November 30 – December 3, 2019, Cluj-Napoca (Romania)

With the participation of the Deputy Director of the Volos Academy Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis

On November 30-December 3, 2019, the 2nd Conference of the St. John Chrysostom Orthodox Research Group was successfully held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The conference was organized in cooperation with the Orthodox Theological Faculty of the Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj. The conference was attended by members of the research group, as well as researchers and professors from the local Orthodox Theological Faculty. The St. John Chrysostom Orthodox Research Group consists of two research subgroups, dedicated to the study of theological anthropology (coordinated by Dr. Petre Maican) and the theological heritage of Fr. Georges Florovsky (coordinated by Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis.

On Sunday, November 30, after the Divine Liturgy, three round tables took place, focusing on theological methodology. The main part of the conference (December 1-2) was hosted in the central amphitheater of the Orthodox Theological Faculty. The conference was opened by the Dean of the Faculty, Rev. Professor Christian Sonea who spoke on “Theosis and mission. A missionary analysis of deification process and its relevance for today's world.”

The participants of the conference included among others:

Rev. Dr. Stephen Headley (“The ‘Tall Garden’… theological anthropology of Paradise in St. Ephrem the Syrian”), Rev. Dr. Brandon Gallaher (“Identity and Theology: The Challenge of Western Modernity to Orthodoxy” - Skype), Fr. Adrian Podary (“Michael Psellos’ anthropological ideas in his philosophical opuscula contained in Philosophica Minora II”), Dr. Sotiris Mitralexis (“Exploring the territory of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church in regard to Orthodox-Catholic relations: some remarks”), Dr. Petre Maican (“Rethinking human Perfection in light of profound cognitive disability”), Dr Slavisa Kostic (“The notion of secular in thought of John Milbank and David Bentley Hart»), Dr Eirini Arthemi (“Human ‘Image and Likeness’ of God in the anthropology of Cyril of Alexandria in his commentaries on Pentateuch”), etc.

The participants of the research subgroup dedicated to the study of Fr. Georges Florovsky’s work included: Dr. Nikos Kouremenos (“Ecclesiology and Ecumenical Theology: A Parallel Approach to the Contributions of George Florovsky and Hamilcar Alivisatos”), Dr. Viorel Coman (“Georges Florovsky’s Perennial Hellenism and the Question of Inculturation”), Dr. Olga Sevastyanova (“Vertical Dimension of Divine-Human Relationship in George Florovsky and Anders Nygren”), Dr. Dionysios Skliris (“The notion of freedom and contingency in the thought of Georges Florovsky”), Dr. Dimitrios Keramidas (“Orthodoxy and the others: Florovsky's ecclesiology and Christian witness”) and Guram Lurmanashvili (“Incarnation in Georges Florovsky and John Zizioulas”).

The Volos Academy for Theological Studies was represented by its Deputy Director, Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis, coordinator also of the subgroup dedicated to the study of Georges Florovsky’s work, who spoke on the topic “Georges Florovsky and Sergei Bulgakov in dialogue: Contemporary Orthodox theology between neo-scholasticism, modernity and churchification.”

During the conference, the collective volume ( Understanding Orthodox Christian Spirituality Today: Insights from Patristic and Modern Theology Olga Sevastyanova and Nikolaos Asproulis editors, Volos Academy Publications, Volos, 2019) including the proceedings of the first conference of the Research Group that took place in December 2018 in Prague was also presented.

To read the detailed program and the brochure of the conference click here.

To read the abstract of Dr. Asproulis presentation click here.