In late April 2026, the third online roundtable in the ‘Time for Action’ series was held, organised by the Volos Academy for Theological Studies (Greece). This time, the topic of discussion was ‘Holiness Today’. The participants in the round table were renowned scholars from St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (Crestwood, New York), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the Volos Academy.
Speaking first, Prof. Peter Bouteneff emphasised the need for Christians to continually renew the image of God within themselves and to seek their true self through repentance and by focusing on God’s boundless mercy.
Prof. Ekaterini Tsalampouni focused her speech on the New Testament teaching on holiness, seen by the Apostle Paul as an inherent ontological element of a believer. At the same time, this fundamental characteristic of a Christian is not contingent upon any problems or shortcomings within a particular Christian community. Prof. Tsalampouni also regretfully noted that the contemporary interpretation of holiness in the Orthodox Church requires revision, given its significant deviation from the New Testament tradition of comprehending this fundamental spiritual phenomenon.
The renowned patrologist and hagiographer Panagiotis Yfantis has analysed the models of holiness that currently prevail within the Orthodox Church. The scholar highlighted the significant presence among the canonised saints of new martyrs (mainly from the Ottoman era) and monks, as well as the substantial numerical predominance of men over women and of the clergy over the laity.
It is worth noting that events of this subject matter are of paramount importance, as they remind academic theologians of the need to look beyond the confines of their own intellectual pursuits. Such events foster a connection between academic theologians and active church communities, thereby facilitating an understanding of spiritual needs and the formulation of meaningful answers to profound existential questions.
A video recording of the online discussion in English is available on the Volos Academy’s YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/DHYTVxmjehE
The next round-table discussion in the ‘Time for Action’ series has a somewhat provocative title: ‘Does contemporary Orthodox theology have a future?’
