OTSA Holds Annual Meeting at HCHC

The Orthodox Theological Society in America held its annual meeting on our campus from Thursday, October 18, until Saturday, October 20. The theme for this year’s gathering was “Liturgy and the Arts.”

The Thursday afternoon session featured presentations on “Perceiving Beauty: Architecture, Drama, and Philosophy.” The evening’s faculty panel was moderated by Rev. Dr. Philip Zymaris, Assistant Professor of Liturgics at Holy Cross, and focused on the question of “What is the place, and what is the function, of Sacred Arts in an Orthodox Theological School?” Friday morning sessions addressed “Approaches to Liturgy and the Arts” and “Women and the Diaconate.” Two of the presenters at the latter session, Dr. Teva Regule and Dr. Valerie Karras, are graduates of Holy Cross. The afternoon program began with an exploration of “Marriage, Childbirth, and Liturgy” and continued with a panel discussion of The Orthodox Reality: Culture, Theology, and Ethics in the Modern World, a new book by the theologian Dr. Vigen Guroian. Participating in the panel was Dn. Perry Hamalis, a Holy Cross graduate. The annual Florovsky Lecture was delivered that evening by Dr. David Bentley Hart, whose theme was “Beauty and Judgment.” The final session on Saturday morning considered “Liturgy, Worship, and Questions for Today.”

The purpose of the Orthodox Theological Society in America is to promote and coordinate the work of Orthodox theology, cultivate fellowship among Orthodox theologians and those engaged in related disciplines, serve as a resource for the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States, and engage non-Orthodox theologians interested in Orthodox theology.