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Important issues Δελτία Τύπου Official visit of the Volos Academy in Phanar
Important issues Δελτία Τύπου Official visit of the Volos Academy in Phanar | Official visit of the Volos Academy in Phanar |
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A delegation of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies of the Holy Metropolis of Demetrias, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius and the Director of the Academy, Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis, recently completed an official visit to the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Phanar. The delegation included: a) members of the Academy’s Board of Directors: Rev Dr Gregorios Papathomas (Professor at the Theological School of Athens, at St Sergius Institute in Paris, and President of the European Forum of Orthodox Schools of Theology), Rev Dr Demetrios Bathrellos (Lecturer at the Hellenic Open University and Visiting Lecturer at the Orthodox Institute in Cambridge, priest of the Holy Metropolis of Mesogaia and Lavreotiki), Rev Dr Christos Chachamidis (priest of the Holy Metropolis of Demetrias), Mr. Stavros Zoumboulakis (Director of the journal Nea Hestia and President of the Foundation “Artos Zois”); b) members of the Volos Academy’s academic team: Dr. Eleni Kasselouri-Hatzivassiliadis (Lecturer at the Hellenic Open University), Dr. Haralambos Ventis, Apostolos Barlos, Mth, Vaso Gogou, Nikolaos Asproulis, MTh, Anastasia Gkitsi, MTh; and c) a member of the Secretariat, Ms. Valila Giannoutaki.
The visit occurred in
the wake of a very interesting and relevant conference, which was
organized by the World Council of Churches and the Academy for
Theological Studies in Volos, from 19-23 June 2011, and which examined,
through many notable presentations, the presence and witness of
Christians in Middle East. The visit coincided with the beginning of the
Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; His All-Holiness
noted, in his letter of reply to the Most Reverend Metropolitan of
Demetrias, that the date of the visit was selected “for the purpose of
your interaction also with members of the Holy Synod.”
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On Sunday, July 3, the delegation participated in the divine liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary Koumariotissa of Neochorion on the Bosporus, where they were warmly welcomed by the members of the local ecclesiastical community, while Monday, July 4, 2011, the Academy’s delegation visited the “Zografeio Middle School-High School, where they were received and given a tour by the director, Mr. Ioannis Demirtzoglou.
.jpg "zograf_(1).jpg") The director of the Volos Academy, Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis, offered on behalf of the Academy a full range of publications for Zografeio’s library. Then, together with the director of Zografeio, Mr. Ioannis Demirtzoglou, they gave a telephone interview with the journalist Mr. Nikos Varalis, director of the radio station of the Holy Metropolis of Demetrias, “Orthodox Witness.” In the interview, the director of Zografeio presented the problems and challenges facing the Greek community in Constantinople today, and also highlighted the efforts to maintain the presence of Hellenism and Orthodoxy there; he also emphasized the Ecumenical Patriarch’s constant and vigilant interest in the education of the Greeks who remain there. In the afternoon of the same day, the members of the delegation visited the Holy Theological School of Halki, where they were received by those in charge. The well-known problem of reopening the school has been discussed widely, given the existence of repeated promises from the Turkish side and the minimum steps that have been made for the implementation and realization of this vision. His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias, the director of the Academy, members of the Board and colleagues of the Academy, after taking a tour of the school and the main church of the monastery, offered to the library a complete collection of the publications of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies and wholeheartedly prayed for the efforts to reopen the school to soon bear fruit.  At midday on Tuesday, July 5, 2011, Metropolitan Ignatius and Fr. Gregory Papathomas attended the patriarchal banquet, while that afternoon the Academy’s delegation, headed by Metropolitan Ignatius, was received by His All-Holiness, the Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in the presence of members of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Patriarchate.In his address to the Ecumenical Patriarch, His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias emphasized the very close link between the Church and theology and stressed the need for the existence of a lively and open theological discussion, which, without being the Church’s official preaching, nevertheless brings its reflection, findings, and overall dialogue to the attention of the shepherds of the Church in order to contribute to the continual relevance of the evangelical message. In this vein, he stated, among other things, that: “The presence of a delegation of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies here today, in this holy and crucified center of Orthodoxy, is a great honor and bears particular significance, first because not only the Church of Greece but also the whole Orthodox Church is reaping the fruits of the Academy’s scholarly activity, as Your All-Holiness pointed out in your message sent at the beginning of the Academy’s recent international conference on the Christians of the Middle East; and secondly, because our Academy is serving the dialogue and reconciliation in Christ, in which our Ecumenical Patriarchate serves as the pioneer with Your All-Holiness’ inspiring and charismatic leadership.”  The director of the Volos Academy, Dr. Pantelis Kalaitzidis, after briefly surveying the Academy’s work, goals, and future plans, spoke about the recent conference about Christians in the Middle East, noting that about 30 contributors (theologians, social scientists, politicians, and ecclesiastical representatives), who gathered in Volos on June 19-23, 2011, asked Metropolitan Ignatius and the staff of the Academy, during their visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to convey to His All-Holiness the findings and discussions at the conference, as well as the participants’ desire to help, in whatever way the Holy Center of Orthodoxy deems most appropriate, in the complete and successful organization of the upcoming Assembly of Orthodox Patriarchs and Primates of the East at the Phanar.Dr. Kalaitzidis, referring to the Academy’s broad range of work, noted that: “All these years, the Volos Academy —an ecclesiastical and theological institution— has functioned critically and in dialogue both with the outside secular academia as well as with the institutional Church and academic theology. However, its critical and prophetic function has not always been well received, and in fact has many times been misunderstood and disparaged. Of course, inevitably, mistakes have been made. None of us Orthodox can claim infallibility. The Academy, however, is open to the broader society of citizens and concerned believers, and has sought dialogue with them, hoping both that theology can overcome its alienation from the ecclesiastical body, and that it can come out from the peculiar insulation which so often characterizes it, from its inability to dialogue with academia and the contemporary world. Thus, with our limited abilities, the Academy for Theological Studies has contributed to the potential renewal of theological thought both in Greece and in the broader Orthodox world.  