Prof. Dr. Christian Laes: More than an Infirmity, Close to a Disability
Öffentlicher Vortrag am 5. November 2026 um 18 Uhr, Seminarraum 1, Rabinstraße 8
In his presentation "More than an Infirmity, Close to a Disability: Reflections on Early Christianity, Healing Miracles, and the History of Disabilities in Antiquity" Prof. Dr. Christian Laes (Professor of Ancient History at the University of Manchester and Core Fellow at Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies) approaches early Christian healing miracles from the perspective of disability studies. He will show how the Gospels distinguished between curable ailments and irreversible conditions. Prof. Laes will then look at how early Christians redefined disability both as a physical and existential challenge, linking healing to faith and equality before God. In this way, early Christian texts promoted compassion and solidarity, contrasting with Graeco-Roman approaches that primarily judged impairments by their social utility.