The Fifth Summer School for Orthodox Clergy and Lay Theologians from Ukraine concluded on Sunday, July 21. It was organized by Volos Academy for Theological Studies, and supported financially by the General Secretariat for Religious Affairs of the Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, the Holy Metropolis of Demetrias and the Holy Metropolis of Peristeri. The programme aimed to familiarize the participants with the new socio-cultural challenges (secularization, globalization, religious pluralism, open society etc.), offering access to resources, physical and digital libraries, and the most recent literature on topics related to the organization and functioning of a Church in the contemporary and highly demanding European environment, as well as a sufficient overview of the most recent developments in the contemporary Orthodox theology.

The lecturers that participated and the topics presented were as follows: Prof. Dr. Paul Ladouceur (University of Toronto, Université Laval, Canada) “God and the World: Modern Orthodox Theologies of Creation” & “A Book of Life: The Philokalia and the Philokalic Revival”; Dr. Nikos Kouremenos (Research Associate, Volos Academy for Theological Studies) “Influence of Greek Theologians in 18th Century Ukrainian Territory: The Cases of Eugenios Voulgaris and Nikiforos Theotokis”; Maria Constantina Terss (Terzopoulou) (PhD Candidate & Instructor, Art & Art History Department, Stanford University, USA) “Iconoclasm and Iconophilia as Medieval Geopolitical and Sociocultural Markers” & “Icons as Diplomacy: The Cultural Embodiment of Values through Word, Image & Emotion”; Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis (Deputy Director, Volos Academy for Theological Studies, and Hellenic Open University) “Towards a Theology of Toleration: An Eastern Orthodox View” (with a brief presentation of the European infrastructure programme RESILIENCE ); Rev. Dr. Vasileios Thermos (Supreme Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens, Greece; Psychiatrist for children and adolescents) “Spiritual life and psychological life: a mutual interaction” & “Youth of 21st century and Orthodox Conscience”; Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Moschos (Professor and President of the Department of Theology, Faculty of Theology, University of Athens, Greece) “History of monasticism as means of rethinking Society and Christian Community in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages - Middle Byzantium” & “The Evolution of Greek speaking Orthodox Church and Theology since 19th century”; Prof. Dr. Gayle Woloschak (Departments of Radiation Oncology, Northwestern University, USA; St Sophia Ukrainian Orthodox Seminary, Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the USA, Ecumenical Patriarchate) “Medical and Pastoral Issues of Concern for Orthodox Christians”; Dr. Sr. Vassa Larin (Host of the Online Catechetical Programs “Coffee with Sister Vassa”, Austria) “Orthodox Catechesis in the Age of Social Media”; Rev. Dr. Brandon Gallaher (Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, University of Exeter, UK) “Ethnophyletism and Russkii Mir: ‘Heresy’ or a Secular Political Doctrine? The Diaspora Debate” & “Orthodox Christianity and Inter-Religious Encounter”; Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis (Director, Volos Academy for Theological Studies) “New Trends in Greek Orthodox Theology”; Mr. Georgios Vlantis, MTh (Director of the Council of Christian Churches (ACK) in Bavaria, Germany; Research Associate of Volos Academy) “Orthodox Engagement in InterChristian Dialogue: Theological Principles” & “The Jubilee of the Council of Nicaea (325) and its Ecumenical Importance”; Metropolitan Grigorios (Papathomas) of Peristeri (Professor of Canon Law, Faculty of Theology, University of Athens, Greece) “The Canonical Collections of the Orthodox Church”; Dr. Ionut Billiuta (Research Associate, Gh. Sincai Institute, Romanian Academy, Târgu Mureș, Romania) “Religious Freedom in the Post-Communist Romania: A Tale of Many Silences - A Church of Many Voices”; and Metropolitan Maximos (Vgenopoulos) of Selyvria (PhD of the University of London, Ecumenical Patriarchate) “The Bilateral Dialogue between the Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches: History and Theology”. The detailed programme of the Summer school is is available here.   

As part of the summer school, the trainees also visited Christian monuments of the Metropolis of Demetrias (the monasteries of Ano and Kato Xenia, the church of Taxiarches in Milies, the church of Taxiarches in Tsagarada, the churches of the Dormition of the Virgin, of All Saints and of St Nikolaos, as well as the Museum of Byzantine Art and Culture in Makrinitsa); while they also attended services and participated in the divine liturgies, while the members of the clergy co-celebrated in many cases. This was the fifth summer school of this kind, and the third one that was implemented with physical presence (the schools of 2021 and 2022 took place online due to the Covid pandemic).