IOCS launch new doctoral programme

The Cambridge, UK, based Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies have announced in their current newsletter the launch of a new doctoral programme for those wishing to follow a research programme on an Orthodox topic. The programme can be undertaken by people anywhere in the world and does not require full-time residence in Cambridge. The spring…

Bishop Angaelos reflects on Ethiopian victims of Daesh

His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, and Co-Chair of LOI has issued the following statement following the murder of Ethiopian Christians in Libya The confirmation of the murder of Ethiopian Christians by Daesh (IS) in Libya has been received with deep sadness. These executions that unnecessarily…

Historical Conciousness and Church Unity

We have received an invitation and call for papers for an International Conference at Bose, Italy from 21-24 October 2015. St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute of Moscow, Russia announces an international conference co-organized with Monastery of Bose in Magnano, Italy on October 21-24, 2015. The theme of the conference is “History and Theology: Historical Conciousness as…

Archbishop of Canturbury calls for unity in Easter hope

In his Easter address to the wider Christian community the Archbishop of Canterbury draws on the repeated phrase from the opening of the Byzantine liturgy, “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep” to offer hope where Christians are persecuted today. Archbishop Justin Welby speaks specifically about…

Fr. Thomas Hopko dies

The death has just been announced of an eminent Orthodox scholar who is widely read by evangelical as well as Orthodox students of mission.  Rev. Dr. Thomas Hopko served as Dean of St. Vladimir’s seminary in New York after many years on the staff there but is probably best known to a wider audience through…

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk – ‘Christian Ecumenism: Does It Have A Future?’

Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, head of the Department of External Church Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, recently delivered a lecture on “Christian Ecumenism: Does it have a future?” in Winchester and Cambridge, UK.  In the introductory passages of his lecture Metropolitan Hilarion deals with the early mission of the church and specifically the role of…

Orthodox-Catholic Initiative

Running parallel to the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative (LOI) is the Lausanne-Catholic Initiative which is exploring the future of relationships between Evangelical and Catholic Christians. They have recently released three videos of the proceedings at their last consultation in Chicago. You can find these videos (called “Lausanne Conversations 1/2/3” at http://www.act3network.com/videos – but you need to scroll…

Wisdom for today from the desert

One of our participants from the 2014 LOI Consultation has just published a review of a very interesting book by one of our 2013 participants. In 2014 Dr. Brad Nassif was sadly unable to join us in Albania but recommended that we invite Tekletsadik Belachew from Ethiopia – a very good recommendation.  Now Tekle has…