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From Dec. 5-6, the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies and Huffington Ecumenical Institute will host a conference entitled “Rebooting Ecumenism: New Paradigms for the 21st Century.” The event will take place at Jesus College in Cambridge, England, and will allow virtual participation as well.

The conference is also organized with support from The Anglican & Eastern Churches Association, The Nikaean Ecumenical Trust and The Fellowship of St Alban & St Sergius.

The conference description is as follows:

“The aim of this conference is to explore potential new paradigms, or indeed revisit old models, in order to ensure a more fruitful and dynamic ecumenical dialogue for today and for the future. It attempts to make a contribution to bringing ecumenism back to the fore of all theological discourse, an ecumenism, however, that is tailored for our modern reality in the digital era of accelerated globalization. Therefore, this conference seeks to explore novel models of perceiving or conceiving ecumenism, from historical to contemporary paradigms, from theological to ecclesiological or pastoral designs, and from spirituality to methodology.

In the face of today’s growing conflicts and divisions, we are called once again to make ecumenism a priority for all Christian denominations worldwide, just like churches and theologians around the world did soon after World War II, as they embraced the idea of ecumenism with drive and enthusiasm in the genuine spirit of post-war humility and repentance. The same as in those fraught times, unity and the ethos of true Christianity appear today as existential, post-traumatic necessities, and theology needs to treat them once again as priorities. The original impetus of the ‘golden age’ of ecumenism of the 20th century sadly lost its strength and the ecumenical movement found itself in an impasse by the end of the century. It is increasingly clear, however, that our current times compel us to rediscover our essential ecumenical drive.

This will be a two-day conference, with five talks per day, between 9 am and 6.30 pm – with coffee breaks in between sessions, and a longer lunch break in the middle. Talks at this event are expected to be about 30 minutes in length and they will be followed by discussions (involving participants both onsite and online).”

Confirmed speakers include:

  • Rt. Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams (former Archbishop of Canterbury)
  • Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin (University of Vienna)
  • Prof. Paul Murray (Durham University)
  • Rev. Prof Andrew Louth (Durham University)
  • Prof. David Fergusson (University of Cambridge)
  • Rev. Prof. Cyril Hovorun (Huffington Institute, Loyola University)
  • Prof. John Milbank (University of Nottingham)
  • Prof. Peter Bouteneff (St Vladimir’s Theological Seminary)
  • Prof. Tamara Grdzelidze (Ilia State University, Tbilisi)
  • Prof. Hans-Peter Großhans (University of Münster)

Find more information or register for the conference here.

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