Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Chicago

proudly hosts the

2023 Society of Scholars of Zoroastrianism (SSZ) Conference

Theme: “Zoroastrian Religious Texts and Manuscripts –
Ancient times to Recent Discoveries”

Chair and Keynote Speaker: Miguel Ángel Andrés-Toledo,
FEZANA Professor of Zoroastrian Languages and Literature at the University of Toronto.

(Followed by a traditional community thanksgiving meal – “patra nu bhonu”)

at the

Rustam Guiv Dar-e-Mehr

8615 Meadowbrook Drive, Burr Ridge, IL 60527

on

Saturday November 18, 2023

supported by

Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA)
FEZANA Information Research Educational System (FIRES)

and

World Zoroastrian Organization

All community members, students, scholars and members of interfaith communities are invited and encouraged to participate. Your presence gives support to the speakers, and your feedback is invaluable so that future research efforts may be directed in a constructive manner for the benefit of both the academicians as well as the community.

Program

Conference Chair:  Prof. Miguel Angel Andrés–Toledo

Morning Session –Session Chair: Eruch Rustomji

9:30     Breakfast

10:30 — 12:00     Academic Symposium (online on ZOOM), conducted by Prof. Andrés-Toledo, Zal Taleyarkhan and Noshir Contractor. In person participation at the dar-e-mehr is available.

Prof. Andrés-Toledo — Few Means a Lot: The Recent Discovery of Zoroastrian Manuscripts in
Armenia.

Prof. Enrico Raffaelli — The Structure of the Zoroastrian Month and its Impact on Ritual Practices.

Dr. Ted Goods — The Effusive Soul: The Theory of Emotion in Denkard III.

12:30   Dastur Dr. Kersey Antia — Prayers

1:00     Lunch & Reflection on Morning Session.

Afternoon Session – Session Chair: Afshan Barshan

Community-Forum (in-person)

2:00     Tea and Registration for Afternoon Session

2:15     Benediction – Mobedyar Boman Damkevala
Monajat – Mani Rao
Welcome — Jamshed Rivetna (ZAC President)
Welcome, Intro to SSZ, and Annual Report – Zal Taleyarkhan (SSZ President) & Rohinton Rivetna

2:45     Prof Andrés-Toledo – Historical Review of the Corpus of Zoroastrian Religious Texts and
Languages

3:45     Kamal Saher, Meheryar Rivetna and Vispi Karkaria – Quiz: Sharpen Your Knowledge of
Zoroastrian History and Scriptures

4:45     Tea break

Session Chair:  Vispi Karkaria

5:00     Persis Driver and ZAMC Youth – Oral History Research Project.

6:00     Hors d’oevres and Drinks

6:30     Traditional Community Thanksgiving Dinner – “Patra nu Bhonu” served by ZAMC Youth.

Registration

All day: $35 per person, each additional adult family member will be $25; children 12-18 will be $10, children under 12 free. Includes breakfast, lunch, tea and a traditional community thanks-giving dinner (“Patra-nu-bhonu”).

Morning Session only:  The morning session will be online on ZOOM.  For those participating online only there is no registration fee.  For those participating in person at the dar-e-mehr, registration is $10 per person; children under 12 free. Includes breakfast and lunch.

Afternoon Session only: $30 per person, each additional adult family member will be $20; children 12-18 will be $10, children under 12 free. Includes tea and a traditional community thanks-giving dinner (“Patra-nu-bhonu”).

Please RSVP by November 10^th (specify “All Day”, “Morning Only” or “Afternoon only”) to Zarin Karanjia (Zarin.Karanjia@yahoo.com). For further information contact Rohinton Rivetna (Rivetna@aol.com, 630 248 4387).

To register and find out more about the Morning Academic Symposium on ZOOM, click here.

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