REFLECTIONS
How to Create Peace Studies Curricula
for Orthodox Christianity
by Marian Gh. Simion, PhD
“Orthodox Christianity is the fifth largest organized religion in the world, and thus a major player in international conflicts. Politically, it serves as an identity marker in the Balkans, Caucasus, Egypt, Eritrea, and so on, and as a new social ideology in the new Russian state. Therefore, a customized implementation of a reliable model is by mapping out the vast field of peace studies and apply it to the Orthodox Christianity (Eastern and Oriental), by analyzing Orthodox Christianity’s dynamics in relation to organized violence, and by offering effective tools in developing “customized” conflict management skills necessary in engaging specific cases. Using a process-oriented, interdisciplinary methodology, the researcher needs to explore how key religious concepts determine the pastoral process during a crisis, and define Orthodox Christianity’s official position on war and peace.” (fragments from “Customizing a Research Model for Orthodox Christianity,” pp. 172-173, in Religion and Political Conflict: From Dialectics to Cross-Domain Charting, by Marian Gh. Simion. Montreal: Presses internationales Polytechnique, 2011.)
Romanian Orthodox Lawmaker
receiving International
Religious Freedom award
On April 29, 2015, Romanian Orthodox Senator Mihnea Costoiu was the recipient of the International Religious Freedom Award, “for his leadership in promoting and defending human dignity and religious freedom as a member of the Romanian Senate, and during prior service as Delegate Minister for Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technological Development for the Romanian Government.” A special diploma was awarded by the Liberty Magazine, the International Religious Liberty Association and the North American Religious Liberty Association during the 13th Annual Religious Liberty Dinner hosted by The International Religious Liberty Association, at Willard Intercontinental in Washington, D.C. This special diploma was awarded in the presence of US lawmakers, ambassadors accredited in Washington, D.C., religious leaders, and NGO representatives. Speaking on behalf of the Romanian Government, Senator Costoiu stated that “the good relations between the Romanian academic, diplomatic and religious worlds will last, as they will contribute to the development of freedom of religion, which is extremely important for the peace and happiness of the citizens of every country and continent.” Dr. Marian Simion was a special guest representing IPSEC. Congratulations!
Colloquium on
Orthodox
Christianity and Humanitarianism
On May 7-8, 2015, the Department of Inter-Orthodox, Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America hosted a colloquium on "Orthodox Christianity and Humanitarianism: Ideas and Action in the Contemporary World" on the campus of Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, in Brookline, MA. (more...)
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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
Conflict Resolution Information Service
In 1999, with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The CRInfo (Conflict Resolution Information Source) project was launched with the goal of providing a free, online clearinghouse of high-quality information related to conflict resolution. Within a few years of its inception, CRInfo had built a searchable database that consisted of thousands of conflict resolution and peace-related Web pages, books, journal articles, audiovisual materials, organizational profiles, events, educational and career opportunity postings, and news articles. (http://www.crinfo.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!
|
