November 2021 Newsletter

Posted on by OTSA Administrator

November 22, 2021
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Dear Fathers and Friends,

A blessed Advent to all!

The upcoming month of December brings with it a few deadlines for our annual meeting in January, and we would like to remind you of these and encourage your participation in what promises to be an interesting and engaging exchange of ideas. Please note:

  • OTSA 2021 ANNUAL MEETING WILL BE HELD JANUARY 13-15, 2022. The meeting will be entirely online. Please mark your calendars and register now.
  • Annual Meeting Registration: Registration for the meeting is now available on the OTSA webpage at: https://www.otsamerica.net/2021-annual-meeting/. All attendees must register. Because we have shifted to the online format, members who are current in their dues will register at no cost (dues will function as the registration fee), and members not current in dues, or those who are not members and want to attend, will have a $30.00 registration charge. Because our meeting is now scheduled for January 13-15, 2022, dues from 2021 will be operative through those dates, and new dues for 2022 will not be necessary until January 16, 2022.

    This is a great time to become current in your OTSA dues for 2021! You can do so here: https://www.otsamerica.net/pay-dues/
  • Call for papers/panels—Deadline extended to Dec. 1: The change in dates for our annual meeting also extends the deadline for proposals for papers and panel. The new deadline is December 1st, 2021. Please send proposals to Teva Regule at teva@mit.edu and/or Helen Theodoropoulos (helen60076@yahoo.com). Proposals for both papers and panels include an abstract of less than 250 words and an abbreviated CV of the presenter(s). Presenters of papers have 20 minutes to give their paper and an additional 10 minutes for Q&A.
  • Call for Panels: Please consider putting together or participating on a panel for the conference. Panels run for approximately an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes and include brief presentations of about 7-10 minutes by three or four people, leaving about half the time for discussion. If you have begun to assemble a panel, please contact Teva teva@mit.edu or Helen helen60076@yahoo.com regarding the status and contact person for the panel. Please submit a brief abstract explaining the topic of the panel, and a list of panelists with brief bios for each. Please note that some of the panels described in previous newsletters have been filled. Those still open and in the process of formation include the following:
    • Reflections on portions of the Social Ethos Document, “For the Life of the World”: Contact: Teva Regule (teva@mit.edu)
  • The Florovsky Lecture, offered this year by Very Rev Dr. John J. Jillions, will be via the Zoom meeting format, and entitled: “Preserve the Fullness of Thy Church:” Fighting Fundamentalism, Defending Dialogue, and Reclaiming Catholicity. A separate registration and link for this lecture are forthcoming. The lecture, held in conjunction with the OTSA annual meeting, is free and open to all, and will be on Friday evening, January 14, 2022.

    Very Rev Dr. John A Jillions is a Research Fellow and the founding Principal of the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (Cambridge, UK). He is the former Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America, and served as Associate Professor of Theology at Saint Paul University in Ottawa, Associate Professor of Religion and Culture at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, and as adjunct instructor at Fordham University. Fr. John is a priest of the Orthodox Church in America, and has published numerous scholarly and popular articles.
  • OTSA Small Grants: OTSA provides seed money and/or small grants for Orthodox initiatives. Through these grants, OTSA seeks to help and support the mission of Orthodox associations and initiatives with the greater purpose of building up the body of Christ. Applicants for a grant should provide a proposal, which includes a short description of the project/initiative (~300 words), information about the requesting organization, and the funding request amount. The deadline for application for grants for this year is December 15.  Send grant requests to Helen (helen60076@yahoo.com).
  • On November 11 and 12, 2021, St. Vladimir’s Seminary hosted His Eminence, Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) and several noted biblical scholars for a two-day event, Searching the Scriptures. The event drew nearly 600 people from twenty-four countries around the world who attended either in person or online. The lectures and discussions celebrated Metropolitan Hilarion’s New Testament scholarship and six-volume work Jesus Christ: His Life and Teaching (SVS Press). Several OTSA members offered presentations, including Drs. John Barnet, Bruce Beck, Edith Humphrey, and James Buchanan Wallace. An extensive recap of the event, and links to the lectures is found here.
  • SVOTS is seeking to hire a full-time faculty position in Biblical Studies. Details can be found at https://www.svots.edu/headlines/svots-launches-search-hire-professor-biblical- studies
  • We welcome interested scholars to apply for OTSA membership. Applications for membership must be received a month prior to our annual meeting. This year the deadline for new membership application is December 15, 2021. (Please note: those who have applied for membership and are waiting for the final vote at the annual business meeting are still eligible to attend and present at the annual meeting. As provisional members, they are able to attend at no cost).

Best wishes to all for a blessed Happy Thanksgiving.

Respectfully submitted,
Teva Regule, PhD, OTSA President
Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos, PhD, OTSA Secretary