Milanna M. L. M. Fritz
Education
Master of Theological Studies, History of Christianity concentration, University of Notre Dame; Bachelor of Arts in History and in Theology, Christendom College
Year of Matriculation
2022
Contact
Areas of Interest
Patristics; Byzantine theology; Liturgical theology; Hymnography; Eastern monasticism; Pilgrimage; East-West relations; Mariology; Soteriology; Ecclesiology; Christian-Islamic relations; Greek; Latin; Armenian
Profile
I am interested in how the patristic homiletic tradition shaped eastern medieval monastic theology and ascetic practice. How can patristic and Middle Byzantine homilies, hymns, and commentaries serve as textual remnants of the lived reception of dogmatic theology, especially with regard to human anthropology, soteriology, and Mariology? How did the formulation of liturgical feasts and typology in the East affect Western theology and liturgical practice? I also study medieval pilgrimage narratives in the Near East as a locus of interfaith contact. These texts offer unique insights into intra-Christian diplomacy as well as Latin- and Greek-Islamic relations, sometimes revealing shared worship at holy sites and co-participation at liturgical services. How did these interfaith interactions confirm or challenge Christian authors’ perspectives regarding salvation?
Recent Scholarly Activity
Recent Scholarly Activity
- "Kassiani’s Hymns on the Nativity: Deification Theology in Middle Byzantine Hymnography," Villanova, Patristic, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies Conference, Fall 2022
- "Monastic Ascent as Paschal Anamnesis: Reception Of Nazianzus’ Oration 45 in Maximus the Confessor’s Ambigua 45-60," Notre Dame, Inaugural Graduate Conference on Early Christian Studies, Spring 2022
Teaching Experience
- "Islam and Christian Theology," University of Notre Dame, Prof. Gabriel Said Reynolds, Spring 2022
- "Nuptial Mystery," University of Notre Dame, Prof. Timothy O'Malley, Fall 2020