We’re pleased to report that our 2023 Gettysburg Conference was a roaring success. Our thanks go out to Jerry Christianson, Andy Taminger, Hannah Tonn, and the rest of the amazing team at United Lutheran Seminary, without whom this event could not have happened. You can find the full conference programme on our “Conferences” page, so we’ll just use this space to post a gallery showcasing some of the highlights.
Between March & July 2023, friends & members of the American Cusanus Society presented on Nicholas of Cusa & related topics at no less than four conferences: the Renaissance Society of America conference in Puerto Rico, the International Congress of Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, the First Annual Meeting of the Cusanus Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the International Medieval Congress at Leeds. Here’s just a sampling of what was accomplished, starting with RSA:
Thanks to the hard work of Chris Bellitto, Kzoo 2023 went off without a hitch:
At St. Andrews, William Hyland & Simon Burton put on an inspiring series of sessions all revolving around Nicholas of Cusa. We at the ACS are looking forward to continuing to collaborate with our colleagues across the pond over the years to come.
Dr. Burton then carried the Cusan momentum onward to Leeds, which featured sessions run not only by the Cusanus Society of the United Kingdom and Ireland, but also by the good folks over in the Mystical Theology Network and the Mysticism & Lived Experience Network. As we look ahead to Gettysburg this Fall, it’s safe to say that we’ve already laid an impressive amount of research groundwork for 2023, which bodes well in turn for 2024.
Join us, the Lumen Christi Institute, and the Nova Forum at USC for a series of Zoom webinars on Synodality. Registration details here: https://www.lumenchristi.org/event/2022/09/synodality-in-perspective-traditions-past-present
Here’s everything you need to know:
This online symposium series is organized by the American Cusanus Society, Nova Forum and the Lumen Christi Institute. Additional co-sponsors include Commonweal, Harvard Catholic Forum and America Media.
Free and open to the public. Registration required. This event features six sessions with leading scholars from around the world. Registration links below with each session. For more details, visit lumenchristi.org/synodality.
Participation and Registration | All are invited to participate. To attend, please register online. Registration links are provided by each session and date below. Each session will be a dialogue with a moderator hosting a conversation between two scholars.
About the Series | In light of Pope Francis’ call for global Catholic communities to enter into a two-year process on synodality, this six-part series will examine both the history of synods and the current dialogue around the future of synodality in the Church. This series is an opportunity to learn more about the topic in advance of the October 2023 Rome summit, “For a Synodal Church.” Pope Francis is inviting the entire Church to reflect on “this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” an important part of the Church’s own process to achieving participation and living out mission.
Some of the questions in this online series include:
What was the history of synods in the early church?
What should Catholics expect from the Synod itself next year?
What synodality models emerged from the Second Vatican Council?
What are the roots of Pope Francis’ appeal to synodality?
What can Roman Catholics learn from Eastern Catholic traditions?
SCHEDULE
Session 1. Synodality in the Ancient Church Tuesday, September 6, 7:00 PM CST / Registration link here
Moderator: Nathan Tilley, Dumbarton Oaks
Robin Darling Young, Catholic University of America
Christopher Bellitto, Kean University
Session 2. Synodality and Medieval ReformThursday, September 15, 5:00 PM CST / Registration link here
Moderator: Christopher Bellitto, Kean University
Margaret Meserve, Notre Dame
Rick Serina, Concordia Seminary
Session 3. Synodality and the Roots of Vatican IIMonday, September 19, 5:00 PM CST / Registration link here
Moderator: Kathy Sprows Cummings, Notre Dame
Shaun Blanchard, National Institute for Newman Studies
Kristin Colberg, St. John’s School of Theology
4. Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians: Contexts and DialogueTuesday, October 4, 7:00 PM CST / Registration link here
Moderator: Aristotle Papanikolaou
Jaisy Joseph, Seattle University
Cyril Hovorun, Sankt Ignatius Theological Academy
5. Pope Francis’ Vision of a Synodal Church: CELAM and Ignatian traditionTuesday, October 18, 4:00 PM CST / Registration link here
Moderator: Peter Casarella
Maria Clara Bingemer, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro
Austen Ivereigh, Campion Hall, Oxford University
6. The Synod of 2023: Process and ProspectsTuesday, October 25, 12:00 PM CST / Registration link here
Moderator: Peter Casarella
Bishop Oscar Cantú (San Jose, CA)
Sr. Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, Under-Secretary, General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops
We’re happy to be able to report that the 2022 International Medieval Congress at Leeds featured numerous sessions on Nicholas of Cusa, mostly organized by our friends at the Cusanus Society of the UK & Ireland, but also highlighting collaboration between the CSUKI & the ACS. By all accounts, these sessions were a success, with a wide range of scholars presenting their work in a congenial yet rigorous atmosphere. In what follows, we’ll include a bit more info about each session. Special thanks go out to Chris Bellitto, without whose contributions to Leeds none of this would’ve been possible.
