Online lecture
“MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM”
THE CRISIS OF CONNECTION: REFLECTIONS ON COUPLES, SEXUALITY
AND RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE IN THE POSTMODERN ERA
Thursday, December 12, 7 p.m. CEST
The next event of the “Liturgy after the liturgy” series will take place on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at 7 p.m. CEST. It will be a lecture titled “‘Male and female he created them’ - The Crisis of Connection: Reflections on couples, sexuality, and religious discourse in the postmodern era”. The lecture will be given by Dr. Nayla Nahas Koussa, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Balamand in Lebanon. It is the third event of the series, organized by the Holy Metropolis of France and the Vicariate of French-speaking parishes, (Vicariate Sainte Marie de Paris et Saint Alexis d'Ugine, Ecumenical Patriarchate), in collaboration with the Volos Academy for Theological Studies. The event will be accessible online either via Zoom (at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84913433453, with free registration at https://vicariatorthodoxe.fr/inscription-catechese/) or via the YouTube Channel of the Vicariate at https://www.youtube.com/c/lalettreduvicariat.
It will be in French.
This lecture will shed light on the challenges that the postmodern era, marked by the precariousness and fluidity of human bonds and the promotion of an ideal in which individuals exist in a ceaseless search of “pleasure”, poses to the couple. Dr. Nahas will then engage in a critical analysis of the “conservative” discourse of the Orthodox Churches concerning women, sexuality, and the intimacy of the couple, in order to highlight how this “moralizing” discourse risks accentuating the gap between the Church and believers in the contemporary world. Finally, she will highlight the crucial importance of rebuilding a narrative about the couple, based on the values of interconnection and fidelity, genuine antidotes to the degradation of relationships, human insecurity and the uncertainty that threatens to engulf the social fabric and human cohesion.
Dr. Nayla Nahas is an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Balamand in Lebanon and a trained school and developmental psychologist. For over 20 years, Dr. Nahas has been researching and teaching educational and psychosocial processes that influence children development, adaptation, and well-being. Her research explores the relational, systemic, and “ecosystemic” processes underlying academic performance and students’ well-being. She also focuses on the crucial role of family functioning in children's development and adaptivity. In her research, she mainly looks into the attachment strategies, the stress and coping strategies, the self-esteem, and self-efficacy processes in relationship with identity construction. Dr. Nahas also served as the chair of the Department of Psychology for more than five years.
