ORIC Sixth International Theological Conference
In cooperation with the Theological School of Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University in Tbilisi, Georgia
The conference is organised with the financial support of the Fellowship of St. Alban and St Sergius
READING SCRIPTURE AS ORTHODOX THEOLOGIANS
1-7 December 2023 Kutaisi-Tbilisi
Conference Programme
Monday 4 December
Opening of the Conference
Talks at the Theological School of Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University in Tbilisi
8.45-9.00 am Prayer
9.00-9.10 am Conference Welcome Speech
9.10-9.20 am Dean of the Faculty Welcome Speech
9.20-10 am Keynote Speech
10.00-10.10 am Coffee break
1st Session
Chair: TBC
10.10-10.40 am Metropolitan of Zimbabwe Serafim Kykotis
The Biblical exegesis of St. Athanasius the Great vs. the one of Arius’
10.40-11.10 am Dr Danut Vasile Jemna
Scriptural Exegesis of Irenaeus of Lyon
11.10-11.40 am Dr Zdenko Sirka
Biblical exegesis of the Cappadocian Fathers
11.40- 12.10 am Dr Olga Sevastyanova
Scriptural Exegesis of Gregory of Nyssa
12.10 pm Taking ORIC Group Picture
12.20-1.45 pm Lunch
2nd Session
Chair: TBC
2-2.30 pm Dr Elena Narinskaya
Reading the Old Testament through the eyes of St. Ephrem the Syrian
2.30-3.00 pm Dr Alessia Brombin
Interpreting scripture through Chrysostom’s lens: john Chrysostom’s path to divine reconciliation
3-3.30 pm Dr Guram Lursmanashvili
George the Hagiorite and his contribution to Georgian biblical studies
3.30-3.45 am Coffee break
3.45-5.15 pm Panel Discussion: Different Approaches to Scriptural Exegesis in Patristic Tradition
Chair: TBC
5.30-6.45 pm Dinner
7 pm Vespers in the Faculty Chapel
Tuesday 5 December
Talks at the Theological School of Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University in Tbilisi
8.45-9.00 am Prayer
1st Session
Chair: TBC
9.00-9.30 am Dr Dionisios Skliris
The logoi of Scripture according to Saint Maximus the Confessor and their relevance for a contemporary Narrative Theology
9.30-10.00 Dr Bogdan Brinza
“Ὁ πάθος and τό πάθημα – Their Role in the Demarche of Interpretation of the Holy Scripture in the Vision of Saint Maximus the Confessor.”
10 -10.15 am Coffee break
2nd Session
Chair: TBC
10.15-10.45 am Dr Eirini Arthemi
The Unity of Orthodox Patristic Theology with the Bible
10.45- 11.15 am Dr Emil Marginian
An innovative spiritual approach to Holy Writings and Sacred Scriptures in Nil Sorsky
11.15-11.45 am Slavisa Kostic
The Contribution of Emilijan Čarnić to Biblical hermeneutics and textual criticism for Serbian Biblical Scholarship
12.00-1.30 Lunch
3rd Session
Chair: TBC
1.30-2.00 pm Dr Raul-Ovidiu Bodea
The Notion of Biblical Faith in the Theology of John Zizioulas
2.00-2.30 pm Rev. Dr Nathanael Neacșu
Scripture, Church, Tradition. A dynamic theological reading of the Scripture within the traditional framework of the Church
2.30-3.00 pm Rev. Dr Stephen Headley
Scripture as God’s writing on our heart
3-3.30 pm Dr Sotiris Mitralexis
Scripture’s Language and its Sociopolitical Adventures: An unfortunate case study from early 20th-century Greece
3.30-3.45 pm Coffee break
4.00-6.00 pm Round Table: Brainstorming Different Approaches to Biblical Exegesis
Chair: TBC
6.10 pm Dinner
Wednesday 6 December
Talks at the Theological School of Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University in Tbilisi
8.45-9.00 am Prayer
1st Session
Chair: TBC
9.00-9.30 am Dr Jennifer Lockhard
The relationship between scripture and tradition through the lens of the practice of fasting
9.30-10.00 am Dr Petre Maican
The Primacy of Experience in Interpreting Scripture: A Critical Assessment
10.00-10.30 am Dr Stefan Zeljkovic
Reading scripture as orthodox theologians means. Living scripture as disciples of Christ towards others
10.30-11.00 am Dr Viktar Niachayeu
The Empirical Study of the Regularity and Importance of Bible Reading among the Highly Religious Orthodox Population
11.00-11.30 am Dr Natalia Doran
Creation psalm – a case study of orthodox interpretation
11.30-12 pm Aleksandre Gabunia
Rediscovering Scriptural Perspective of Byzantine Iconography: The Inverted Perspective of Orthodox Christianity
12.00-1.30 pm Lunch
2nd Session
1.30-2 pm Dr Elena Onetiu
Divine commandments – eternal laws or contextual social norms?
2-2.30 pm Aleksandre Gabunia
Rediscovering Scriptural Perspective of Byzantine Iconography: The Inverted Perspective of Orthodox Christianity
2.30-3 pm Dr. Lawrence Osborn
To Till and to Keep: Towards an Orthodox Reading of Genesis 2:15 in the Context of the Climate Crisis
3-3.30 pm Dr Viorel Coman
3.30-3.45 pm Coffee break
Reading Scriptures as Orthodox Theologians: Contemporary Challenges and Perspectives
Chair: TBC
6 pm Dinner
7 pm Conference Closing and Vespers
Call for papers
We are delighted to announce that the ORIC members were invited this year by the Dean of the Theological School of Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani University in Tbilisi to hold our conference in Tbilisi.
The budget flights to Georgia from most destinations are the Wizz Air flights to Kutaisi. We will meet for a retreat (Kutaisi-Mtskheta-Tbilisi) on Friday-Sunday 1-3 December and will have the official part of the conference at the faculty from Monday to Wednesday, 4-6 December. Departure on Thursday 7 December.
The arrival date is 1 or 2 December (to Kutaisi), and the departure from Tbilisi will be on Thursday, 7th December.
The meeting aims to discuss how scripture is used and interpreted within the Orthodox Church. We are going to engage with the following questions:
What is the relation between personal freedom of interpretation of the scriptures and conformity to the mind of the Church?
Is there a particularly Eastern Orthodox way of reading the Scriptures? How do we relate scripture and tradition? Is preserving the original phronema of the Orthodox Church, the working concept for Orthodox Theologians? How do we understand getting into the mind of the early Church when interpreting scripture?
What does it mean to us to interpret scripture within the Church, through the Church and as a product of the Church? What does it mean to interpret the scriptures according to the Fathers? Does interpreting Bible within the Church form a spiritual and theological framework that creates boundaries that we, as Orthodox Christians, do not cross?
Why should we be engaged in the academic study of the Bible? What is the importance/relevance of the historical-critical method for Eastern Orthodox theology? How is the study of the scriptures from an academic perspective combined with the prayer and sacrament life of the Church?
What does it mean for Christian Scriptures to be inspired? How do we discern the proper scriptural exegesis from eisegesis, i.e., reading meaning into the Biblical text and conforming it to our own opinion? Are all the parts of scripture equally profitable?
How is scripture used as part of the sacramental life of the Church? How does the specific reading of the Bible during the Church year express the Theology of the Church?
Please feel free to come up with other questions about our understanding of the scriptures.
Please submit your paper proposals by 15 September 2023 to connect@orthodoxresearchgroup.com