REFLECTIONS
The Meaning of Death and Immortality
in the Lamentation at the Tomb
by Marian Gh. Simion
In the Orthodox rite of The Lamentation at the Tomb (Epitáphios Thrēnos) of the Holy Friday, death is restricted to the confines of history.
From now on, death becomes a condition submissive to the laws of time, due to one’s unwavering awareness of resurrection and immortality. In other words, death no longer represents the end of the biological existence and, as one may argue, the end of self-consciousness, because the gates of Hell—that is the power of death—had been crushed by the Savior’s resurrection. [...] If, until now death was irreversible, from now on resurrection becomes the norm of a restored nature and universe.
Because the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ regenerates the everlasting life, the very cosmic order is shocked by unspeakable events. [...] The cosmic order becomes disobedient to its own laws, as it becomes traumatized by the unexpected “death” of the One who created this cosmic order.
All Earth quaked in fear
and the sun concealed itself, O Savior,
when, O Christ, our light, you set bodily,
as the light that knows no evening was entombed. […]
The vision of life from the point of view of death prompts a stream of redemptive theological reflection in an attempt to explain the acquiring of the everlasting life through a sacrificial death which is only temporary. It is an exercise of hermeneutic strategy through which death is deceived and devoid of its once unchallenged lethal power. (fragments from Marian Gh. Simion, “Hermeneutica memoriei în Prohodul Domnului,” Meridianul Românesc April 22, 2006, 16-17.) (download as podcast)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
IPSEC Summer Institute in Romania
(APPLY HERE)
The summer institute will take place between May 23 and June 2, 2015. For details download poster or visit our website, www.orthodoxpeace.org, or contact Dr. Marian Simion at +1.978.339.3233; e-mail: msimion@orthodoxpeace.org.
United Nations Fellowships Available
UN, New York, NY, USA
The Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical, and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America announces its Faith-Based Diplomacy & Advocacy Initiative. The Initiative establishes a total of four (2 for 2015-2016 and 2 for 2016-2017) yearlong Archdiocesan fellowships at the United Nations. All Orthodox Christian graduate and post-graduate students are invited to apply for a stipend fellowship. Please visit http://adobe.ly/1DCQ8SO by May 31, 2015, to submit an application for the Fall 2015-Summer 2016 fellowship. For more information, please email ecumenical@goarch.org, or call 212-774-0226.
Invitation & Call for Papers
International Conference
October 21-24, 2015 (Bose, Italy)
St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute of Moscow, Russia announces an international conference co-organized with
Monastery of Bose in Magnano, Italy on October 21-24, 2015. The theme of the
conference is "History and Theology: Historical Conciousness as a way to Church Unity."
Scholars are cordially invited to present a paper. If interested, please send a summary (500 words at most) by email to St. Andrew’s Institute by 1 August 2015. The Organizing Committee selects papers for the Conference and sends invitations to the speakers. The full texts of all selected papers will have to be submitted by 1 October 2015. The working language of the conference will be English.
For details, please contact Mikhail Tolstoluzhenko by e-mail: standrews@yandex.ru, info@standrews.ru or by Tel/Fax: +7 495 6702200; +7 495 6707644.
Invitation & Call for Papers
International Conference
November 4–7, 2015 (Belgrade, Serbia)
You are cordially invited by
to attend and speak at an international conference
on the topic "Political Theology: Theological Reflection on Contemporary Politics."
This conference is sponsored by St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute (Moscow, Russia);
Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization (Novi Sad, Serbia); Development of Ecumenical Leadership in
Mission Network; Network for Ecumenical Learning in Central and Eastern Europe; with the support of
Kerk in Actie (Utrecht, Netherlands). Those who wish to present a paper should send a summary (500 words at most) by e-mail to St. Andrew’s Institute by 1 September 2015. The Organizing Committee selects papers for the Conference and sends invitations to the speakers. The full text of all selected papers will have to be submitted by 1 November 2015. The working language of the conference will be English.
For details, please contact Mikhail Tolstoluzhenko by e-mail: standrews@yandex.ru, info@standrews.ru or by Tel/Fax: +7 495 6702200; +7 495 6707644.
IPSEC forthcoming book
We are pleased to inform you that IPSEC is in process of publishing its third volume, Faith and Politics: Emperor Constantine, Orthodox Church and Freedom, edited by Marian Gh. Simion and Cristian S. Sonea. This book will be published this Spring together with Presa Universitară Clujeană of the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca Romania. (Paperback: ISBN-13 978-0-9835779-2-8 | ISBN-13 978-973-595-760-9).
NETWORKING
United States Institute of Peace (USIP)
The United States Institute of Peace works to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict around the world. USIP does this by engaging directly in conflict zones and by providing analysis, education, and resources to those working for peace. Created by Congress in 1984 as an independent, nonpartisan, federally funded organization, USIP’s more than 300 staff work at the Institute’s D.C. headquarters, and on the ground in the world’s most dangerous regions. For details, please visit www.usip.org.
The world we live in…
For more news about conflicts affecting Orthodox Christians around the world, click here!
Donations Welcome!
Your donations help us invest into the future of Orthodox Christians, now suffering from conflict, marginalization, and poverty. IPSEC is a tax deductible 501(c)(3) entity under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, Section 170. Tax deductible donations can be made payable to “Institute for Peace Studies in Eastern Christianity” and mailed to Institute for Peace Studies in Eastern Christianity (Harvard Square) P.O. Box 380246, Cambridge, MA 02238-0246, U.S.A. Thank you!
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