Ada Kök is a historian of Late Antiquity and Byzantium. Ada earned his BA in History at Boğaziçi University in Istanbul in 2022 with a thesis on Christian eschatological thought during Late Antiquity, based on exegetical sources written in Greek and Latin. During his MA studies in the Department of Medieval Studies at CEU, Ada developed a strong interest in the history of the Christian Church. As a result, his MA project combined his academic interest in Christian eschatological thought and ecclesiastical politics. His MA thesis, titled “Antichrist in Purple: Ecclesiastical Invectives against Constantius II,” explored the eschatologically loaded polemics of the Nicene bishops in their opposition to the so-called “Arian” imperial Church. The thesis received the Center for Eastern Mediterranean Studies Best Thesis Award 2024.
Currently, Ada is continuing his academic career as a PhD candidate with research on the Italian front of the Three Chapters Controversy in the Sixth century. More specifically, his research focuses on the controversial and often overlooked figure of Pope Pelagius I (d. 561), in contrast to his much-discussed predecessor, Pope Vigilius (d. 555). Drawing on conciliar acts and episcopal letters, Ada’s doctoral research examines the ecclesiastical politics among the bishoprics of patriarchal Constantinople, papal Rome, imperial Ravenna, schismatic Milan and Aquileia between 544 and 561.