It has restored to the center of the theological discussion the eschatological identity of the Church; it has attempted, probably for the first time in the Orthodox world, a systematic dialogue with modernity, evaluating the latter not with the criteria of protology, but in light of an eschatologically oriented theology; the same theological perspective also inspired the attempt to discuss the issues of renewal and reform in Orthodoxy; it also grappled with issues of gender and political theology, recalling the deeply Christological, not secular or merely social, nature of these engagements; it has also pointed out the pitfalls of an ahistorical approach to Tradition and the Fathers and posited the question of their contextual reading; it has endeavored to formulate a systematic critique both of ecclesiastical nationalism as well as religious fundamentalism, shedding light, theologically, on their impasses; it has undertaken a critical encounter with the theological generation of the 60s, which has been so important in the Greek milieu; it has demonstrated the dead-ends of anti-westernism, and ventured a new, sober approach to the relationship between Orthodoxy and the Enlightenment; it began a dialogue with Islam, as well as with the other Christian traditions, becoming in this way a frequent target of the extreme zealot and fundamentalist groups in Greece, which reject dialogue with the contemporary world and which see only an introverted, besieged and continually defensive Orthodoxy, a vision which finds no basis in Orthodoxy’s texts, Tradition, or current practice throughout the world.  Echoing your own openness, Your All-Holiness, the Volos Academy has sought and succeeded in cooperating with dozens of institutions inside and outside Greece, and indeed since the academic year 2009-2010, it has even organized conferences and events outside the Greek milieu (France, Romania, Bulgaria, etc.), thus bearing witness to the vitality and renewed dynamism of Greek-speaking theology.” He concluded with the following words addressed to His All-Holiness: “We are pleased and feel particularly honored and blessed, Your All-Holiness, inasmuch as the Academy’s reception today at the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, at the Phanar, demonstrates that you appreciate its work and its contribution, that you perceive the need for a theology rooted in tradition while also being rejuvenating and open to the challenges of the times.” In his reply, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew thanked, first of all, His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius and the staff of the Academy for their visit to the Phanar and repeated his expression of patriarchal contentment with and confidence in both the institution and the persons employed at the Academy. He recalled then the rich theological contribution of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies both in the Greek and in the pan-Orthodox arena, without neglecting to also highlight the bonds between the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Volos Academy as well as the deeper communion of spirit that distinguishes the two institutions. He emphasized, among other things, that the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as the Mother Church, spiritually supports every pioneering effort that contributes to and promotes the dialogue of theology with the contemporary world and its problems and challenges, particularly when this effort combines theological study and research with the ecclesiastical ethos and experience. His All-Holiness also referred in his reply to the Academy’s recent conference on Christians in the Middle East, which he characterized as a “precursor” to the Assembly of Orthodox Patriarchs and Primates of the East, which, at the initiative of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, will take place at the Phanar in late August/the beginning of September. He shared with those present his hope and longing for the reopening of the Theological School of Halki, looking forward to future cooperation with the Academy of Volos. He praised His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius and the staff of the Academy for their commitment to the renewed theological vision that they serve, humbly setting aside the attacks of extreme conservative circles, the same groups that are permanently targeting the work and activities of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and renewed his support and confidence that the Patriarchate and he personally will continue to provide to the Volos Academy, blessing the work on which much hope is based. The podium was then given to His Eminence Metropolitan of Pergamon John (Zizioulas) , who consistently attends the conferences of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies as a speaker and in whose honor the Academy will hold a special event (reception as a Fellow) and an international conference October 28-30, 2011. The Metropolitan of Pergamon, after lauding the Academy’s rejuvenating theological work, expressed his belief that its contribution will be noted and appreciated by future historians, noting the important role that Orthodoxy is called to play in the 21st century, against the trends of introversion and insulation, responding to the various urgent contemporary theological questions and challenges, such as those of bioethics. According to the Metropolitan of Pergamon, Orthodox theology, which is an ecumenical and catholic theology, should not be afraid of dialogue, but should dialogue with boldness, offering its dynamic and prophetic word. Metropolitan John emphasized that, despite the hostility that it receives, the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, with its initiatives and activities, has shown that this is not only necessary but also feasible, especially when they who serve the theology and the Church of Christ have faith, vision, deep knowledge of the biblical and patristic tradition, and willingness to articulate theology in a contemporary and rejuvenating way. And the Ecumenical Patriarchate is in this case the most natural place for such a theology, because the Ecumenical Patriarchate is the embodiment of universality and catholicity, living with dialogue because that is its nature and ministry. And this is a point on which the Volos Academy and the Ecumenical Patriarchate converge, giving hope for overcoming the crisis that characterizes Orthodox theology, both in Greece and the Orthodox world at large.   At the end of the meeting, after the cordial discussion that followed the official addresses, gifts were exchanged between the Volos Academy and His All Holiness, while the academics and members of the Board presented His All-holiness and the bishops of the Synod with the Academy’s books and publications. His All-Holiness was also given a watercolor by Ms. Vaso Gogou (from the Academy’s training team) depicting the Angel of the Lord, an original work from the material used to decorate the second grade of the middle school’s religious textbooks.  
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