International Conference on the Liturgy of Saint James

From 26-28 May 2021, Professor Harald Buchinger and Professor Stefanos Alexopoulos convened an international conference on the ancient Liturgy of Saint James. The conference assembled liturgical scholars from around the world via Zoom and explored changing perspectives in research on this ancient liturgy. Scholars presented the initial stages of their research ahead of a face-to-face conference in 2022 at the University of Regensburg. Dr Andrew Mellas (Senior Lecturer in Liturgical Studies at St Andrew’s Theological College) accepted an invitation to be part of this conference and present a paper on Mystagogy and Hymnography in the Liturgy of Saint James. Dr Mellas’ paper explores the relationships between the hymnography and formulary of the Hagiopolite liturgical world, focusing on the Oktoechos of the Iadgari, and investigating how these modalities became a mystagogical experience in the hearts of the faithful.