New Academy of Orthodox Christian Studies, Greece: First successful session!

A new initiative in lay theological education gathered more than thirty-five people last summer in Volos, Greece, from Australia, Bulgaria, France, Great Britain, India, Indonesia and USA. And not all of them were Orthodox - representatives from Protestant churches also attended.
The setting was the new bi-lingual Volos Academy of Orthodox Christian Studies, set up under the aegis of the Church of Greece, on the initiative of the local Bishop, former SYNDESMOS Vice-President (1985-1995), Metropolitan Ignatius of Dimitrias, and under the direction of former SYNDESMOS President Dimitri Oikonomou and of Dr Konstantinos Zorbas. Metropolitan Ignatios' many years of involvement with SYNDESMOS have given him a wide acquaintance with the varied face of Orthodoxy throughout the world, and his vision is to make Volos a center where Orthodox from different cultures as well as other Christians can meet and discuss, learning together and experiencing together life and traditions of an Orthodox country.
Volos provides a fine setting for the meeting, situated as it is at the foot of Mount Pelion, with its many historic monasteries and attractive villages. It is a region blessed with great natural beauty (- as the locals say "if you can live on Mount Pelion and not believe in God, you don't deserve to live on Mount Pelion!"), and hallowed by the lives of many saints, both monastics and new martyrs of the Ottoman period.
In 2001, the Session is entitled "The Church and Contemporary issues" and will run from 6 August to 2 September. Applicants are not required to have any formal theological background - just a desire to broaden and deepen their understanding of the Orthodox faith. Speakers will include Matushka Mariamni Fortunatto (London), Rev Thomas Hopko (New York), Dr Anestis Kessoulopoulos (Thessaloniki) and Rev John Jillions (Cambridge), and others.

For further information, contact info@imd.gr or
visit www.i-m-dimitriados.gr