Looking back: 20 years of FOVOG

Looking back on the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of FOVOG

On November 27 and 28, 2025, the Research Center for Comparative History of Religious Orders (FOVOG) celebrated its 20th anniversary with a festive event at the Saxon State and University Library Dresden. The anniversary provided an opportunity to look back on two decades of intensive research and at the same time to look ahead to future developments in the study of the history of religious orders.

The day of the event was opened by welcoming speeches from the Director General of the SLUB, Katrin Stump, and the Director of FOVOG, Prof. Dr. Mirko Breitenstein. In their welcoming addresses, Dr. Andreas Handschuh, Head of the Saxon State Chancellery and State Secretary
for Federal and European Affairs of the Free State of Saxony, Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Knölker, President of the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig and Fr. Dr. Jos Wouters, Abbot General of the Premonstratensian Order, highlighted the importance of the research center.

In particular, the achievements of the founder and long-standing director of FOVOG, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Gert Melville, was highlighted in a special way. The tributes emphasized his decisive contribution to shaping the institution's profile and his commitment to international research into the history of religious orders. The well-wishers also used the anniversary to thank Prof. Melville for his academic life's work and his development work at the research center.

This was followed by academic reviews by members of FOVOG. In their presentations, Prof. Dr. Mirko Breitenstein, Dr. Daniela Bianca Hoffmann and PD Dr. Jörg Sonntag shed light on the development of the Research Center since 2005, highlighted important milestones of the past years and traced how FOVOG has developed into a central site for comparative history of religious orders. These presentations were complemented by the presentation of current projects by members of staff, which highlighted the thematic breadth and methodological diversity of ongoing research.

On the evening of the first day, Prof. Dr. Maria Pia Alberzoni (Milan) gave a public lecture entitled "Vom heiligen Gründer zum Gründer-Papst. Charisma und seine Verbreitung im 13. Jahrhundert" [From Holy Founder to Founder-Pope. Charisma and its spread in the 13th century]. The lecture offered an impressive insight into central issues of medieval religious and religious order history. The evening was musically framed by the ensemble "Donnafugata" and ended with a joint reception.

The second day of the event was dedicated to a round table discussion on perspectives for the future historical study of religious orders, in which researchers from various universities discussed future perspectives. Keynote speeches were presented on various topics relating to the history of religious orders. The round table provided space for a lively exchange on current challenges, new questions and possible core research areas for the coming years. It thus set a forward-looking final accent to the anniversary celebrations.

Overall, the FOVOG anniversary provided a successful framework for linking the past, present and future of research into the comparative history of religious orders. The specialist contributions, the presentation of current work and the intensive exchange between the participants made the importance of the research center impressively visible. The special tribute to Prof. Gert Melville also highlighted the foundations on which FOVOG's successful work has rested for two decades.