The congress will showcase the heritage of the Syriac and Arabic church communities and reaffirm the importance of preserving and advancing the academic study of their interconnected cultures, which have been instrumental in the transmission of knowledge. It will also challenge the growing tendency to marginalize its relevance nowadays. As two of the most prolific Christian manuscript traditions, Syriac and Arabic Christian communities played a pivotal role in transmitting Aristotelian philosophy and advancing medicine, astronomy, and other sciences, alongside their rich liturgical and literary contributions. By translating knowledge from Greek into Syriac and Arabic before reintroducing it to Europe and beyond, they safeguarded and perpetuated intellectual traditions that might have otherwise been lost to history.
The 2026 congress will facilitate scholarly exchange on Syriac and Arabic Christian heritage, strengthening academic ties between Romania, Southeastern Europe, and the international research community while promoting cultures in dialogue. Given Romania’s cultural byzantine memoire as keeper of Byzance après Byzance legacy (in Nicolae Iorga’s paradigm), and the country cultural role as a bridge between the Near East and the West, the event will underscore inter-Christian dialogue and solidarity with academic efforts to protect literary and cultural heritage amid contemporary crises.
