03/07/2026 15:00
- 19:30
HALL: Parenzo - A14
Chair:
Bartolomei L.,
Dimodugno D.
Contact:
Dimodugno D.
The decline of Christianity as a socially hegemonic religion coincides with the emergence of "outgoing" Christians. This perspective invites Christian communities to be understood as open, relational and territorially embedded actors, actively involved in the production of urban space and places of encounter. Community is thus conceived not as a fixed identity, but as a dynamic and relational process shaped by shared practices, proximity and responsibility.
Moving beyond formal hierarchies, this inquiry explores dynamics of representation, power and legitimacy within Christian communities, examining how authority and agency are negotiated among clergy, laity and local groups. It considers how different organisational models - centralised or distributed - affect the capacity of communities to inhabit public space and engage contemporary urban cultures.
The notion of an "architecture of encounter" continues to inform many initiatives promoted by Catholic communities, fostering both the encounter with God and the encounter with others through practices of service and the generation of social, relational and spiritual goods. These initiatives may involve traditional ecclesiastical infrastructures, such as parishes reinterpreted beyond the idea of sacred enclosure, or extend into new spaces of social and urban engagement. They often include the reuse and re-signification of deconsecrated churches and ecclesiastical heritage, contributing to a reconfigured pastoral geography.
The call is open to contributions that investigate innovative ways in which Christian communities make and inhabit space, focusing on outcomes, methods and underlying theological, pastoral, legal, architectural and economic assumptions. It addresses regulatory frameworks, governance models and institutional conditions that enable community action in public space, as well as to the economic, patrimonial and heritage implications of these practices.
