Post-doctorate

University of Luxembourg

Contact: konstantinos.papastathis@uni.lu

Biography

Dr. Konstantinos Papastathis is currently a research associate at the University of Luxembourg. He has studied theology, philosophy and political science at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) and K.U. Leuven. He has worked as a research fellow at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2011-13), as well as an adjunct lecturer at AUTh (2008-12). His main research interests involve politics and religion, church history, as well as Middle Eastern studies. He has published in peer-reviewed journals (Middle Eastern Studies; British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies; Jerusalem Quarterly; Journal of Eastern Christian Studies; Religion, State and Society, and others), as well as in collective volumes.

Research Project

Konstantinos works on the institutional history of the Eastern Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, with special attention to the late Ottoman and British Mandate periods. Building on the analytical frameworks of social constructivism as well as colonialism, his research focuses on the following themes: a) the relations between the Greek religious elites and the Arab congregation; b) the so-called Status Quo question; c) the Greek religious diplomacy in the Middle East; and d) the Greek Orthodox missionary work, paying special attention on the political, social and religious factors that influenced its structure and operation.

Key-words

Nationalism, politics and religion, power networks, Orthodox mission