Spaces, Landscapes and Social Lives of the Cross in Medieval Armenia and Georgia

6^th and 7^th November 2023

The two-day international conference will bring together scholars to reflect, from comparative and intercultural perspectives, on the ways in which Caucasian Christianities perceived, represented and made use of the sign of the cross. It will particularly tackle aspects of materiality, performativity and visualisation of the cross in medieval Armenian, Georgian and neighbouring traditions, by focusing on such questions as: the dynamic interaction of cross objects with built and natural spaces; materials of the cross in their practical, symbolic and allegorical dimensions; local, regional and trans-regional cult phenomena associated with crosses; liturgical uses of the cross; cross as expression of individual devotion and its involvement in burial practices, pilgrimage and medicine.
SNSF project: Cultural Interactions in the Medieval Subcaucasian Region: Historiographical and Art-Historical Perspectives

Conference location: MIS 2029 (Salle de Cinéma)

Organisation: Department of Art History and Archaeology, Chair of Medieval Art (contact: Dr. Gohar Grigoryan gohar.grigoryan@unifr.ch)

Poster

Program

^{Image: Pilgrim crosses on the walls of the flight of steps to the St Helena Chapel, Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem. Photo: Michele Bacci}