A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY
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| Volume 6 Number 27 - Tuesday, July 6th, 2004 |
A Publication of the ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN LAITY |
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PAOI’s First "Summer Institute" a Success Berkeley, CA - The Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute held its first "Summer Institute" June 16-19, 2004. Twenty-five participants from all over the San Francisco Bay Area, representing Greek, OCA, Antiochian, and Serbian jurisdictions, as well as students from the Graduate Theological Union spent three and a half days participating in an intensive series of courses. Dr. Valerie Karras taught the first course, "Women in the Church." This class closely examined the record and documents of the early and the Byzantine Church on women, ranging from the lives of early women saints to liturgical texts involving female deacons. Students read the lives of Saints Thekla, Felicitas and Perpetua and others. They examined the ministries of women in the early Church, including the order of widows, the deacon, and others. Dr. Karras is a Research Associate at Thesaurus Lingua Grecae at the University of California, Irvine. Karras is well known for her work in Church History and Patristics, with publications in the journal Church History as well as forthcoming book on the liturgical participation of women in the Byzantine Church from Oxford University Press. Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis taught the second course, "The Desert and the City" over two days. This course studied the lives of the Desert Fathers, their writings, their spirituality, and their significance for today. Fr. Chryssavgis related the stories of these founders of Christian monasticism as well as the "Sayings of the Desert Fathers." A close look was taken at the correspondence of Barsanuphius and John, which Fr. Chryssavgis has recently translated. Fr. Chryssavgis is well known for his many articles and books on spirituality and the desert fathers, including recent books published by St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press and Cistercian Press. Rev. Dr. Patrick Viscuso taught the final course, "Working with the Law of the Church." Fr. Patrick opened up and explained the canonical tradition of the Orthodox Church, dealing with topics including who makes canons, how canons differ from laws, and how canons have been interpreted over the centuries. With a series of case studies, the Class also examined various topics where canons have had a particular impact, such as marriage and divorce, the marital status of clergy, the role of women in the Church, and administration and charters. Fr. Patrick is a priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, Professor of Canon Law at the Antiochian House of Studies, and President of the Byzantine Studies Conference. He has published extensively in international journals on Canon Law.
This "Summer Institute" was the first program of
its kind sponsored by the Patriarch Athenagoras
Orthodox Institute. The PAOI is an affiliate
member of the Graduate Theological Union in
Berkeley, sponsoring a Master of Arts program in
Orthodox Christian Studies as well as many
educational programs for the community. |
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