Participation of the Department of Theology of NKUA in the 2nd Mega-Conference of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA)

The 2^nd Mega-Conference of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA) under the general theme ‘Mission and the Orthodox Church’ was held in Volos from 11 to 15 January 2023. IOTA is an association that arose from the need to create a global academic theological forum, a ‘Republic of (Theological) Letters,’ in the wake of the Great Council of Crete, which was organized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople back in 2016. The 1^st Mega-Conference took place in Iași, Romania, in January 2019.

Bringing together about 450 theologians (academics, parish priests, bishops, young researchers—primarily but not exclusively Eastern Orthodox) from 45 countries with 300 papers, which have been selected after a double-blind peer review and covered a wide range of academic branches, the Conference was deemed the most numerous international gathering of Orthodox theologians in modern history. The Conference opened with welcome addresses by the local bishop, Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias, and the Deputy Minister of Education, Ms Zetta Makri, while a keynote address was delivered by the Metropolitan Ambrosios (Zografos) of Korea.

NKUA’s Department of Theology participated dynamically in this important event with nine faculty members, five of whom (Professors Dimitrios Moschos and Christos Karakolis, Associate Professors Marios Koukounaras-Liagkis and Stavros Yangazoglou, and the newly elected Assistant Professor, Rev. Isidoros Katsos) delivered papers related to their fields of study. The Department of Theology was also among the Co-laborer Organizations. In his capacity as Chair of one of the Co-laborer Organizations, Professor Dimitrios Moschos gave an overall presentation of the Department of Theology, handing out relevant material. That occurred during a special session attended by similar well-known Institutions, including the European Academy of Religion, the Huffington Ecumenical Institute, the Faculty of Theology at Sofia University ‘St Kliment Ohridski,’ St Ireneus Theological Institute, and St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. In addition, four other faculty members (Professors Konstantinos Kornarakis and Gregorios Papathomas, Metropolitan of Peristeri, Associate Professor Vassiliki Stathokosta, and Assistant Professor Fotios Apostolos) presented the role of the Athens’ School of Theology in the theological and intellectual ferment in Greece and the world during the twentieth century (see photograph) at another special session consisting of twenty-minute announcements. Finally, many PhD holders and PhD candidates presented papers that drew a lot of attention and positive feedback, and an equally large number of undergraduate and master’s students volunteered as stewards under the coordination of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, which hosted the Conference. At a critical time when, as was said at the opening ceremony ‘Orthodoxy lies severely wounded by national divisions,’ both the faculty members and the young scholars and researchers seized the opportunity to strengthen the Department of Theology and NKUA in a most influential strategic hub of international academic and ecclesiastical ferment. In parallel, they disseminated to the international academic community the educational and research work of the Department and promoted extroversion through upcoming partnerships and exchanges with several entities and individuals.