Throughout the 20th century and even more in the early 21st, Orthodoxy has been confronted with many unprecedented challenges which call for a radical re-evaluation of its identity. The various transformations and rapid changes at the political, social and spiritual levels during those years have highlighted the need for a sincere meeting of the Orthodox Church and theology with the quests of the postmodern pluralist society, which often seems to move without a compass. The necessity of a meeting and dialogue between Orthodoxy and the surrounding world is not a demand imposed upon the Church by the current context; it is certainly the result of its deep theological consciousness and faith. On one hand, the fundamental belief in a Triune God being in himself and self-revealed in Creation as a constant dialogue in communion of love and freedom, and on the other hand the reality of the divine-human dialogue as it is expressed primarily in the very event of the Incarnation of the Son and Word of God in history, confirm and express the deep roots of the dialogical and relational identity of ecclesiastical Orthodoxy.

Through the experiences of daily practice, the inherent nature of this openness, and the dialogical character with the Other, the Church will soon realize that her very being passes through the fruitful and lasting meeting with the contemporary, real world, with its various impasses and possibilities. This world is quite different from the glorious historical or imaginary past that offers to the Church only an illusion of security and purity from the alleged un-cleanliness of the contemporary secularized society. Although for decades this fruitful encounter with the demands of (post) modernity was postponed or caused feelings of fear and hesitation among the Orthodox, this meeting is now shown to be not only necessary but also inevitable as long as the Church herself and her theology remain receptive before the creative and refreshing breeze of the Spirit. The Paraclete calls her in a prophetic way to constantly preach the gospel, to work for the continuing and ever-new incarnation of God’s word, by seeking to address soteriologically the problems and the existential needs of humanity.

Orthodoxy, despite the enormous progress in growing and consolidating the principles of democracy, human rights, freedom of speech, dignity and self-worth of the human subject, remains constantly hesitant or takes a defensive attitude towards the challenges facing the context of the “open society” and a pluralistic world where the encounter and coexistence of various values, traditions and ideologies is neither easy nor always possible without problems. Today, various tensions and difficulties are observed in contemporary European societies, such as the revival of totalitarian ideologies that seek, due to the economic crisis, to exploit the passions and weaknesses of people diversecutting trends and the restriction of civil liberties and democratic values due to the resurgence of religious fundamentalism, which in the name of God and religion is ready to bloody all of humanity, the systematic demoralization and removal of the anthropological constants of dignity, freedom, equality, etc.

Against these challenges, Orthodoxy is able to offer hope and an alternative way of life, by helping people to look to the future with greater faith and optimism. By taking as her starting point on the one hand, the loving-communalsacrificial ethos, as it was manifested in the self-revelation of the Triune God in Christ and focusing on the other hand, on the personal mode of being that summarizes her entire  soteriological proposal for human being, the Orthodox Church and her critical / prophetic voice and theology may propose a different model of life and social coexistence where the respect given to the absoluteness of personal freedom and otherness will be a fundamental cultural condition of the coexistence between different peoples and cultures. The anthropological ideal of the person, such as it is diachronically incarnated in the experience and life of the members of the Eucharistic body and is witnessed in the biblical, patristic, liturgical and canonical texts of Orthodoxy, without being an easy task and enterprise, is the most precious gift that Orthodoxy can provide modern person, who is asked to foretaste even now partially in history the freedom of the “sons of God.”

In this perspective, the Church should never forgot that she does not take her identity primarily from the past or present, but from the future, the coming kingdom, whose foretaste in the context of the Eucharistic synaxis protects her from the constant double temptation of the immanent spirit and historical marginalization, which would make her soteriological proposal meaningless. In addition, the active and creative presence of the Church in the public space, apart from the aspirations and fantasies of any favorable and preferential treatment due to her glorious historical role, but with full respect to the conditions and the rules of this area will be able to offer the various guarantees for her process in the history without problems, focusing both on the relieving of human’s pain and emphasizing the dialogical ethos by which she must be characterized, not only at the level of theological principles, but also at the level of her internal structure, both as an immanent institution, but also as a way of being that images the unity of humankind in the coming Kingdom of God. Keeping in mind this problematic, Orthodox theology ought to reflect sincerely and unhesitatingly on diverse questions such as: What is the role that Orthodoxy wishes to play in the “open society”? Is it possible to still closely relate to ideologies and worldviews that are coming or can be identical to dark periods of history or be exploited for alien purposes by various inhuman and totalitarian ideologies, thereby openly ignoring her eschatological identity? Is it possible, at times when liberal principles of democratic society are subject to threat under friendly and enemy fire, for the Church and her theology to continue to reject altogether any modernist conquests of human rights and freedom of speech, insisting with emphasis on premodern closed structures of organization of the societies, views of human beings or relationships with the secular power? Can the living ecclesiastical consciousness within the present globalized societyinsist on being self-closed, without reference or even honest dialogue with other Christian traditions, which, because of their historical context, could offer their invaluable expertise with the various aspects of modernity and late modernity, secularism and post-secularism? Can Orthodoxy be able to express a discourse of love and solidarity to everyone else, regardless of religious, social and cultural backgrounds? Is it possible for the Church to coexist in a rapidly changing political and cultural environment, adjusting her own way (e.g. her Canon law) to the operating rules of a modern democratic state, without requiring preferential treatment because of her historical contribution to the nation? Can Orthodoxy, by respecting the pluralistic character of contemporary society and the secularized nature of the modern liberal state, contribute to the humanization of man and the emergence of its truth? The Volos Academy for Theological Studies will address theseabove issues and questions in a series of events, lectures, book presentations, conferences and seminars organized in collaboration with other Orthodox or inter-Christian ecumenical organizations, institutes, seminaries and academies, in the period between January-June 2015.

To dowload the program, click here.