22 May, 2021
Dear Fathers and Friends,
CHRIST IS RISEN!
Register now for the Mixed Marriages Online Seminar, “The Two Become One? Mixed Marriages in the Orthodox Church,” Saturday, May 29, 1–3 pm EDT. Panelists are Fr. Anthony Roeber, Dr. Vigen Guroian, Deacon Nicholas Denysenko, and Dr. Despina Prassas. This pressing topic is of wide interest and we encourage you to invite everyone to attend. The registration link is: https://www.otsamerica.net/rsvpmaker/mixed-marriages/ and a flier for you to post and share is attached. Once registered, you will receive the Zoom information for the seminar. All attendees are eligible for a 20% discount on the purchase of Fr. Roeber’s book on the topic, Mixed Marriages: An Orthodox History, published by SVS Press.
We remind you of the ongoing sermon series “Orthodox Scholars Preach,” offered by The Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University, in partnership with the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Several members of OTSA are participating in this series. The sermons are available on the Center’s YouTube channel, and a list (with links) of speakers and sermons that have aired can be found at the OTSA newsletter page.
Annual Meeting: We are in the process of planning our annual meeting and are asking for feedback from members about this year’s topic. Suggestions that came out of our last general business meeting include reflections on
- The Social Ethos of the Orthodox Church document
- Mixed and Inter-faith Marriages
- Resolving Conflict among the Orthodox Churches
- Bioethics and Orthodoxy
- Other? Please suggest!
Please send your thoughts about these topics, or others you feel we should consider, either to Teva: teva@mit.edu, or Helen: helen60076@yahoo.com
From your officers: We are working diligently at completing the necessary requirements to incorporate as a non-profit in Massachusetts, and to achieve federal 501(3)(c) status. This is, in part, to meet the new requirements set by the Assembly of Bishops for its Affiliated Associations. Also required are annual reports, which we are working to submit.
Recognizing our Members
The following have recently come to our attention. Please submit updates for future newsletters.
Scott Kenworthy has co-authored the recently published book, Understanding World Christianity: Russia Nadia Kizenko, a noted scholar of Russian Orthodoxy, offers this quick review:
It’s not often when you get a book to review that you read it and say: not only will I assign this gem to students, I must buy several copies for my nephews and nieces, with my own money, RIGHT NOW. You may think you know the Russian Orthodox Christian tradition pretty well. You probably do. But I guarantee you have never read a account of its 20th and 21st century experience in particular as comprehensive, accessible, and profoundly empathetic as this one. And, at a modest $29 (less 30% through June from the *publisher*, making it $20!), you can get one for yourself as well. Scott Kenworthy, Alex Agadjanian—you know all the trees in the forest, so many that it would be easy to get lost in every rare branch. Instead you give us a map that is *essential* for anyone who wants to better understand both Russia and Orthodoxy today—and a wonderfully written read. I bow!
Congratulations to Rev. Dr. Bogdan Bucer for receiving the St. Macrina Award for Excellence in Teaching selected each year by the students at St. Vladimir’s Seminary.
Dues reminder: Please remember to submit your 2021 dues. Your membership enables OTSA to continue its work of scholarly reflection on matters crucial to the life of the Church. You can pay online here. If, for some reason, you need to send a check instead of using PayPal, please send your check to Fr. Gabriel Rochelle, P.O Box 540, Mesilla NM 88046.
Respectfully submitted,
Teva Regule, PhD, OTSA President
Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos, PhD, OTSA Secretary