At the invitation of His Eminence Metropolitan of Mount Lebanon Georges (Khodr), Dr Pantelis Kalaitzidis, the Director of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, visited Lebanon during the Bright Week immediately following Easter (April 17-22). Dr Kalaitzidis had the opportunity to visit Metropolitan Georges at the headquarters of his Metropolis in the small town of Brumana on the outskirts of Beirut, and to learn there about the life and work of the Orthodox Church in this region, as well as its problems and challenges. Dr Kalaitzidis conveyed to Metropolitan Georges the warm Easter greetings of His Eminence Metropolitan Ignatius of Demetrias and briefed him on the recent activities and programs of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies. He also presented to him the latest issue of the journal The Ecumenical Review, which was dedicated to the Christians of the Middle East and contains some of the texts presented at the June 2011 conference organized by the Academy, in conjunction with the World Council of Churches, on the witness and presence of Christians in Palestine and the Middle East.
On Friday, April 20, Dr. Kalaitzidis met with the Vice President for Planning and Educational Relations of the Orthodox University of Balamand, Dr Georges Nahas, a former board member of the World Fellowship of Orthodox Youth “Syndesmos,” and, until recently, Dean of the Institute of Orthodox Theology at the same university, with whom he discussed issues of common interest, primarily related to the Orthodox Church’s witness in our rapidly changing world, specifically in the sensitive region of the Middle East. The same day, Dr Kalaitzidis attended a meeting of the ecumenical group of professors of the Theological Schools of Beirut and Lebanon. The meeting was also attended by Dr Daniel Ayuch, Associate Professor of New Testament at the Institute of Orthodox Theology at the University of Balamand. The newly elected General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches, Rev Dr Paul Rouhana, Professor at the Pontifical Theological Faculty of the University of Kaslik, shared with the attendees some thoughts and reflections on the present and the future of the ecumenical movement and theological studies in the Middle East.
On Saturday, April 21, with His Eminence Metropolitan Georges (Khodr) in attendance, Dr Kalaitzidis gave a lecture at the offices of the Orthodox Youth Movement of Beirut on “Orthodoxy Facing the Challenges of the Modern World.” The speaker and the work of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies were introduced to the audience by Ms. Amal Dibo, who teaches at the American University of Beirut. In his talk, Dr Kalaitzidis raised the crucial question “Did Orthodoxy come to a halt before modernity?”, presenting the primarily historical reasons which conspired against a substantive meeting and dialogue between Orthodoxy and modernity, as well as between Orthodox Christianity and the (post) modern world. The speaker then outlined the salient features of modernity and the challenges it poses for the Orthodox world, making special reference to ecclesiastical “culturalism,” which understands the faith in terms of identity and culture; this phenomenon obscures the message of the Gospel and impedes the presence of Orthodoxy in the modern world by fossilizing the faith in earlier cultural paradigms.
Dr Kalaitzidis concluded by highlighting theology’s prophetic role, as well as the necessity for a critical discourse that addresses these precarious times by offering the Traidtion’s theanthropic theology and eschatological understanding as antidotes to the tidal wave of neo-conservatism and fundamentalism that is threatening to capsize Orthodoxy and other Christian traditions.
The lecture was followed by a lively and fruitful dialogue with the participants, which addressed some of the vital issues concerning Orthodoxy’s witness in the modern world, as well as the dual temptation today either to overemphasize the institutional aspect (which could lead to an authoritarian/clericalistic distortion of the necessary hierarchical element), or to exaggerate the role of charismatic elders who place themselves above the ecclesiastical community and its conciliar expressions. The event ended with brief remarks by Mr. Tony Khouri, in charge of the Orthodox Youth Movement, who prayed that the future would hold similar such opportunities to meet and dialogue.
Dr Kalaitzidis concluded his visit by attending church on Thomas Sunday, April 22, at Sts. Peter and Paul’s in Kfarshima, south of Beirut, where Metropolitan Georges served the liturgy and delivered a homily. The active and substantial participation of the whole body of the Church in the service and chanting was moving and impressive. This participation bore witness to the fruits of the liturgical renewal that has successfully taken place within the last decades in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch.
During his stay in Lebanon, the Director of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies met with academics (Georges Nahas, Assaad Elias Kattan, Mahmoud Zibawi, Daniel Ayuch, Antoine Courban, Amal Dibo), with an Orthodox member of the Lebanese Parliament (Ghassam Moukheiber), and with members of the Orthodox Youth Movement. He asked Professor Daniel Ayuch to convey his warm paschal greetings to His Grace Bishop Ghattas (Hazim), Dean of the Theological Institute of Balamand, who was absent because of the holidays, as well as to the Professors and staff of the school.