REFLECTIONS
The Holy Theological School of Halki
~~~reflective history~~~
The Holy Theological School of Halki is located at the top of a hill called the Hill of Hope, on the island of Halki, one of the Princes' islands. It is approximately one hour by boat from the shore of Constantinople. On the grounds of the School is the monastery of the Holy Trinity which was founded during the Byzantine period, though the exact date of its establishment is unknown. The reestablishment and reconstitution of the monastery are associated with the Ecumenical Patriarchs Photius I the Great, Metrophanes III, and Germanos IV. Germanos IV (1872-1845) visited the monastery in 1842 and saw the School's reconstruction and reconstitution which was approved by the Turkish authorities. On the 1st of October 1844, with a special ceremony to mark the occasion, the operation of both the Holy Monastery and the Theological School were resumed. (more...)
Nationalism and Orthodoxy
in Father Dumitru Stăniloae's Thinking
by Metropolitan Irineu Popa and Marian Gh. Simion
"In general, the Romanian Orthodox ethicists have wrestled with and cautiously avoided nationalism, which they clearly perceived as contrary to Christian universalism. [...]
As a thesis, Orthodox Christian theologians emphasized that Orthodox anthropology is universalistic in nature (Gen. 3:28). Exclusivist nationalism appears as an antithesis, because it promotes a form of deliberate division of humanity by principles that contradict Orthodox Christian anthropology. Nevertheless, as an effort toward adaptation to the new conditions, a synthesis between the Orthodox Christian universalism and nationalism was developed without compromising the core anthropology of the Orthodox Church. Built on the theological basis of hypostatic union, this synthesis between Orthodox Christian universalism and nationalism is more specific of Romanian Orthodox theology, and it was mainly developed by the Romanian Orthodox theologian Father Dumitru Stăniloae (1903-1993). Pacifistic in nature, this synthesis represents a symbiotic exchange between universalism and particularity by surrendering the thesis and the antithesis as a mutual necessity." (fragments from "Nationalism and Orthodoxy in Father Dumitru Stăniloae’s Thinking" by Metropolitan Irineu Popa and Marian Gh. Simion, pp. 13-23 [here 15], in Just Peace: Orthodox Perspectives edited by Semegnish Asfaw, Alexios Chehadeh, Marian Gh. Simion. Geneva: WCC Publications, 2012.)
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-13 978-973-595-760-5).
NETWORKING
TANENBAUM
We are a secular, non-sectarian nonprofit that promotes mutual respect with practical programs that bridge religious difference and combat prejudice in schools, workplaces, health care settings and areas of armed conflict. Tanenbaum designs trainings and educational resources to change the way people treat one another and to celebrate the richness of our country’s diversity. In all our work, Tanenbaum is inspired not only by The Golden Rule – to treat others as you would like to be treated – but also by the Platinum Rule – to treat others as they want to be treated. www.tanenbaum.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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