On November 24-28, 2024, an international conference “Orthodox theology in the 21st century: challenges and perspectives” was held in Athens. It was organized by the School of Theology of the University of Athens under the aegis of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece.
The opening of the conference was attended by the President of the Hellenic Republic Ms. Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou and many other official guests. On Sunday, at the first day of the conference the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew delivered the keynote address on the topic “The mission and work of the Orthodox Church and Theology in the 21st century”.
In total, more than 150 theologians, religious scholars, church historians, specialists in church art, representatives of the hierarchy and clergy became participants of the conference. The conference consisted of “main sessions” that revealed a wide range of relevant topics, as well as a number of parallel thematic workshops. During the conference there was also musical concerts and possibilities of sightseeing tours.
Most of the conference participants were from Greece, as well as from the Greek diaspora. But a number of participants also represented academic institutions of other countries – Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain and USA.
Among the many reports are the following most prominent topics:
Perspectives on neopatristics
- Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Director of the Volos Academy for theological studies in Greece, “‘I tell you nothing of my own…’: Strategies of renewal and change in Orthodox theology»),
- Dr. Paul Ladouceur from Canada, “The Future of neopatristic theology: Critiques and opportunities”,
- Dr. Marcus Plested from USA, “Fr Georges Florovsky on the theology of history”.
Interdisciplinary approach
- Dr. Vaseleios Makrides from Germany, “Contemporary interdisciplinary research on Orthodox Christianity and its importance for Orthodox theology”,
- Dr. Aristotle Papanikolaou from USA, “Incarnational Pluralism: Ecclesial and Political Manifestations”.
Political theology
- Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis, “The Babylonian captivity of Orthodoxy in nationalism and the attempts for the Theological justification of imperialism”,
- Dr. George Demacopoulos from USA, “The ‘Emperor Saint’ and the danger of collective historical ignorance”.
- Noteworthy was also the report of Archimandrite Cyril Hovorun “On the future of Orthodox political theology”, which he delivered through zoom during his being in China. According to Fr. Cyril, for obvious reasons contemporary political theology must necessarily be “theology after Bucha”.
Ecumenical dimension of theology
- Metropolitan of Pisidia Job (Getcha), current Co-president of the Joint international commission for the theological dialogue between the Roman-Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, “Is unity between Roman Catholics and Orthodox possible?”,
- Rev. Fr. Dr. John Chryssavgis from USA, “Toward an Ecumenical outlook: Revising and reviving fundamental principles of ecumenism”,
- Dr. Michel Stavrou from France, “Why should Orthodox theology in the 21st century be ecumenical?”,
- Rev. Fr. Dr. Anastasios Brandon Gallaher from the United Kingdom, “What is an ‘Eastern Orthodox comparative theology’?”
Theology and Church
- Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlachos), “Theology and synergy. Prerequisites and directions of cooperation between theological schools and local synods in the Orthodox Church today”,
- Dr. Paul L. Gavrilyuk from USA, “Serving the Church and the Academia: The work of the International Orthodox theological association”.
Also, a number of other theologians made interesting topics:
- Sr. Vassa Larin from Austria, “’Canonicity’ as a weapon in Russia’s war against Ukraine”,
- Dr. Elizabeth Theokritoff from United Kingdom, “The voice of the Lord on the (rising) waters: the task of Orthodox theology in a ’climate emergency’”.
- Bishop Maxim Vasiljevic from USA, “The liturgical lens: An existential exploration of dogmatics”.
In general, the conference was modelled on similar historical conferences of 1936 and 1976, which were also held in Athens and had a significant impact on the development of Orthodox theology at that time. According to the level of organization, the theological content of the reports, this conference became a significant event in the intellectual life of the Orthodox Church.
It is worth recalling that in January 2023 an even larger Second mega-conference of the “International Orthodox theological association” (IOTA) was held in Volos, Greece. Its president Dr. Paul Havrilyuk is a native of Kyiv. Then the conference was attended by more than 300 participants from several dozen countries.
