Annual Meeting

OTSA meets each year. Usually, the location alternates between Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, Massachusetts and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, New York. On occasion, the annual meeting of OTSA has been held in Chicago as well. The sessions of the annual meeting are generally open to the public, unless the meeting planners decide to close a particular session. The business meeting of the society is for members only.

2024 Annual Meeting at Holy Cross

The OTSA 2024 Annual Meeting found us back on the Campus of HCHC, at the Maliotis Center. This location was especially appropriate for us this year as OTSA sought to remember and recognize its founding by faculty members of the theological schools of Holy Cross and St. Vladimir’s. The Florovsky Lecture for the first time was honored to have four eminent retired faculty of Holy Cross and founding members of OTSA share their thoughts through presentations and discussion.

We gathered June 6-8, 2024 to explore the theme of “Who am I? Who are we? Orthodox Christian Tradition and Questions of Identity.” While the majority of attendees were in person, we welcomed a few members who joined through remote participation. After a brief welcome by our President, we explored the topic of identity through a kaleidoscope of various perspectives. Beginning with an inward focus on human vulnerability and its consequences, and the dynamics of personal identity, we shifted to studies that took up the theme through patristic texts, and then moved to papers reflecting on Orthodox identity, tradition and nationalism. After worshipping at Vespers (officiated by Fr Calivas) and sharing dinner together, we spent the evening discovering ways in which intersectional thinking could widen the understanding of identity.

In our second day of the conference, we began with a short prayer service, and then turned to the various connections between liturgy, prayer, worship, monastic life and identity. After our break for fellowship and lunch, we continued with topics swirling about Orthodox identity, territory, Episcopacy, multiculturalism, and Ukrainian identity.  This concluded the papers for the day, as we then took some time to introduce and welcome prospective new members, who spoke briefly about themselves, before moving to the Annual Business meeting.

The OTSA Business meeting began with President Teva Regule recounting the many initiatives undertaken by OTSA in 2023-4, beginning with a recap of our meeting in Volos and participation in the IOTA Conference. She noted that in our business meeting of 2023 we had decided to establish a working group on Orthodox –Jewish Dialogue, and explained that this was enacted, under the direction of Fr. Geoffrey Ready, and has been progressing through various steps. In addition, OTSA supported another key working group, on Mixed Marriages, led by Fr Anthony Roeber. Later in the business meeting we heard reports from both these working groups. Other highlights of the meeting included mention of our member directory, expansion of our Newsletter to include a section on members’ news, and our new initiative of member “profiles,” which outline members’ areas of research and interest so as to facilitate the exchange of ideas and foster collaboration among members.  We learned that we are current with all the many reports required by the Assembly of Bishops, including our annual audit and report of our workings. We discussed the need to develop an investment policy and a change in the by-laws to reflect this policy, and our finance committee was tasked in this coming year to address this.

We then voted on and welcomed to OTSA these new members

  • Rev Fr Peter Avgeropoulos (Full membership) is Professor of Patrology and Orthodoxy at the Patriarchal Toronto Orthodox Theological Academy, and is Director of Inter-Church and Inter-Orthodox Relations for the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada.
  • Mark Chenoweth (Full membership) is ABD in his PhD at the Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge, and is adjunct professor of theology at St. John’s University in Jamaica, NY.
  • Courtney Haubert (Associate membership) is pursuing her MTS at Harvard Divinity School, concentrating in Religion, Literature, and Culture, and her Certificate in Religion and Public Life, concentrating in Education.
  • Michael Kooy (Full membership), DPhil, is currently an Investment Advisor at the Royal Bank of Canada, and was Associate Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, University of Warwick, UK.
  • Inga Leonova (Full membership) is a practicing architect and educator, and founder and editor-in-chief of The Wheel, the quarterly journal of Orthodox theology and culture.
  • Alexander Mihailovic (Full membership), PhD in Slavic Languages and Literature, has taught as Visiting Professor at Bennington College, Brown University and Williams College.
  • Chase Montague (Full membership), PhD in Theology and Religion, has developed multiple courses in early Christian theology, practice and liturgy, and is Director of Religious Education, Orthodox Church of St. Stephen the Protomartyr, Longwood, FL
  • Tom Papademetriou (Full membership), PhD in Near Eastern Studies and Ottoman History, is Professor of Historical Studies, Constantine & Georgiean Georgiou Endowed Professor of Greek History, and Director, Dean C. and Zoë S. Pappas Interdisciplinary Center for Hellenic Studies of Stockton University.
  • Nicholas Roumas (Full membership), PhD in Religious Studies, is Adjunct Professor at Hellenic College and Instructor in the School of Byzantine Music.
  • Peter Schadler (Full membership), DPhil in History, is Assistant Professor of Religion at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.

We also approved the new roster of OTSA officers:
Fr John Jillions, President
Fr Bogdan Bucur, Vice President
Helen Theodoropoulos, Secretary
Fr Peter Baktis, Treasurer
Fr Geoffrey Ready, Assistant Treasurer
James Skedros, Associate Treasurer
Teva Regule, Immediate Past President.

Retiring from their positions with our deepest appreciation and gratitude are Fr Nik Ferencz (Treasurer) and Teva Regule (President). On behalf of us all, Fr John Jillions thanked Teva for her many years of faithful, dedicated service and outstanding leadership, and honored her with a gift and card signed by all attendees. After the conclusion of the business meeting we gathered to offer a memorial service for all OTSA members who had reposed this past year. Dinner followed, and we were treated to a delicious, home-cooked buffet of foods prepared for us by wonderful and generous volunteers.

Florovsky Lecture

The 2024 Florovsky Lecture was unique and remarkable this year, consisting of a panel of four distinguished retired Holy Cross professors and founding members of OTSA:  Rev. Dr. Alkiviadis Calivas (Professor Emeritus of Liturgics, Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology [HCHC]); Rev. Dr. George Papademetriou (Professor Emeritus of Dogmatics, HCHC); Dr. Lewis Patsavos (Professor Emeritus of Canon Law, HCHC); and Rev. Dr. Theodore Stylianopoulos (Professor Emeritus of New Testament, HCHC). They shared their thoughts on the beginnings of OTSA, and through the lens of their various disciplines, offered their reflections on the changes in Orthodox Theology over the past several decades. We are pleased to now make available and share with you the recording of those presentations.


Past Meeting Archives