Call for Applications: Masterclass with Bryan Ward-Perkins: “The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity database”
8th May 2026, Yerevan

We invite researchers and students from Armenia and the South Caucasus to join a masterclass with Prof Bryan Ward-Perkins (Oxford University) about "The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity database". Participants will gain insights into the making of the Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity Database, its contents, and into ways of working with the materials.

To apply for this class, please send a short motivational letter to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please briefly indicate your background and why you would like to participate. The Max Weber Office can finance trips to Yerevan for participants from the region if necessary.

The Workshop will be held at Yerevan State University. This workshop is a part of the Global History Series of the Max Weber Office, Tbilisi, in cooperation with Yerevan State University and Zeit Foundation. It builds on previous classes held in Yerevan and Tbilisi.

Submission Deadline: 17th April 2026

Further information...

FaRiG is sharing information about the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF).

This fellowship programme selects outstanding professors, researchers, and public intellectuals who are facing threats in their home countries. IIE-SRF arranges
visiting academic positions for these individuals with partnering institutions of higher learning and research.

Although IIE-SRF accepts applications on a rolling basis, applications must be submitted by 26 April 2026 for possible consideration.

For further information about the Fellowship, eligibility criteria and application process, please visit: scholarrescuefund.org/for-scholars/

FaRiG is sharing information about the International Conference - Art and Architecture in Medieval and Modern Georgia: Historical and Cultural Context, dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the George Chubinashvili Institute of History of Georgian Art.

The conference will be held in Tbilisi on 25–27 November 2026 in a hybrid format, allowing both in-person and online participation.

The conference invites art historians, architectural historians, and scholars in related disciplines to explore the historical, cultural, and intellectual contexts of Georgian art and architecture from the medieval to the modern period.

Following the AGM on 9th October 2025 Stephen Jones, Dan Healey and Edmund Herzig, previously co-opted, were elected to the Committee

The Université libre de Bruxelles has created a Solidarity Funds in order to provide support for researchers who no longer have the freedom to pursue their research in their home country, where they are threatened due to the content of their scientific work or to the opinions they have freely expressed.

Deadline 15th December 2024.

Hubertus Jahn has taken over as Chair from Michael Vickers who has been appointed President. On the Committee, Stephen Jones has taken the place of Stephen Nash who has been appointed Hon Patron. All with effect from 18th  November 2024.

Calls for Fellowships and Scholarships from Max Weber Stiftung Georgia, with first deadlines in May

Edmund Herzig has gone on a two-year sabbatical, so Eberhard Sauer was coopted on 27/4/23 to take his place and Katie Campbell kindly agreed to take Edmund's place as Treasurer from 20/6/23.

Bryan Ward-Perkins has stepped down from the committee, which has coopted Ian Colvin to take his place from 29/4/24.

Following the formal adoption of the new constitution last year, a Committee of nine trustees was formed and an Awards Sub-Committee with seven members. The category of member of FaRiG was created and now includes 29 names including past trustees and other supporters.

  • Gillian Evison stepped down as Chair in 2021 and was succeeded by Michael Vickers.
  • Mia Wilkinson also stepped down as a Trustee and Hon President.
  • Ana Avaliani, Anthony Anderson, Eberhard Sauer, Michael Rogers, Ian Colvin, Theo van Lint and Peter Frankopan also stepped down.
  • Katie Campbell and Hubertus Jahn joined the new Committee.

The Alexander von Humbold Foundation wants to recruit researchers as scouts who already have their own international network and would like to expand their team to include an excellent Humboldt Research Fellow. If you are selected as a scout, you have the opportunity to recommend three research talents from abroad for a Humboldt Research Fellowship. After formal approval, the fellowships will be granted directly.

Read more...

The Newton International Fellowships enable researchers to work for two years at a UK institution with the aim of fostering long-term international collaborations. The scheme aims to attract the most promising early career post-doctoral researchers from overseas in the fields of natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities. The Newton International Fellowships scheme is delivered by the British Academy and the Royal Society.

Read more...

David Park stepped down as a trustee in 2017, whilst in 2018 Neil Macfarlane and Donald Rayfield also moved on.

In 2018 Gillian Evison and Mia Wilkinson joined the board of trustees whilst in 2019 Ana Avaliani and Peter Frankopan also became trustees. Gillian took over the chair from Donald.

FaRiG is grateful to all of them for their willingness to serve and for their efforts and input.

Following the death of John Wilkinson, founder of FaRiG in January, an obituary was published in The Daily Telegraph.

FaRiG announces with great sadness that its founder, John Wilkinson, died on 13th January 2018 aged 88. His funeral will take place at 2pm on February 16th at Christ Church Kensington. Tributes and/or queries can be sent to his widow, Mia or to Robert Scallon, Hon Sec, FaRiG - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Tribute to Dr. John Wilkinson

An obituary by Bruce Clark

PROFESSOR ANTHONY BRYER, who has died aged 78, was an exuberant, charismatic historian and lecturer who did more than anybody in his generation to stimulate the study of Byzantium in Britain and beyond.

A short appreciation by Professor Judith Herrin

Anthony Bryer OBE, the wonderful, inspiring teacher and promoter of Byzantine, Greek and Turkish culture, died at his home in Birmingham on 22 October, 2016. He established the field of Byzantine Studies in the UK and embodied its international significance through his work on the region of Trebizond/Trabzon in eastern Turkey.

FaRiG has made two special grants to enable two Georgian universities to subscribe to JSTOR (a leading digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources).
The two universities are:

  • Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University
  • Akaki Tsereteli State Univeristy, Kutaisi

All members of these universities will have access to the web resource: they join 8,000 institutions in more than 160 countries with access to JSTOR.