Beautiful Struggle: Holiness and Liberation among the Saints of Cyprus
Book Launch for Saint George Liberator, by Aaron T. Hollander
The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement invite you to an evening conversation with Dr. Aaron T. Hollander, Executive Director of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII), and Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou, Visiting Professor of International Studies at Boston College, to celebrate Fordham University Press’ publication of Dr. Hollander’s new book, Saint George Liberator: Hagiography as Resistance in the Modern Mediterranean. The event will be hosted by Fordham University’s Orthodox Christian Studies Center, Center on Religion and Culture, and Department of Theology on Thursday, April 23rd, 2026, from 6:00-7:30 pm.
With its immersive narration of intercultural exchange and political violence on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Saint George Liberator interprets patterns in the representation of Orthodox Christian saints, which give rise to a vibrant, everyday theology of liberation in the midst of personal and political struggles. Dr. Hollander and Prof. Prodromou will discuss the new book, the imaginative power of saintly figures, and the distinctive perspectives on holiness and liberation that Orthodox Christianity can contribute to the broader ecumenical and interfaith pursuit of just peacemaking.
The event will be held at Fordham University at Lincoln Center, in the McNally Amphitheater, 140 West 62nd Street, New York, NY 10023. Signed copies of the book will be available for purchase.
About the Speakers:
Dr. Aaron T. Hollander is Executive Director of Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute, Editor of Ecumenical Trends, and Adjunct Faculty in Theology at Fordham University. He is a scholar of theology and culture with his PhD from the University of Chicago. He serves on the steering committee of the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network, the board of the North American Academy of Ecumenists, and the summer faculty of the Centro Pro Unione in Rome. His research focuses on the lived dynamics of ecumenical and interreligious conflict, the aesthetic texture and political power of holiness, and the circulation of theological understanding beyond explicitly religious settings. His scholarship has appeared in numerous distinguished journals, including the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, the Journal of Ecumenical Studies, the Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies, the Journal of World Christianity, Material Religion, and Political Theology. His first book, Saint George Liberator: Hagiography as Resistance in the Modern Mediterranean (Fordham UP, 2026), is a historical-ethnographic study of Orthodox Christian hagiography amidst cultural and political domination. His second book, an edited volume entitled Saints in Divided Societies, is forthcoming in 2027.
Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou is a Professor in the International Studies Program at Boston College and a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. She is an internationally recognized expert on global Orthodox Christianity; she was a diplomat on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (2004-2012), served as a member of the U.S. Secretary of State’s Religion & Foreign Policy Working Group (2011-2015), and was a delegate consultant of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Holy and Great Council at Crete in 2016. She advises international organizations and institutions such as the European External Action Service and the International Negotiators Working Group, on religious literacy, security, and human rights, and she directs leadership training programs for faith-based institutions. With her PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), her academic research concentrates on the intersection of geopolitics, religion, democracy, and human rights. Widely published in academic and policy journals, she is on the editorial board of the Review of Faith & International Affairs. She is a member of the Global Academic Council of the International Religious Freedom (IRF) Secretariat and she co-chairs the International Relations section of the International Orthodox Theological Association.
