Orthodox Christianity and Islam: Dialogues and Discourses

Nikolaos Adamou – 11/3/17

On Thursday, March 9, 2017 the Solon Society, the Hellenic Cultural Society of Long Island in cooperation with the AHEPA Constantine Cassis Chapter 170, hosted Dr. Angeliki Ziaka, Associate Professor of Theology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and Visiting Fellow at the Middle East and Islamic Studies at Columbia University for a lecture at the Hellenic Room of St. Paul’s Cathedral in Hempstead NY. The topic of the lecture was “Orthodox Christianity and Islam: Dialogues and Discourses.”

Prof. Angeliki Ziaka’s lecture focused on the historical, ecclesiastical, and academic dialogues between Orthodox Christianity and Islam from the 8th century to the present. She presented the diachronic overview of the discourses, the controversies and polemics between the two religious traditions, organized along three main axes. She sketched the historical context and the theological terms with which the Eastern Roman world met and tried to interpret and classify Islam. She outlined the ambivalent relations and writings between subjugate Orthodoxy and Islam during the long Ottoman period. Finally, Dr. Ziaka suggested a possible agenda for an academic dialogue to foster mutual understanding between the two religions.

Source:
Nikolaos Adamou