Byzantine Materiality and the Eucharistic Chalice as Metonym

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies is a part of SFU: The Canadian university that is Engaging the World

SFU Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies

Join us Friday, April 5th at 2:30pm for the final installment of the SNF Centre's 2024 Spring Seminar Series with Dr. Even Freeman, SFU.

WAC Bennett Library (Rm 7200)

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University is pleased to present <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/hellenic-studies/humans/people/e-freeman.html" title="https://www.sfu.ca/hellenic-studies/humans/people/e-freeman.html" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dr. Evan Freeman</a>, Simon Fraser University. Join us Friday, April 5th at 2:30pm in person at the Bennett Library, SFU Burnaby, Room 7200, or online, for his talk “Byzantine Materiality and the Eucharistic Chalice as Metonym”.This lecture will be moderated by Professor <a href="https://trk.cp20.com/click/ds9u-2sj2y4-d1p9fh-cocw1z83/" title="https://trk.cp20.com/click/ds9u-2sj2y4-d1p9fh-cocw1z83/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dimitris Krallis</a>, Director of SFU’s Centre for Hellenic Studies .Attendance is free. The event is open to the public and will be recorded.This programming is made possible thanks to the generous support of the <a href="https://trk.cp20.com/click/ds9u-2sj2y4-d1p9fk-cocw1z86/" title="https://trk.cp20.com/click/ds9u-2sj2y4-d1p9fk-cocw1z86/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Stavros Niarchos Foundation</a> (SNF).

AbstractHow were matter and materials understood in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire? What functions did materials play in Byzantine artworks and other objects? This talk offers a preview of the forthcoming Byzantine Materiality volume, edited by Evan Freeman and Roland Betancourt. Byzantine Eucharistic chalices offer a case study for exploring the transformative power of materials in ritual settings. Middle Byzantine chalices were often multimedia objects, incorporating gold and silver, as well as stonework, glass, cloisonné enamels, gems, and pearls. These rich materials functioned as more than just conspicuous consumption in the context of the Divine Liturgy. Red stone and transparent glass chalice bowls served as metonyms for the Eucharistic wine within. Veiled during the preparatory Prothesis rite, and gradually revealed during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, these chalices participated in the transformation of the Eucharistic wine into the blood of Christ. Such objects illustrate how the Byzantines combined materials like stone and glass with inscriptions and images to accomplish ritual transformations and visually actualize orthodox understandings of the Eucharist in the face of contemporary theological controversies.

Speaker Biography<a href="https://www.sfu.ca/hellenic-studies/humans/people/e-freeman.html" title="https://www.sfu.ca/hellenic-studies/humans/people/e-freeman.html" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Evan Freeman</a> is Assistant Professor and Hellenic Canadian Congress of BC Chair in Hellenic Studies in the Department of Global Humanities and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies at Simon Fraser University. He researches art and ritual in the Byzantine world, co-editing the forthcoming volume Byzantine Materiality (De Gruyter) with Roland Betancourt. He is also Contributing Editor for Byzantine art at Smarthistory, the Center for Public Art History, where he co-edited the volume Smarthistory Guide to Byzantine Art with Anne McClanan.

Moderator BiographyBorn and raised in Athens, <a href="https://trk.cp20.com/click/ds9u-2sj2y4-d1p9fm-cocw1z88/" title="https://trk.cp20.com/click/ds9u-2sj2y4-d1p9fm-cocw1z88/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Dimitris Krallis</a> studied political theory at the University of Athens and Byzantine History at Oxford and at the University of Michigan. He teaches Byzantine history at Simon Fraser University’s Department of Global Humanities and is the Director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Centre for Hellenic Studies. His research explores the social, political, economic and intellectual history of Byzantium, as well as its modern reception

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Byzantine Materiality and the Eucharistic Chalice as Metonym

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