The School of Theology of the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) held with exceptional success an International Conference in Athens from 24-28 November 2024 with the theme:
“Christian Orthodox Theology in the 21st century. Challenges and perspectives”
Under the aegis of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece
The Conference, which has just been completed, is included in the series of the International Theological Conferences that were held in Athens in the 20th century (1936 and 1976), and it undertook to highlight, examine and contribute to the vital issues and problems preoccupying Orthodox Theology on a pan-Orthodox and ecumenical level during the 21st century. In particular, the Conference examined the position and mission of the Orthodox Church and Theology in the new historical, geopolitical, social and cultural conditions and it expressed anew its rich legacy, its real ministry, its prophetic testimony and function in the modern world. The individual themes that preoccupied the Conference pertained to the study and critical positioning of Orthodox Theology first and foremost in relation to the Church, the university and society, but also to its dialogue with the sciences, technology, the arts, culture and certainly, to the contemporary theological and spiritual trends.
His All-Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch, Bartholomew I, who delivered a very significant and auspicious address during the official inauguration in the great hall of ceremonies of the NKUA, graced with his presence the proceedings of the Conference. Also gracing the event with her honorary presence was the President of the Hellenic Republic, Ms. Katerina Sakellaropoulou, as did His Beatitude, Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Hieronymos II. The Conference was attended by more than 180 speakers, members of the Teaching and Research Personnel of the Theological Schools of Athens and Thessaloniki, Orthodox Theologians and eminent ecclesiastical personalities from Greece and abroad (Europe, America, Africa, Asia & Australia), representing nearly all the local Orthodox Churches and the so-called Diaspora, scholars from other cognitive fields and people of art and culture. At the same time, theological personalities of international prestige from other Christian Confessions and traditions of Europe attended as observers.
The opening ceremony of the Conference was held with exceptional splendour and with a very large number of people in attendance on Sunday, 24th November 2024, in the Great Hall of Ceremonies in the historic Central Building of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, whereas the main proceedings of the Conference took place in the Amphitheater “Alkis Argyriades” from 25th to 28th November 2024. The Rector of the NKUA, Professor Gerasimos Siasos offered all the infrastructures of the main NKUA facilities, as well as significant financial resources so that during this five-day period the premises of the emblematic main university, but also the premises of the “Kostis Palamas” Building of NKUA’, the historical archives of the NKUA, as well as a hall in the Law School on Sina Street, could accommodate the needs of this international conference with the necessary technical and financial support in general.
For five days the amphitheaters and rooms of the Conference were filled to capacity with conference delegates and participants, as all its proceedings and activities were open to the public and the audiences were numerous to the end. During all the proceedings and activities, translations were provided in the main languages (Greek and English) of the conference. On Tuesday, 26 November, a part of the session titled “Theology and the great problems of the 21st century: Climate Change, the refugee problem, the public domain, the economic crisis and unemployment” was held in the Senate Chamber of the Hellenic Parliament, which was greeted with an inspiring address by the Hellenic Parliament’s Speaker of the House, Mr. Konstantinos Tasoulas. Following him were the chairpersons of the Committees of Environmental Protection, Social Affairs, Hellenism and the Diaspora and the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy, as well as the papers delivered by speakers of the conference. The television channel of Hellenic Parliament covered and broadcasted live said session.
This International Conference was held with direct broadcasting of its main proceedings, whereas all its workshops and parallel activities were videotaped so that all the videos for each paper and activity could be uploaded to a special digital platform of the School of Theology.
In the context of the Conference, 15 specialized workshops were organized, among which were a continuous workshop of iconography, the exceptionally interesting discussion on the subject: “The Orthodox Church and Geopolitics today” with the participation of Mr. Evangelos Venizelos and Mr. Angelos Syrigos, as well as various other events, such as a tour for the delegates of Byzantine and Modern Athens, of the wall paintings by Fotis Kontoglou at the Athens Town Hall, of the Byzantine and Christian Museum, the Athens Cathedral, the Route taken by the Apostle Paul in Athens, a large fair of theological books (in Greek and English), 6 musical happenings at the commencement and end of the conference, a showing at the “Tholos” (a dome-shaped virtual reality theater) at the Foundation of the Hellenic World of the three-dimensional film on the Holy Monastery of Hosios Loukas in Boeotia with a virtual reality tour that was produced by the Institute for Pastoral Education of the Holy Archdiocese of Athens thanks to the good offices of its director, Very Rev. Fr. Theologos Alexandrakis, and a visit to the facilities of the Apostolic Ministry in the suburban town of Aghia Varvara thanks to the good offices of its director, the Metropolitan of Phanarion, Agathangelos, and other events as well.
The Conference was held under the aegis, but also with the assistance and support in practice of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece and personally of its Head, His Beatitude, the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece, Hieronymos II, who from the outset until the end embraced the undertaking of this great international conference of the School of Theology of the NKUA in the 21st century with his support and constant interest.
