January 28, 2014
Vatican City – The book series “Religious History in the Euro-Mediterranean” begins with the volume “From Constantinople to the Caucasus. Empires and peoples of Christianity and Islam.” The new series sponsored by the Fondazione Ambrosiana Paolo VI, in collaboration with the Libreria Editrice Vaticana aims to present the history and religious traditions of the peoples around the Mediterranean.
“The Mediterranean” – explains Monsignor Luigi Mistò, former director of the Fondazione Ambrosiana Paolo VI “is important even in a globalized world because the Mediterranean continues to act as a center and a focal point. Especially in times when problem relationships continue with neighboring cultures and religions even though they have historically been part of the Mediterranean for a millennium.“
The Mediterranean area, explains a statement from the Libreria Vaticana “is considered in its historical context, in its many changes over the centuries, and in its various religious traditions.” The series follows the development from Constantinople, before the ecclesiastical summit of the eastern part of the empire. Constantinople examines the institutional aspects, the religious connotations, spirituality, cultural forms and then the radiation of the Constantinopolitan tradition into Anatolia and the Caucasus, and the conquest of Mehmet II in 1453. At the end of the series, there is also a survey of the contemporary situation.