Sofia hosted an international scientific conference "The Path of Cyril and Methodius - Spatial and Cultural-Historical Dimensions” with special attention to the European Cultural Route “Cyril and Methodius”
27th – 28th October 2021
Sofia, Bulgaria
The Cyril and Methodius Research Centre at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences in Sofia, a member of the ECRCM since 2020, has organized an international scientific conference in Sofia in the field of Cyrillo-Methodian studies. The conference was introduced by prof. Slavia Barlieva, Deputy Director of the Center, working closely with the ECRCM. The first session was dedicated to the newly certificated Cultural Route of Cyril and Methodius of the Council of Europe and was attended by several distinguished guests, including Stefano Dominioni, Director of the European Institute of Cultural Routes in Luxembourg, and representatives of the Bulgarian Ministries of Culture, Tourism and Foreign Affairs. Martina Janochová from the Permanent Secretariat of the ECRCM presented a paper on the activities of the association and the development of cooperation with Bulgaria.
The contributions did not only concern the territory of Bulgaria, but also the main CM monuments in the whole of Europe were presented, including the territory of Poland, a new member of the Enlarged Agreement of the European Cultural Routes. Greece, Slovakia and other countries considered to be closely related to the Cyrillo-Methodian heritage were presented in more detail.
On the 5 real conference sessions, a big variety of Cyrillo-Methodian topics were discussed by 45 researchers (online or onside) from Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Russia, Slovakia: the Slavic hymnography and hagiography (mediaeval and modern), the Bible translations, the history of the Slavic languages and the Slavic graphic traditions, the history of the Bulgarian church, Cyril and Methodius in the art and Cetera. Some contributions were presented by members of the ECRCM Scientific Committee (Prof. Slavia Barlieva, Prof. Angeliki Delikari, Prof. Peter Ivanič).
Closing the last meeting prof. Slavia Barlieva thanked her colleagues for their participation in the conference. She stressed that thanks to all of them, the conference has become convincing proof of the vitality of the Cyrillo-Methodian studies, which are constantly evolving, opening new perspectives for their research paradigm and opportunities for the socialization of their scientific results – such as the Cyril and Methodius Route.
All sessions of the conference can be viewed on the Facebook profile of the Cyrillo-Methodian Research Centre.
As a conference follow-up, a poster exhibition was opened in the premises of the State Cultural Institute at the Bulgarian Ministry of the Foreign Affairs, titled “The Route of SS Cyril and Methodius and their Disciples” (4th – 31st November 2021).