First American Orthodox Historical Symposium to be Held at Princeton University

The Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas (SOCHA) is pleased to announce:

Friday, September 30 – Saturday, October 1, 2011
Princeton Theological Seminary

Click here for more information or to register

This symposium will examine some of the people and movements that contributed to the growth of Orthodox Christianity in 20th century America. We will pay special attention to the role of missionaries, immigration and conversion, the emergence of Orthodox theological scholarship in English, and Orthodox engagement in American civic and political life.

Interested scholars and members of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas (SOCHA) are invited to submit abstracts of papers related to the symposium’s theme(s), which will also be considered for publication in the symposium’s proceedings. Abstracts should be submitted via e-mail to Fr. Oliver Herbel no later than June 1, 2011. All abstracts will be reviewed by a committee comprised of leadership from the symposium’s co-sponsors.

The event is co-sponsored by the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas (SOCHA), the School of Christian Vocation and Mission at Princeton Theological Seminary, and the Fr. Georges Florovsky Orthodox Christian Theological Society at Princeton University.

Featured Lecturers

Fr. Demetrios J. Constantelos, Ph.D., D.D., is a retired presbyter of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, and the Charles Cooper Townsend Sr. Professor Emeritus of History and Religious Studies, and Distinguished Research Scholar in Residence at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, N.J. He is the author of numerous scholarly publications and the series editor of the collected works of Archbishop Iakovos Koukouzis, whose legacy of leadership in the public sphere Fr. Demetrios will discuss in his lecture.

Fr. Oliver Herbel, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Society for Orthodox Christian History in the Americas (SOCHA). In addition to a forthcoming book on St. Sarapion of Thmuis, Fr. Oliver has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals, mainly focused on American Orthodox history. He is currently editing his dissertation under the new title Creative Converts: How Intra-Christian Converts to Orthodoxy Imagine Their Conversions. Fr. Oliver’s lecture will focus on several Greek clergymen who served in the early Russian Mission.

Scott M. Kenworthy, Ph.D., is associate professor of comparative religion at Miami University, Ohio. He is the author of The Heart of Russia: Trinity-Sergius, Monasticism and Society After 1825 (Oxford University Press, 2010), as well as several book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals, mainly focusing on Russian and Russian American history. His lecture will examine the life and legacy of St. Tikhon Bellavin.

Matthew J. Baker is currently a Ph.D. student at Fordham University, where he is pursuing research focused on the thought of Fr. Georges Florovsky. His articles have recently been published in International Journal of Systematic Theology and Participatio: The Journal of the Thomas F. Torrance Theological Fellowship. His lecture will examine the influence of Fr. Florovsky and his contemporaries.

Source: