“Let us preserve, therefore let us gather our memories, lest they be lost forever, and thus the past become emptier, the present poorer, and the future more uncertain.”
— Arnold Ipolyi, Bishop of Oradea
Ecclesiastical Archaeology Research Group
Head: Balázs Major, Associate Professor
As the university of the Hungarian Catholic Church, Pázmány Péter Catholic University considers the research of Hungary’s ecclesiastical cultural heritage a priority task—one that is not only important from a religious perspective.
Ecclesiastical heritage forms one of the most significant components of Hungarian cultural heritage and is present in every settlement. In addition to standing monuments, there is also a large number of ecclesiastical sites that were destroyed over the course of history and can now only be studied through archaeological methods.
Many churches and other ecclesiastical institutions—which once functioned as central elements of local communities and as foundations of their identity—are today in a highly neglected state, often on the brink of complete destruction. Their identification, documentation, presentation, and professional preservation are therefore of critical importance.
The Research Group functions as a collaborative research base, bringing together not only staff of the Institute of Archaeology but also specialists from various disciplines both within and outside PPKE. Its primary mission is the research, teaching, and public dissemination of the ecclesiastical heritage of medieval Hungary.
Research activities are carried out with the active participation of Hungarian and international students of the Institute, and dozens of BA and MA theses, as well as doctoral dissertations, are produced based on the group’s research programs.
In the spirit of dialogue between religions and cultures promoted by the Catholic Church, the Research Group also places special emphasis on the study and documentation of the Eastern Christian cultural heritage of the Middle East.
Core Members
- András K. Németh
- Péter Langó
- Firas Lotfy (Franciscan Custody of Damascus)
- Balázs Major
- Denys Pringle (Cardiff University)
- Miklós Takács
- Endre Tóth
Doctoral Researchers
- Rama Aldaher (Syria) – The Historical and Archaeological Topography of Maaloula (Syria)
- Firas Alhaj Ali (Syria) – Mosaic Pavements of Byzantine Period Churches in the Region of Aleppo
- Erzsébet Bojtár – Medieval mason’s marks in architectural history research
- Tamás Borosházi – Architectural analysis of the centers of the Knights Hospitaller
- Michael Khalil Chahhoud (Syria) – Ecclesiastical Topography of the Syrian Coast
- Carla Chlela (Lebanon) – Medieval Rural Settlements of Northern Lebanon
- Krisztina Fodor – The Diocletianic persecution of Christians through the example of the martyrs of Sirmium
- Basem Gabra (Egypt) – Ecclesiastical Architecture in Egypt between the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) and the Arab Conquest (AD 641)
- Noor Ghannoum (Syria) – The Development of Ecclesiastical Architecture in Syria and its Modern Implications
- Alaa Hammoud (Syria) – Medieval Tortosa
- Hazem Hanna (Syria) – Construction – Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Crac des Chevaliers
- Marwan Hassan (Syria) – The Development of al-Marqab and its Revitalisation
- Dania Keyrouz (Lebanon) – Closing Systems of Churches and Crusader Fortifications of the 12th and 13th Century Levant
- Ibrahim Kherbek (Syria) – Urban Topography of Medieval Latakia
- Dana Khouli (Syria) – Christian Reliquaries of Late Antique and Medieval Syria
- Anita Kocsis – Digital topography of medieval Esztergom
- Zsófia Márk – Wall paintings and painting techniques in medieval Levantine churches
- Ádám Molnár – The Cathedral of St. Adalbert in Esztergom
- Ádám Pátkai – Continuity and change in the churches of the Transdanubian Reformed Church District
- Veronika Németh – Burials of the Cistercian monastery of Egres
- Christelle Wehbe (Lebanon) – The Christianisation of Pagan Temples in Lebanon: Patterns, Typologies and Transformation
