The Estonian President, Alar Karis, made a special reference to the cooperation of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies with the University of Tartu and the Apostolic Orthodox Church in Estonia, in his address to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who visited Estonia at his invitation, the previous week. The president thanked the Patriarch for his personal contribution to the development of the Orthodox Church in Estonia, which celebrates 100 years since its foundation. "Estonia itself has faced many challenges throughout its history. Even though the church and the state are separate in Estonia, they have supported each other during times of hardship", the Estonian president pointed out. During the Patriarchal visit, issues such as the joint efforts to support Ukraine, the problem of the climate crisis and the cooperation in the field of education and research were also discussed, while President Karis spoke in a particularly warm way about the support of the Ecumenical Patriarch to the autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church, stressing that the Church can play an important role in healing the wounds of war.

Volos Academy for Theological Studies cooperates in the program "Orthodox Church and Contemporary Challenges", along with the University of Tartu (School of Theology and Religious Studies) and the Estonian Orthodox Church. Classes start on Friday, September 22 and will run until June 2024. The program will focus on burning theological and sociaetal issues of the modern age that challenge both the Orthodox Church and Western society as a whole. It includes courses on topics such as ecological crisis and ecotheology, spirituality and new age, imperialist narratives, nationalism and etnophyletism, psychology and psychotherapy. All lecturers are internationally well-known top specialists: Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis, Prof. Ekaterini Tsalampouni, Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis, Prof. Ivana Noble, Assoc. Prof. Katerina Bauer, Prof. Cyril Hovorun, Rev. Prof. Brandon Gallaher, Rev. Prof. Vasileios Thermos, Rev. Dr. Grigorios Chrysostomos Tympas.

Links

The press release of the Estonian Presidency: https://president.ee/en/media/press-releases/55137

The educational program: https://usuteaduskond.ut.ee/en/content/study-programme-orthodox-church-and-contemporary-challenges