Orthodox Theological Institutions Group

Chairs:

Philip Kariatlis, St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College (Sydney, Australia)

Dr. Philip Kariatlis is Sub-Dean and Associate Professor of Theology at St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Theological College (Sydney, Australia). After taking an undergraduate degree in Theology from St. Andrew’s, he also graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Arts, majoring in Modern Greek. He received a Master of Theology and a doctorate from the Sydney College of Divinity, where he studied under Professor Gerard Kelly. His doctorate was in the area of ecclesiology, subsequently published Church as Communion: Gift and Goal of Koinonia (2011). His research interest lies in Church doctrine, specifically its existential and salvific character. He has written in several peer reviewed journals within Australia and abroad. He is currently a member of the Faith and Unity Commission of the National Council of Churches of Australia (since 2010) and Director of the Sydney College of Divinity.

Right Rev. Archimandrite Jack Khalil, St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology, University of Balamand (Tripoli, Lebanon)

Fr. Jack is the Dean of the St. John of Damascus Institute of Theology and Professor of New Testament Studies. He holds a Ph.D. degree from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and studied for 3 years as Visiting Fellow at the Eberhard-Karls-Universität in Tübingen, Germany. He has been visiting Professor at many Theological Faculties and Institutes over the world. His main fields of interest are the Epistles of St. Paul and the Johannine Literature. He is the author of one book published in Greece, and many chapters in books, researches and studies published in Lebanon, Greece, France, USA, Belgium, Germany, Romania, Estonia, and Bulgaria. He is known for his contribution on the contemporary Orthodox interpretation of the Justification by Faith in the Pauline Epistles.

Steering Committee:

Fr. Michael Bakker, Amsterdam Centre for Orthodox Theology (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Fr. Pavel Khondzinskii, St. Tikhon’s Orthodox University (Moscow, Russia)

Rev. Prof. George Parsenios, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (Brookline, Massachusetts, USA)

Vision Statement

The Orthodox Theological Institutions Group of IOTA seeks to promote theological education in the service of Church and society in order to address contemporary challenges increasingly facing Orthodoxy. Among the more pressing issues are secularization, globalization, and anthropological views that question traditional understandings of human identity. Orthodox theological schools must be committed to providing students with the highest level of serious and rigorous theological education, as well as a full spiritual, liturgical, and pastoral grounding in the Church. The graduates of our theological institutions need to have the best possible education and formation in order to respond to the questions being posed by contemporary society. Therefore, the emphasis in our schools and institutes cannot simply be on preserving the faith, but must include evangelism, apologetics, encountering, engaging with, and challenging the world—for the salvation of our young people and the world. It is with a spirit of evangelism, in the apostolic sense of the word, that we can best carry out our responsibility as educators. Many of our theological schools consist of a diverse student body, which brings with it a variety of views and experiences of society.  Theological institutions, once “walled off” from society (especially ecclesiastical seminaries), have been for decades open institutions of spiritual and theological growth and questioning.  Students bring varied questions and attitudes to the study of theology and to the foundational texts (scriptural, patristic, dogmatic, creedal, etc.) of the faith. Their contextual education often occurs outside of the grounds of the seminary; students are engaged in learning experiences that integrate local social and economic contexts into their education. Book learning is still fundamental, but engagement with society constitutes a key element of theological education. With the precipitous changes in societal norms, social and cultural presuppositions have eroded and traditional conceptions of authority often no longer exist among the students whom we are called to educate and form. However, at the heart of what continues to drive students is their quest for a meaningful Christian life for themselves, the Church, and the world. Networking Orthodox theological educational institutions are often isolated from each other due to national, linguistic, and other barriers. The aim of the Orthodox Theological Institutions Group is to facilitate better cooperation among these institutions through creation of a database of theological educational institutions; by providing regular information about educational programs and scholarly conferences; and through the promotion of academic and student exchanges. The group hopes to strengthen communication both at regional (for example, in Greek, Slavonic, Middle Eastern as well as the Europe and United States context) and pan-Orthodox levels, to develop joint international scholarly and educational projects, and to integrate young women and men theologians into the educational process. Such connections will further the theological educational “koinonia”: a better acquaintance with effective theological educational models, development of joint inter-institutional educational projects (e.g. through e-learning technologies), translation of the handbooks and educational materials, etc. Promoting Theological Education Theological education in different countries exists and develops in various contexts and institutional forms (seminaries, theological institutions, faculties at the higher educational institutions, etc.). The group would like to gather these experiences to share and examine the role of theological education in church and society (e.g., diverse educational models in the context of church-state relations), interdisciplinary cooperation between ecclesiastical and “secular” educational institutions, and creating effective educational strategies (educational methods, curricula, etc.) for an adequate theological response to contemporary challenges. We hope to promote the development of theology as an area of scientific knowledge and a complex of educational disciplines, improve the quality of teaching theology, and consolidate the scientific, organizational, methodological, and expert activities. In this case theological education can become an effective space for the interaction between the Orthodox theological tradition and contemporary society, science, social life, politics and culture.