Dr Thea Gomelauri
Dr Thea Gomelauri is an Associate Faculty Member in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford, and a multi-award-winning scholar in Religious Studies with a multidisciplinary approach and interfaith lens. She is the Director of the Oxford Interfaith Forum. Thea’s research interests include Biblical Exegesis, the Reception History of the Bible, and Biblical Manuscripts. Her current research focuses on Georgian Jewry—the world’s oldest living Jewish diaspora—and its forgotten contribution to the Jewish scribal traditions. Thea’s book The Lailashi Codex: The Crown of Georgian Jewry, (Oxford, 2023) explores the fascinating history of the miracle-working biblical codex, and its owners. She is currently working on a diplomatic edition of the 172-leaf Lailashi Codex. Her next book introduces the unknown Georgian Jewish manuscripts, providing a necessary context for further interdisciplinary studies.
Thea has vast experience in different international, and intercultural contexts. She is a recipient of multiple research and teaching grants, including the Robert S. McNamara Fellowship at the World Bank Institute, the International OSI Policy Fellowship at the Open Society Institute, the Curriculum Development Fellowship at Central European University, and the European Commission Tempus Program. At different times, she worked on research and consultancy assignments with the EBRD, UNDP, and UNHCR in troubled and war-torn regions.
Thea has presented papers at the British and Irish Association of Jewish Studies, the International Conference of Patristic Studies, the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, and Freie Universität Berlin. She received the Interfaith Leadership in Multifaith World Grant from Interfaith America (2021-22), and the HM King Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein Prize for the 2023 United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week for promoting Peace and Religious Education.
A full publication list is available here: https://oxfordinterfaithforum.org/dr-thea-gomelauri/
TORCH Book at Lunchtime: The Lailashi Codex Dr Thea Gomelauri
