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Staff Profile

George Tsourous

Visiting Fellow

Background

I am a social anthropologist and Visiting Fellow at the School of Architecture, Planning, and Design at Newcastle University. I specialise in the material aspects of social interaction and the formation of conceptual boundaries and physical borders within communities and institutions. I have a longstanding interest in the material culture of religion (Christianity/Islam) and inter-Christian relations. My ethnographic work spans shared sacred sites, religious heritage sites, monastic communities, and secure institutions in the UK, Israel/Palestine, Egypt, and Greece.

Research

My doctoral research project, funded by the British Academy, investigated the sociocultural relationships between different Christian communities in Jerusalem, with a focus on the Greek (Rum) Orthodox community. Through ethnographic work in Jerusalem’s Old City, I explored the relationships forged between resident clergy and local Christians within the context of everyday life in a major shrine of Christianity, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. My forthcoming book, based on this research, examines lived Christianity in Jerusalem in depth.


My research interests encompass Christian-Muslim relations and the impact of pilgrimage, particularly in shared sacred spaces in Israel/Palestine and Egypt. I regularly share my expertise through various platforms, including podcasts and research reports. Recently, I co-authored "Defeating Minority Exclusion and Unlocking Potential" with Prof. Francis Davies of Oxford, which highlights the role of Christian communities in the Middle East post-Covid. I collaborate on international projects with institutions promoting interfaith dialogue, such as Religion for Peace UK. My future research explores the impacts of pilgrimage on shared sacred spaces, focusing on Christian-Muslim and Christian-Jewish relations, communal identities, and ecumenical relations in Christianity.

Publications

  • Article

    • Tsourous, G. Border Crossing and Symbiotic Relationships between Christians in Jerusalem. Council for the British in the Levant (CBRL) 2015, 10, 5.

  • Authored Book

    • Tsourous G. Orthodox Choreographies: Boundaries, Borders and Materiality in Jerusalem's Old City. Gorgias Press LLC, 2024. In Press.

  • Book Chapters

    • Tsourous G. Sharing St. George Al-Khader: Choreographies and Inter­religious Dialogue in Palestine. In: Michel Boivin, Manoël Pénicaud, ed. Inter-religious practices and saint veneration in the Muslim world: Khidr/Khizr from the Middle East to South Asia. London: Routledge, 2024, pp.192-208.
    • Tsourous G. Between the Nations: The Sepulchre in Intercommunal and International Dynamics. In: Suleiman A. Mourad, Naomi Koltun-Fromm, Bedross DerMatossian, ed. Routledge Handbook on Jerusalem. London: Routledge, 2019, pp.446. In Preparation.

  • Report

    • Tsourous, G, Davies, F. Defeating Minority Exclusion and Unlocking Potential: Christianity in the Holy Land. London: International Community of the Holy Sepulchre (ICOHS), 2021.