Victims, Martyrs, Heroes in Europe, the Caucasus and Russia : Sacrifice and Christianity in Anthropological Perspective

The workshop will delve deeper into and expand upon the idea of (self-)sacrifice, with a particular focus on the metaphor of sacrifice in political and/or religious discourse. The motif of sacrifice, rooted in the European and Caucasian contexts in the foundational Christian concept of crucifixion as Christ's willing sacrifice, plays a key role in shaping moral models and group identities —often through the creation of a hero or a group of heroes who obtain their status through their (self-)sacrifice. The construction of sacrifice occurs through the imposition of a specific destiny to some individuals and the reinterpretation of their biography within this framework. The status of the sacred (willing) victim is achieved through various manipulative processes: rituals, ceremonies, sanctification, reputation, devotion, hagiography, commodification of objects and images, as well as dissemination and disclosure; all of them can be central to the process. Participants in the workshop will address these and related issues in their presentations. We hope that the discussions and exchange of ideas will lead to the development of a large-scale research project.

Programme