Founding Director W. Cole Durham, Jr., participated in a conference titled “Places of Worship and Holy Sites in Europe and the Middle East: Status and Protection under National and International Law.” Held in Nicosia, Cyprus the 8-10 November 2017, and organized by the Conference of European Churches and the Church of Cyprus, the aim of the conference was to urge European institutions to increase efforts to respect and to protect places of worship and holy sites in the run up to the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. The argument was made that religious places are part of the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief. 

Professor Durham participated on a panel on legal personality and registration and presented a case study on Russia. He also moderated a session on dispossession and change of proprietor. 

For more information on the conference, please see the Conference of European Churches coverage here.