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Published by the
Institute of Medicine,
Psychology and Religion, March 17,
2005
Art
Historian Examines Bodily Healing at Healing
Initiative |
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BROOKLINE, MASS. Art historian Dr. Rossitza B.
Roussanova will examine late Byzantine
representations of Christ’s healing ministry at an
upcoming conference of the Healing Initiative on
Holistic Healing in Byzantium. Focusing on the
relationship between theological and scientific
perspectives of healing, this conference will take
place April 8-9th in the Reading Room of the
Archbishop Iakovos Library and Learning Resource
Center at Hellenic College and Holy Cross Greek
Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline,
Massachusetts.
Dr. Roussanova will show how images of healing in
several early fourteenth-century monastic churches
served as appropriate backdrops for the pious
meditations of monks. She attributes the
proliferation of these painted bodily healings to
a relaxation of the body/soul dichotomy throughout
this period. Whereas earlier positions
deemphasized and even degraded the body’s role in
spirituality, these images evoke continuity
between physical healing and salvation.
“The healings performed by Christ became a
metaphor for the healing of the soul,” Roussanova
explains. Such images, commonly painted in
subsidiary spaces such as narthexes and
ambulatories, seem to have been for “spiritual
preparation, shedding sinfulness, and perfecting
the soul before entering into the more sacred naos
of the church.”
Born and raised in Bulgaria, Dr. Roussanova
received a B.A. in History and an M.A. in
Byzantine and Balkan History from Sofia
University. After receiving an M.A. in Art History
at Southern Methodist University in the United
States, she moved to the University of Maryland to
pursue a Ph.D. in Byzantine Art. Dr. Roussanova’s
academic interests include the eleventh-century
paintings in Kalanlik Kilise, in Cappadocia, and
her present work focuses on Byzantine monumental
decoration. Her dissertation treats the
relationship between image, sacred space, and
monastic audience in the Palaeologan period. Dr.
Roussanova currently serves as a senior fellow in
the Department of Classical Studies at the
University of Michigan.
Sponsored by a Lilly Endowment Grant at Hellenic
College, the Metanexus Institute, and the
Kambouras Scholarship, the Healing Initiative
explores the relationship between the
psychosomatic tradition of personhood in Orthodox
Christian theology and modern holistic healing.
The conference addresses the epistemology of
healing from an Orthodox theological perspective
and emphasizes healing holistically, with the aim
of explaining the relationship of spiritual
healing for contemporary health sciences such as
medicine and psychology.
The April conference will address Orthodox
Christian theology and experiences of
spirituality, explaining mystical theology through
prayer, iconography, miracles, and sacraments as
mediums for healing. Participants are invited to
engage in the dialogue debating whether faith and
science could or should be divided into discrete
disciplines of healing and how a holistic,
psychosomatic perspective can be practiced.
The conference features leading scholars and
theologians addressing different aspects of the
epistemologies and methodologies of healing and
fosters discussion of theological insight for
holistic healing in the helping professions.
Presenters include Rev. Nicholas Triantafilou,
president, Hellenic College & Holy Cross Greek
Orthodox School of Theology; John T. Chirban,
Ph.,D., Th.D., conference chairman, Hellenic
College and Harvard Medical School; Rev. George D.
Dragas, Ph.D. professor of patristic and dogmatic
theology, Holy Cross School of Theology; Timothy
Patitsas, Th.D., in-residence scholar, Holy Cross
School of Theology; Lily Macrakis, Ph.D., dean of
Hellenic College; and Emily Markides, Ph.D.,
founder of the International Eco-Peace Village.
His Eminence Maximos Aghiorgoussis, Metropolitan
of Pittsburgh, and Rev. Demetrios Constantelos,
Ph.D., professor emeritus of history and religious
studies at The Richard Stockton College of New
Jersey, will present the keynote addresses.
On Saturday, roundtable discussions will engage
exchange about how those in various healing
professions incorporate spiritual and religious
aspects of healing in their practice. Specific
topics include “Theology: The Holy Trinity and
Healing” by Emmanuel Karavoussanos, “Prayer and
Healing the Whole Person” by Panagiotis
Papaeconomou, and “Personal Transformation through
Prayer” by George Roussos.
Events are free of charge and open to the public.
Participants are invited to support the Healing
Initiative through the Institute of Medicine,
Psychology, and Religion. Please visit
www.inmpr.org for more information concerning
conference registration. In addition to other
benefits, members of the Institute receive meals
throughout the conference at no charge.
To receive more information regarding the
conference and to register, please see
www.inmpr.org or write to:
The Healing Initiative: Byzantine Healing &
Holistic Health
The Institute of Medicine, Psychology, and
Religion
PO Box 380958
Cambridge, MA 02138
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