Workshop ‘Beyond the Body of the Church: Formalisations of Social Ideas in Medieval Christianity’
Convened by Carlo Emilio Biuzzi (EPHE)

“This workshop explores the formulation and expression of social thought within Christian communities of the First Millennium, a field that has recently attracted renewed scholarly attention. Bringing together researchers working on different regions and traditions, it seeks to reassess the conceptual tools commonly used to describe Late Antiquity when applied to medieval societies, particularly beyond the familiar settings of imperial courts, major urban centres of the Christian East, or Byzantium.

The workshop asks how narratives of society might be constructed outside political treatises; what visions of social order emerge from monastic relationality or from rural and peripheral communities; and whether notions such as the “body of the Church” can illuminate not only ecclesiastical structures but also bonds such as marriage or the household. It further considers the role of urban space in relation to the chōra, the evolution of elites beyond the city, and the transformation of social concepts inherited from Roman tradition within Eastern Christianity.

The day is structured around three movements: a methodological reflection on writing social history with ancient categories; a discussion of context and chronology across the medium and longue durée; and an exploration of renewed approaches, with particular attention to gender.”

mfo.web.ox.ac.uk/event/workshop-beyond-body-church-formalisations-social-ideas-medieval-christianity
Date: 23 February 2026, 9:30
Venue: Maison Française d'Oxford, 2-10 Norham Road OX2 6SE
Speakers: Speaker to be announced
Organising department: Maison Française d'Oxford
Part of: Maison Française d'Oxford Events
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Anne-Sophie Gabillas