On November 28, 2022, the 10th lecture of the interdisciplinary course of Georgian studies - "Georgia at the Crossroads of Civilizations" - was held at the University of Bern, which was dedicated to the Georgian religious writings of the Middle Ages.
The lecture was led by Dr. Manana Topadze Gäumann, a lecturer of the Universities of Bern and Fribourg. Mrs. Topadze Gäumann introduced students to genres of sacred writing such as hagiography (sacred prose) and hymnography (sacred poetry). The sub-genres of hagiography were discussed: martyrdom (on the example of the martyrdom of Shushanik) and life (on the example of the life and work of St. Grigol Khandzteli). Georgian lecturer also spoke about hymnographic schools, discussed samples of liturgical and non-liturgical hymnography and hymnographic collections, including Ancient Yadgar and Great Yadgar. Dr. Topadze Gäumann also spoke about the Georgian chant.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the Confederation of Switzerland, H.E. Revaz Lominadze, attended the lecture.
The interdisciplinary course is a joint unique project of the Embassy of Georgia to the Swiss Confederation, the Humanities Faculties of the Universities of Bern and Fribourg, within the framework of which Georgian and foreign Professors give lectures on Georgian history, culture, art, Georgian language and writing.
The next lecture will be held on Monday, December 5, at 2:15 p.m. at the University of Bern, Auditorium 023, at Unitobler, Lerchenweg 16, 3012 Bern. The topic of the lecture will be as follows: "Art History: Georgian Monumental Art and Icons in the Middle Ages". It will be conducted by Prof. Dr. Manuela Studer-Karlen, the Professor of the University of Bern.