Pan-Orthodox Conference – “Renewing the Male and Female Diaconate in the Orthodox Church”

SVOTS – St. Phoebe Center – June 2017

October 6, 2017 – October 7, 2017
St. Paul Greek Orthodox Church
4949 Alton Parkway
Irvine, CA 92604

This Pan-Orthodox Conference—dedicated to examining diaconal ministry in the Orthodox Church—will include among its presenters one trustee, two professors, and two alumni from St Vladimir’s Seminary. In four sessions, participants will hear a variety of presentations on: (1) the present state of the diaconate; (2) ways men and women are engaged in diaconal ministry today; (3) opportunities to engage with both clergy and faithful on the rejuvenation of the male and female diaconate; and (4) current challenges and future possibilities of the diaconate for the building up of the body of Christ.  For more information or to download a flier, visit the St. Phoebe Center website.

Short bios of presenters associated with St. Vladimir’s Seminary

Reverend Protodeacon Peter Danilchick, while working for corporations overseas, spent almost half of his forty years of diaconal service in parishes in Japan, Singapore, Australia, Germany, and Hong Kong. His book, Thy Will Be Done: Strategic Leadership, Planning, and Management for Christians, includes a chapter entitled, “Service: Leadership of the Deacon.” He is a deacon in the Orthodox Church in America and a member of the Secretariat of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the USA, and a Trustee of St. Vladimir’s Seminary.

Archpriest Father Alexander Rentel, S.E.O.D., assistant professor of Canon Law and Byzantine Studies and The John and Paraskeva Skvir Lecturer in Practical Theology at St. Vladimir’s, completed his doctoral work at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, and most recently participated in the meeting of Orthodox Scholars at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in January 2016. [left]

Priest Anthony Gregg Roeber, Ph.D., is Spiritual Advisor for the annual Antiochian Deacons Retreat, Professor Emeritus at Penn State University, and Visiting Professor of Church History at St. Vladimir’s. He received B.A. and M.A degrees from the University of Denver and he holds a second M.A. and Ph.D. from Brown University. He also completed an M.A. in Orthodox Theology from the Antiochian House of Studies and the University of Balamand in Lebanon. Father Anthony served as a deacon for eight years prior to his ordination to the priesthood. [right]

Alumnus Reverend Deacon Nicholas Denysenko, Ph.D., is the Director of the Huffington, Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, where he also holds the position of Associate Professor of Theological Studies, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts. He is the author of “A Liturgical Theology of Primacy” in the volume Primacy in the Church: The Office of Primate and the Authority of Councils. Deacon Nicholas received his doctoral degree from The Catholic University of America and has taught at The Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

Alumna Clio Pavlantos, M.A., C.M.A., M.Div. and B.C.C., will serve as a panelist discussing chaplaincy in the session “Serving the Body of Christ: Men and Women Engaged in Diaconal Work Today”. She is currently Staff Chaplain serving the outpatient Breast and Imaging Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City; the first chaplain there posted to outpatient care. She received her M.Div. from St. Vladimir’s Seminary, and holds Greek Orthodox Archdiocese chaplain endorsement.

Download a flyer.

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