Bishops serving bishops in the Middle Ages and in the Early Modern period. Suffragan bishops, Auxiliary bishops, Consecrators

In the early Middle Ages, when a bishop was unable to carry out his liturgical and sacramental duties, in principle it was the bishops serving in neighbouring areas who would step in to administer the sacrament of Holy Orders to priesthood candidates, to administer the sacrament of Confirmation to the baptised, and to consecrate or reconsecrate buildings: These were important matters, involving both institutional and symbolic dimensions, which a mere vicar – who did not hold the episcopal rank – could not perform. And it was only natural that such help should come first and foremost from bishops within the same ecclesiastical province: they were, technically speaking, the ‘suffragans’ (supporters) of the archbishop of the diocese in question, which is why this term came into use to denote this function of substitution.

Proposals must be submitted to the organisers’ institutional email addresses by 28 February 2027.

Proposals may take the form of a 30-minute conference paper or a 10-minute contribution. A brief summary of the presentation’s objectives (maximum 2,000 characters), a list of the bibliography and sources that will be used, and a short CV of the author must be attached. Proposals (as well asconference presentations) may be in Italian, German, English or French.

The conference will be held in Trento, as part of the events being organised to mark the millennium of the Episcopal Principality (1027-1803) in the latter months of 2027 or the early months of 2028. Participants selected by the scientific committee will have their travel expenses and accommodation covered and – subject to a peer-review process – will be guaranteed publication in an issue of “Quaderni di storia religiosa medieval” or another A-level scientific
journal.

Scientific committee: Emanuele Curzel, emanuele.curzel@unitn.it; Riccardo Parmeggiani, riccardo.parmeggiani@unibo.it; Daniela Rando, daniela.rando@unipv.it; Mariaclara Rossi, mariaclara.rossi@univr.it.