keynote for the From Ctesiphon to Toledo: A Comparative View on Early Church Councils in East and West conference, very ably organized by CEU’s Centre for Eastern Mediterranean Studies. Prof. Price spoke on The Lateran Synod of 649 and the Council of Constantinople of 680-81: Concord and Divergence. He discussed the composition of documents concerning the councils, and the ways in which the surviving texts were prepared. Questions on the circulation of materials and theological debates contributed to the discussion.
To watch the keynote, click here.
We would like to express our most sincere thanks to Prof. Price for his contributions.