In mid July, Research Associate Gesa Schenke was invited to participate in a conference on Innovations in the Veneration of Martyrs in the Fourth Century CE, a conference of the cluster of excellence “Religion and Politics”, taking place at the University of Münster in Germany, 14–15 July 2017. In her paper entitled From Veneration to Expectation: The Use of Martyrs in Personal Conflict Management, she discussed some of the fourth century evidence available from Egypt in the form of papyri, which clearly testify to a cult of martyrs in the second half of the fourth century, an institution complete with critics, such as Athanasius of Alexandria, and enthusiasts.

The conference programme can be read here: Innovations in the Veneration of Martyrs in the Fourth Century CE.