Volos Academy for Theological Studies in the

EUARE 2026 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Volos Academy for Theological Studies participates in the annual conference of the European Academy of Religion, which is held in Rome, between June 30 and July 3, 2026, with three panels:

1. INJUSTICE & SOCIAL TRANSFIGURATION IN THE ANTHROPOCENE: AN ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE. Speakers: Chris Durante, Christina Nellist, Frances Kostarelos, Chair: Nikolaos Asproulis

The session focused on the spiritual decline of the Anthropocene era and the neoliberal economy, where vices such as arrogance, greed, gluttony and indifference are actively promoted, instead of virtues such as justice, prudence or empathy. Concerns were raised about the dominant ideology's treatment of nature and fellow humans as mere sources of profit, while the need for repentance and metanoia was underlined as a radical change in mentality. The relationship of ecological sin with the laws of nature, the relationship of diet with ecological decline and sin, as well as the orthodox criticism of the emergence of socio-political inequalities within the context of the Anthropocene were also discussed.

2. WHY THEOLOGY STILL MATTERS TODAY? THE PUBLIC WITNESS OF METRΟΠΟΛΙΤΑΝ JOHN ZIZIOULAS’ THEOLOGY. Speakers: Peter De Mey, Aristotle Papanikolaou, Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Bishop Maxim Vasiljevic, Chair: Nikos Kouremenos.

Drawing inspiration from the Metropolitan of Pergamon’s posthumous masterpiece, “Remembering the Future,” and the recently published English translation of his work, “Hellenism and Christianity: The Meeting of Two Worlds,” the session focused on aspects of the public witness of Metropolitan John D. Zizioulas’ theology in our contemporary, fragmented and complex world, placing emphasis on topics relevant to the mission of the Church in the present and the future. Questions included the relationship of Zizioulas' thought to the current scientific and ideological context, the impact of his eschatological perspective on the containment of various forms of evil and on the understanding of the concept of tradition, the impact of his work on the recent text of the Ecumenical Patriarchate “On the social ethos of the Orthodox Church” and on the emergence of a holistic Christian "grand unifying theory" following the model of the natural sciences.

3. Author meets critique: PANTELIS KALAITZIDIS, “ORTHODOXY AND MODERNITY: INTRODUCING A CONSTRUCTIVE ENCOUNTER”, BRILL, 2026. Speakers: José Casanova, Aristotle Papanikolaou, Kristina Stoeckl, Chair: Hans Peter Grosshans

Pantelis Kalaitzidis' book was hailed as one of the most important texts on Orthodox Theology in the last year (and was recently declared "book of the month" by the German Theological journal "Theologische Literaturzeitung"). In his study, Pantelis Kalaitzidis argues that theology as the prophetic voice and expression of the self-consciousness of the Church can only function in relation to the antinomy and duality of the latter. The Church is not of this world; theology too seeks to express a charismatic experience and a transcendent reality, beyond words, concepts or names. The Church lives and walks in the world; theology too seeks dialogue and communication with the historical present, using the language, flesh and shapes of each era, of each historical and cultural present. Theology is not identified with History, but neither can it function in the absence of History or ignoring the lessons of History. After all, God’s Revelation has always taken place within creation and History, not in some unhistorical, timeless and unworldly universe. As Aristotle Papanikolaou noted in his comments, “in terms of Orthodoxy’s engagement with modernity, this book is the gold standard. It’s like Charles Taylor’s book, “The Secular Age”. No one can speak about Orthodoxy and modernity without referencing Pantelis’ book. Any engagement for decades will be just a footnote to Pantelis’ book.” The dialogue and criticism that followed, featured Professors and students from various universities in Europe and America.

In addition to these sessions, Nikolaos Asproulis and Nikos Kouremenos participated as speakers in four other panels, representing the Volos Academy. Specifically, Nikolaos Aproulis spoke on the topics “The Age to Come as Call and Judgment: the Eschatological outlook of Metropolitan John Zizioulas and its Relevance for the Future of Ecumenism” and “Eco-dogmatics as a new model of doing Ecotheology in the Anthropocene”, while Nikos Kouremenos spoke on the topics “Naming the ‘schismatic’: Papal Authority, Eastern Christianity, and the Politics on Orthodoxy under John XXII” and “Coptic philology and the Republic of Letters: Athanasius Kircher, Johann Michael Wansleben, and the making of Early Modern Knowledge of Christian Egypt.”

At the General Assembly that took place in the context of the EuARe conference, Nikolaos Asproulis, Deputy Director of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, was elected a member of the Executive Committee of the European Academy of Religion for the next four years.

Τhe complete programme of the Conference is available at https://secure.onlinecongress.it/.../199.../AbstractBook.pdf