Eighth Day Symposium focuses on Dostoevsky’s works

By Annie Calovich -The Wichita Eagle

20/1/13

Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky will be the focus of this year’s Eighth Day Symposium, Jan. 25 and Jan. 26 at St. George Orthodox Cathedral in Wichita.

The symposium, in its third year, is sponsored by Eighth Day Institute, a non-profit effort to renew culture through faith and learning. The event drew about 250 people last year from eight states, and is being expanded this year, with two full days of talks, a banquet, and an iconography workshop from Jan. 27 to Jan. 30.

Baylor professor Ralph Wood will give keynote lectures on “Living the Iconic Life: Dostoevsky’s ‘The Brothers Karamazov’ ” and “Flannery O’Connor, Fyodor Dostoevsky and the Byzantine Icon of Christ Pantocrator.” Other speakers and their topics will include poet and University of Missouri professor Scott Cairns, “St. Isaak in ‘The Brothers Karamazov;’ ” Martin Cothran, managing editor of The Classical Teacher, “Tolstoy or Dostoevsky?” and “Who Killed Anna Karenina: Tolstoy or ‘Hollywood?’ ” and John Hodges of the Center for Western Studies, “From Dusk to Dawn: A Guided Journey Through Rachmaninoff’s A Capella ‘All-Night Vigil.’ ”

The cost of the symposium is $35 per day or $65 for both days; snacks and lunch are included. Registration is required, at the website  www.eighthdayinstitute.com, by calling 316-573-8413, or in person at Eighth Day Books, 2838 E. Douglas. The cathedral is at 7515 E. 13th St.

The banquet on Friday night at 6:30 will feature a sit-down dinner, music by the St. Petersburg String Quartet from Russia, hymns by the St. George Cathedral Choir, and brief reflections by symposium speakers. The cost is $35, and reservations are due by Tuesday at the website or phone number above.