With Dr Sarah Stewart retiring as co-chair of the Shapoorji Pallonji Institute of Zoroastrian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, beginning September 2023, the new co-chair is Dr Mariano Errichiello who completed his PhD from SOAS in 2022.
Dr Sarah Stewart (l) and Dr Mariano Errichiello
A message on the Institute’s Facebook wall thanked Stewart for "all the brilliant work she has done for the Institute since its establishment in 2018. We wish her much joy and fruitful work in her retirement, and look forward to continuing to work with her in her new role as emeritus reader in the Department of Religions and Philosophies.”
After the inauguration in 2018, Stewart and co-chair Dr Almut Hintze had mentioned to Parsiana that the Institute, established with a munificent gift of five million pounds (Rs 50.54 crores) by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, will "disseminate knowledge about Zoroastrianism — its history, culture, languages and people — through three main channels: teaching, research, outreach (see ‘The right initiative,’ Parsiana, July 21, 2018).”
Stewart, who held the Shapoorji Pallonji Lectureship in Zoroastrianism, has over the years had a long-standing interest in Zoroastrian studies. She was the principal curator of "The Everlasting Flame: Zoroastrianism in History and Imagination” exhibition that was first mounted in SOAS in 2013 and brought to India in 2016. She has also done extensive research in Iran and a collection of her recordings in Dari has been digitized at the Endangered Languages Institute at SOAS. Under the auspices of the Institute, Stewart was also instrumental, along with Celine Redard, in introducing a free, short, online course, "Zoroastrianism: History, Religion and Belief.” Since 2021 she had served as principal investigator for Gen Z and Beyond — A Survey for Every Generation (see "Driven by data,” Parsiana, October 7-20, 2023).