Professor Tom Papademetriou will present an online only lecture about the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Ottomans, on Thursday 28 April, at 7pm, as part of the Greek History and Culture Seminars offered by the Greek Community of Melbourne.

As the only late Roman/Byzantine institution to survive into the Ottoman period, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople endured decline, collapse, shock, recovery, rebuilding, consolidation of power, and the challenge of reform and nationalism. Throughout the long history of the Ottoman Empire, the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople managed to survive while facing Ottoman social, religious, financial, and political constraints. The Ecumenical Patriarchate managed to survive to serve the needs of the Greek Orthodox faithful due in large part to individuals serving the Church who adeptly negotiated their Ottoman cultural, political and social landscape, and to the need of the Ottoman state.

Dr. Tom Papademetriou is the Constantine and Georgeian Georgiou Endowed Professor of Greek History, and Director of the Dean C. and Zoë S. Pappas Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies of Stockton University. A graduate of both Hellenic College (‘88) and Holy Cross School of Theology (’92) in Brookline, Massachusetts, Dr. Papademetriou received his Ph.D. from Princeton University’s Department of Near Eastern Studies in Ottoman History. Conducting research in the Ottoman Archives, the Archives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul, and at the Centre for Asia Minor Studies in Athens, he focuses on the history of non-Muslims under Ottoman rule, especially the relations of the Greek Orthodox Church and State in the early Ottoman centuries which is the subject of his book, Render Unto the Sultan published by Oxford University Press.  Dr. Papademetriou has been awarded several research fellowships including from Dumbarton Oaks Byzantine Research Center-Harvard University, and the Edwin C. and Elizabeth A. Whitehead Member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ.  Dr. Papademetriou serves as President of the Modern Greek Studies Association and was recently appointed Archon Didaskalos Tou Genous of the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in America. He lives in Linwood, NJ with his wife, Dorrie, who directs MudGirls Studios, a non-profit organization assisting women in poverty.

When: 28 April 2022, 7pm

Online Platforms: Facebook and Youtube

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