Конференция "Единство Церкви: экуменическое богословие и герменевтика в эпоху постмодерна"
Invitation and Call for Papers
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH:
ECUMENICAL THEOLOGY AND HERMENEUTICS
IN THE POST-MODERN AGE
17–20 October 2012
Bose, Italy
THEME OF THE CONFERENCE
This year we celebrate 50 years since the beginning of the Second Vatican Council, an epochal event in the history of modern Christianity. The restoration of unity among all Christians was proclaimed one of the principal concerns of the Council. This new attitude towards other Churches clearly expressed by Vatican II, opened the door to active development of ecumenical theology – not only in the Roman Catholic Church but also in the Ancient Oriental, the Orthodox and the Protestant Churches.
Closely related to ecumenical theology is ecumenical hermeneutics. As is stated in one of the key documents issued by Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, each local church “is called to be a hermeneutical community, that is, a community within which there is a commitment to explore and interpret anew the given texts, symbols and practices.” But as the churches engage in ecumenical dialogue, each church and tradition opens itself also to being interpreted by other churches and traditions. “The ecumenical movement provides particular opportunities for the churches to reflect together on issues of interpretation and communication for the sake of ecclesial unity and the renewal of human community.”
However, as Cardinal Walter Kasper, former President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity noted in 2003, “after the first rather euphoric phase of the ecumenical movement which followed the Second Vatican Council, the last decade has seen us experiencing signs of tiredness, disillusionment and stagnation.” Unfortunately, the situation does not seem to have changed much today, almost ten years since then.
The aim of the forthcoming Conference is to reflect on the ways of interpretation of texts, symbols and practices in Eastern and Western Christian traditions; to identify current impediments to further development of ecumenical dialogue; and to discuss the possibility of new theological and hermeneutical approaches which could be applied in the situation of contemporary, “post-modern” world and would allow to overcome existing obstacles and to establish better mutual understanding between different churches.
The Conference is dedicated to the memory of Bishop Pierre Duprey (1922-2007) whose 90th anniversary is commemorated this year. Bishop Duprey has contributed a lot of effort into development of ecumenical dialogue serving as Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. He was the founder and later President of the Catholic Committee for Cultural Collaboration with the Orthodox Churches and the Ancient Churches of the East; he was also Patron and a good friend of St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute.
PAPERS AND PUBLICATION
Those who wish to present a paper should send a summary (500 words at most) by email to St. Andrew’s Institute by 1 August 2012. The Organizing Committee selects papers for the Conference and sends invitations to the speakers. The full text of all the papers selected will have to be submitted by 1 October 2012. The working language of the conference will be English.
Upon arrival at the conference every participant will receive summaries of all the papers presented and the conference programme. Papers are scheduled for 30 minutes each. Selected papers will be published in St. Andrew’s quarterly Pages: Theology, Culture, Education. Registration form can be found on St. Andrew’s website
www.standrews.ru. Registrations, summaries and papers should be sent to:
Mikhail Tolstoluzhenko
St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute
Jerusalem St. 3, Moscow, 109316, Russia
Tel/Fax: +7 495 6702200; +7 495 6707644
Email:
info@standrews.ru,
standrews@yandex.ru
ORGANIZATION AND ACCOMMODATIONS
The Conference will assemble on Wednesday, 17 October for the opening ceremony in the evening. Participants will depart after breakfast on Saturday, 20 October.
The Conference will be held in the recognised spiritual and academic centre – the Monastery of Bose. Accommodation and meals will be provided by the organizers.
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St. Andrew’s Biblical Theological Institute
PATRONS: METROPOLITAN KALLISTOS OF DIOKLEIA, BISHOP RICHARD HARRIES,
PROFESSOR HANS KÜNG, VERY REV. LEONID KISHKOVSKY,
PROFESSOR VALENTIN L. YANIN, PROFESSOR ANATOLY A. KRASIKOV, REV. DR JOHN BINNS