19 May 2026
The 130 participants of the sixteenth REFORC conference in Wrocław will certainly and with enthusiasm confirm that it is possible to get excited about wood and stone.
Proof of this they heard and saw in the keynotes lectures of Jan Harasimowicz (Wrocław) and of Bridget Heal (St. Andrews) that formed the kickoff of this conference.
Whether it’s the beauty of wood and stones in the interior and exterior of church buildings on which Harasimowicz focused, or the destruction of all this during wars and how pastors and their parishioners responded to this, these materials tell stories of faith and devotion. Anyone who missed these opening lectures, can find proof of the rich messages of wood and stone in the four volume work on Protestant church architecture that was presented this afternoon.
Exploring Christian materiality in Germany during the Thirty Years’ War, Bridget Heal shed light on a powerful paradox: how the wave of iconoclasm during the Thirty Years’ War ultimately strengthened Lutheran attachment to material expressions of faith.
Right after that quite a few shortpapers also dealt with materiality as the leading topic of the conference, but just as many dealt with early modern literature, theology and philosophy. Materiality was – and is for we go on for another two days – to be enjoyed at the book tables with tempting products, not of wood and stone, but of good old paper. Just as tempting was to skip a paper and enjoy the sun in beautiful Wroclaw, but fortunately here collegiality and scholarly interest was stronger than nature. Apart from that, the program leaves ample room for enjoying this wonderful city and it’s cozy bars and terraces.
