December 21, 2021
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Dear Fathers and Friends,
Christ is Born! Glorify Him!
Greetings to all at this most joyous time.
- We are looking forward to coming together for our annual meeting soon after the turn of the New Year, with the shift of our 2021 Annual Meeting to January 13-15, 2022: “Orthodoxy in a Pluralistic World.” This year’s meeting has generated much interest, and has attracted the participation of many excellent presenters and distinguished panelists. Indeed, in order to accommodate the number of excellent presentations, please note that we extended the meeting from previous years, so that it begins Thursday morning and continues through Saturday early afternoon. We encourage you to register now, and invite others to join us, since non-members can also register and participate for a very modest fee, (the meeting is free to members current in their dues). The meeting will be entirely virtual, with zoom links sent to registered attendees.
- The Schedule for the Annual Meeting is attached to this newsletter. A quick look through the panels and presentations reveals a wide range of ways in which this year’s topic is addressed. There are panels dealing with ecumenical issues, others taking on modern science and our Orthodox faith, and still others that look to the ways people struggle with having faith in the modern world or how to practice that faith today. Papers exhibit a similar diversity of perspectives around the main theme, with attention to ancient texts, modern media, and global interactions.
- 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. Students and retired attendees pay a reduced fee of $15.00. 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!
- The Florovsky Lecture, “‘Preserving the Fullness of Thy Church’: Fighting Fundamentalism, Defending Dialogue and Reclaiming Catholicity” is offered this year by Very Rev Dr. John J. Jillions. The lecture, held in conjunction with the OTSA annual meeting, will be on Friday evening, January 14, 2022, from 7:30-9:00 pm (EST). Attached to this email is the flyer for the lecture; please post this and share widely.
- Registration for the Florovsky Lecture: The Florovsky lecture is free and open to all, but all who attend must register in order to receive the zoom link for the lecture. Registration for the Florovsky lecture is separate from that of the general meeting. You can register now at https://www.otsamerica.net/rsvpmaker/2021-22-florovsky-lecture/
- OTSA Business Meeting: We would like to bring your attention to two new matters that we will address at the annual business meeting (held on the afternoon of January 14, 2022, from 3:30-5:00 pm). These are:
- The proposal that we offer lifetime membership for members who have retired aged 70 years and over; this would be available for a modest one-time fee.
- A proposal that our next annual meeting be held in conjunction with the quadrennial IOTA conference planned for January 2023 in Volos, Greece.
Respectfully submitted,
Teva Regule, PhD, OTSA President
Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos, PhD, OTSA Secretary