The two-year research project “Assessment of Neoplatonism in the Balkans in the 14th and 15th Centuries” (April 3, 2023 – April 2, 2025), funded by the Science Fund of the Republic of Serbia, has been successfully completed.
The project was led by the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, in collaboration with the Faculty of Philosophy and the Faculty of Philology at the University of Belgrade, the Institute for the Serbian Language of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the Innovation Center of the University of Niš, and the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Priština in Kosovska Mitrovica. The project leader was Vladimir Cvetković, with Tamara Plećaš and five other researchers from partner institutions on the team.
The project explored the broader influence of Neoplatonism—not only as a philosophical school founded by Plotinus and developed by his followers in Athens until the closure of the Academy in 529, but as a set of teachings that found their place in the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish traditions of the time. The main focus was on Orthodox Hesychasm, which developed on Mount Athos, and Bektashi Sufism, which spread through the Balkans during the Ottoman expansion. The project investigated not only theological and philosophical doctrines but also religious practices, art, architecture, and medicine.
Special attention was given to two core Neoplatonic concepts: the relationship between the One and the many, and the doctrine of light. Two international thematic panels were organized—in Catania (2023) and Palermo (2024). Papers from these events will be published in a collected volume and a special thematic issue of the Church Studies journal. Each team member also prepared one or two individual articles or monographs.
Thanks to active dissemination through the Institute’s website, YouTube channel, and social media, the project’s results significantly exceeded initial expectations and contributed to a deeper understanding of the religious and intellectual landscape of the late medieval Balkans.