FSCIRE’s major research projects have involved dozens of scholars over the years and have given rise to volumes, conferences and discussions vital to the development of international historical research.
Research activity at FSCIRE is structured around some major themes that, starting with the studies on the history of the councils, on the Eastern tradition and Christian thought, on the Christology of the New Testament, and on ecclesiastical institutions and popular religiosity, have embraced broad yet crucial themes such as religious illiteracy, the experiences of the Eastern churches, the desire for Christian unity, the reform of the curia, Christianity in Africa and, since 2018, projects linked to the histories and doctrines of Islam, such as those on the Eastern reception of Avicennian Metaphysics, Muḥammad al-Ghazālī and ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, the Islamic theologies of religions, and the Digital Maktaba for the cataloging of texts in non-Latin alphabets.
The work of the researchers is based on the patrimony of the Dossetti and La Pira libraries and on the activities of an international network of contacts and collaborations, of which FSCIRE is an active and leading player, and which has constantly intensified and enriched over the decades. A direct and constant collaboration sees junior and senior researchers working side by side every day around large shared research projects, placing FSCIRE among the international excellences for quality and quantity of research results.