On 17 July, the first Central European History Convention (CEHC) opened its proceedings at the University of Vienna. Organised by the team of the Institut für Österreichische Geschichtsforschung, the Convention lasted for three full days, bringing together hundreds of scholars from across Europe, North America, and Asia. Apart from countless panels and research labs, the Convention also featured a string of lectures and discussions devoted to Pieter Judson and his work on the Habsburg Monarchy.
On 19 July, Katalin Pataki and Tomasz Hen-Konarski from the “Sovereignty” team presented their work in a panel “Organized Christianity in the Apostolic Monarchy”, chaired by Gábor Hollósi from the VERITAS Institute for Historical Research in Budapest. Katalin spoke about the oaths of allegiance in the Habsburg Monarchy, 1770s through 1840s, while Tomasz explored Vienna’s confessional designs in Dalmatia of the early 1820s, which involved both Orthodox and Greek Catholic ecclesiastics. Christopher Wendt (EUI in Florence) rounded out the panel with a presentation on the efforts of Catholic clergymen in Tyrol to defend the conservative social and political order in the face of the crisis following the First World War. Jim Bjork (King’s College London) served as discussant sharing his insightful comments.