In light of the Holy and Great Council the Ecumenical Patriarchate hosted a special meeting of scholars serving in different contexts, disciplines and academic areas to reflect on the current challenges and aspirations for Church and theology. Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Director of the Volos Academy, and Mr. Nikolaos Asproulis, academic staff, participated in the meeting.
You may read the press release below

PRESS RELEASE
Scholars’ Meeting at the Phanar

The Ecumenical Patriarchate hosted a meeting of thirty scholars on January 4-5, 2016. The purpose of the encounter was to establish connections with theologians and academics working in various disciplines and ministries throughout the world in order to become better acquainted with their interests and aspirations for the church, especially in light of the Holy and Great Council.
In his address, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew noted: “We have invited you because we consider you as a small representative group of a much larger segment of our Church, a symbol of our loving concern for all those ministering to the Word of God in manifold ways throughout the world. You comprise theologians and historians, scholars and teachers, women and men from the United States and Europe, as well as from Asia and Australia.” “In this way,” he added, “we can strengthen the bonds between hierarchal ministry and lay diakonia for the benefit of the Body of Christ.”
The scholars in attendance presented their reflections and responses in their various fields and capacities: as heads of Orthodox seminaries and institutes; as professors in non-Orthodox academic institutions; as theologians serving in mission, religious education and publishing; and as scholar-practitioners in the natural and social sciences, as well as human rights and social justice.
The afternoon of January 5th was dedicated to an open discussion on preparations for the Holy and Great Council. His Eminence Senior Metropolitan John of Pergamon chaired two extensive sessions and addressed participants, engaging in wide-ranging discussions with the scholars about goals, challenges and opportunities of the Council.
The presentations will be made available.
Participants included:
Nikolaos Asproulis, Volos Academy for Theological Studies (Greece)    
Fr. John Behr, St Vladimir’s Seminary (USA)
Fr. John Chryssavgis, Ecumenical Patriarchate
Will Cohen, Scranton University (USA)    
Konstantinos Delikostantis, Athens University (Greece)    
George Demacopoulos, Fordham University (USA)    
Brandon Gallaher, Exeter University (England)    
Fr. Paul Gavrilyuk, St. Thomas University (USA)
Tamara Grdzelidze, Vatican City (Italy)    
Perry Hamalis, North Central College (USA)
Nathan Hoppe, Resurrection Seminary (Albania)
Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Volos Academy for Theological Studies (Greece)
Philip Kariatlis, St. Andrew’s Theological College (Australia)
Fr. Nicolas Kazarian, Sorbonne University (France)    
Elizabeta Kitanovic, Conference of European Churches (Belgium)
John Klentos, Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute (USA)
Fr. Panteleimon Manoussakis, Holy Cross College (USA)    
Sotiris Mitralexis, Istanbul University (Turkey)
Fr. Chrysostomos Nassis, University of Thessaloniki (Greece)
Aristotle Papanikolaou, Fordham University (USA)
Thanassis Papathanassiou, Hellenic Open University (Greece)
Elizabeth Prodromou, Tufts University (USA)
Fr. Alexander Rentel, St Vladimir’s Seminary (USA)    
James Skedros, Holy Cross Greek School of Theology (USA)    
Dionysios Skliris, Sorbonne University (France)    
Fr. Nathanael Symeonidis, Holy Archdiocese of America (USA)    
Alexis Torrance, Notre Dame University (USA)    
Athanasios Vletsis, Munich University (Germany)
Anton Vrame, Department of Religious Education (USA)    
Stavros Yangazoglou, editor: Theologia (Greece)
Gayle Woloschak, Northwestern University (USA)

For the Address by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to the Scholars’ Meeting at the Phanar press here

*The press release was originally published on the website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate:
https://www.patriarchate.org/-/scholars-meeting-at-the-phanar?inheritRedirect=true&redirect=%2F