First up, Simon Burton & William Hyland of CSUKI (Cusanus Society of the U.K. & Ireland) put on a _De visione Dei_ session with Greta Venturelli, Monika Veronica Eisenhauer, & Miguel Beltrán Munar.
Next up on July 7 was another CSUKI session on peace & politics in the Cusan tradition (with reference to Islam & the Tudors!), featuring Chris Bellitto, Nathan Ron, & Andrea Hugill.
The third big Cusanus session, dealing with Christology & martyrology, was moderated by our own Dr. Bellitto. Hyland & Burton presented their own work alongside that of Preston Hill. The Carthusians received some attention here.
Lastly, we should mention the helpful roundtable on "writing for non-academic audiences," organized by Marta K.D. Cobb, moderated by Rebecca Darley, & again featuring our own Dr. Bellitto.
All in all, as intimated above, this rendition of the IMC at Leeds has to be regarded as a success, especially for those of us interested in the life, times, & intellectual context of Nicholas of Cusa. Can’t wait ‘til next year!
We’re excited to confirm that the ACS will be sponsoring multiple events at this year's virtual International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo. Sessions will include:
Cusanus and Ecology (Monday, May 9, 3 p.m. EDT)
Sponsors: American Cusanus Society, Episcopus Society
Organizer: Christopher Bellitto (Kean)
Presider: Evan A. Gatti (Elon)
Christopher Bellitto, "Bishops & Cardinals vs. Papal Authority: a Cusan Approach"
Margaret Meserve (Notre Dame), "Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini on Cusanus' Church & Career"
Emily O'Brien (Simon Fraser), "Letters to Cusanus: Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini & the Forging of a Papal-Imperial Alliance"
Eschatology in the Bohemian Long Reformation, 1400-1700 (Tuesday, May 10, 9 a.m. EDT)
Sponsors: American Cusanus Society, Filosoficky ùstav, Akademie ved České republiky
Organizer: Christopher Bellitto (Kean)
Presider: Wendy Love Anderson (Washington University in St. Louis)
Pavlína Cermanová (Czech Academy of Sciences), "Omnes erunt docibiles Dei: Unmediated Knowledge of God's Word in Hussite Radical Apocalypticism"
Lucie Storchova (Czech Academy of Sciences), "Adapting Wittenberg Eschatology & Chronology to a New Confessional Environment: the Case of the University of Prague after 1540"
Petr Pavlas (Czech Academy of Sciences), "Quod perficit, absolutum esse debet: the Eschatology of J.A. Comenius' Universal Reform"
New Approaches to Mysticism & Materiality in Medieval Studies: a Panel Discussion (Wednesday, May 11, 7 p.m. EDT)
Sponsors: American Cusanus Society, Mystical Theology Network (University of Oxford)
Organizer: Christopher Bellitto (Kean)
Presider: Samuel Dubbelman (Boston University)
Discussants: Lydia Shahan (Harvard), Kerilyn Harkaway-Krieger (Gordon College), Sean Hannan (MacEwan University), & W. Ezekiel Goggin (Independent Scholar)
Related to that last session: I'm happy to report that the book Mysticism & Materialism in the Wake of German Idealism, which I co-authored alongside Dr. Goggin, has just been released by Routledge (and we're looking forward to discussing it at Kalamazoo!): https://www.routledge.com/Mysticism-and-Materialism-in-the-Wake-of-German-Idealism/Goggin-Hannan/p/book/9780367546137
We'll also be holding a virtual business meeting during Kalamazoo. It will be held on Monday, May 9, at 7 p.m. EDT. At a later date, our President, Il Kim, will circulate a Zoom link to folks who are interested in participating, but who may not be registered for the Kalamazoo ICMS.
On Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021, the American Cusanus Society and the Lumen Christi Institute teamed up to host the third and last of our series on “Catholics & Muslims: History, Theology, Encounters.” Fr. Jason Welle, OFM, of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome, presented an excellent webinar entitled “Francis & Francis: Encountering Muslims, Past & Present.” The webinar drew both on the thirteenth-century visit of Francis of Assisi to a Muslim sultan in Egypt and on Pope Francis’ recent call for fraternity between Christians & Muslims.
You can view Fr. Welle’s talk by watching the embedded video above or clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGcnM6EQhNo
