Sobornal Orthodox Ecclesiology Today: Faith in the Church, Knowledge of the Church, and the Organization of Church Life

Sun, 5 October

15:00 – Conference opening. Greetings

• Alexander Kopirovsky, PhD, Rector, St Philaret’s Institute (Moscow)
• Dmitry Gasak, First Vice-Rector, St Philaret’s Institute (Moscow)

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

15:30 – Plenary Session 1

Moderator: Alexander Kopirovsky, PhD (SFI, Moscow)

1. Igor Zaitsev, PhD (Russian Christian Humanities Academy named after Feodor Dostoyevsky, St Petersburg)
   Ecclesiology after Theodicy: Sobornost as a esponse to the Experience of Evil and Rebellion
2. Sofia Androsenko (SFI, Moscow State University, Moscow)
   Faith in the Church and Knowledge of the Church in the Religious Philosophical Thought of Nicholas Berdyaev
3. Fr Georgy Kochetkov, PhD Th (SFI, Moscow)
   Community-Brotherhood Theology: A Type of Church Organisation and a Type of Faith in the Church

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

17:00 – Tea Break

17:30 – Round Table Discussion: Sobornost in Post-Constantinian Era: Anachronism or the Church’s Current Vocation

Moderator: Dmitry Gasak (SFI, Moscow)

Participants: 

• Fr Georgy Kochetkov, PhD Th (SFI, Moscow);
• Tsoncho Tsonchev, PhD (Varna, Bulgaria – Montreal, Canada [Zoom]);
• Alexey Kozyrev, PhD (Moscow State University);
• Irina Dudenkova, PhD (Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences, Russian Presidential Academy, Moscow);
• Fr Ilya Solovyev, PhD (Nikolo-Urgeshskaya Seminary, Postgraduate and Doctorate University of the Russian Orthodox Church);
• Sofia Androsenko (SFI, Moscow State University, Moscow).

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

Mon, 6 October

10:00 – Plenary Session 2

Moderator: Igor Zaitsev, PhD (Russian Christian Humanities Academy named after Feodor Dostoyevsky, St Petersburg)

1. Olga-Olesya Sidorova (SFI, Moscow)
   “Let us strive for unity”: What Catechumens Were Told about Church Unity and Catholicity in 2-5^th Century
2. Vladimir Yakuntsev (SFI, Moscow)
   What to Tell Adult Catechumens Today about Faith in the Catholic Church
3. Zoya Dashevskaya (SFI, Moscow State University, Moscow)
   The People of God as Co-Celebrants in Sobornal Worship of the Church: 20^th Century Experience
4. Lidia Kroshkina, PhD (Russian State Humanities University, SFI, Tver – Moscow)
   “For Your Faith to Be Established”: Preaching as the Building Up of the Church Gathering
5. Bp Stephan Lipke, PhD (Novosibirsk – Moscow), [Zoom]
   The Sobornal Way of Making Decisions in Catholicism: Looking for an Answer and Accepting It

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

12:30 – Lunch Break

14:00 – Plenary Session 3

Moderator: Sofia Androsenko (SFI, Moscow State University, Moscow)

1. Marina Naumova (SFI, Moscow)
   “Living Mutual Action” as a Principle of Church Organisation in the Works of A. S. Pavlov
2. Vyacheslav Yachmenik, PhD Th (St Tikhon’s Orthodox State University, Moscow)
   Models of the Church in Letters to the Community by St Sergius Mechev
3. Yulia Antipina (SFI, St Petersburg Spiritual Academy, St Petersburg – Moscow)
   The Charismatic and the Canonical Principles of Organisation of Church Life and Their Combination in 20^th Century Theological Thought
4. Yulia Shtonda, PhD (SFI, Moscow)
   The Personal and Communal Ministries of Community Members in the Theology of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

16:00 – Tea Break

16:30 – Plenary Session 4

Moderator: Yulia Antipina (SFI, St Petersburg Spiritual Academy, St Petersburg – Moscow)

1. Martin Hoegger (Lausanne, Switzerland) [Zoom]
   Ecclesiological Reflection on Ephesians 2:13-16
2. Monk Adalberto Mainardi (the Monastery of Bose, Italy)
   Pope Francis and the Sobornal Church: Inspiration from Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue 
3. Olga Kuznetsova (SFI, Moscow)
   The Eucharistic Gathering in the Ecclesiology of Archpriest Nicholas Afanasiev: From Gathering (for One Purpose) to Sobornal Unity
4. Victor Alexandrov, PhD (independent researcher, Budapest) [Zoom]
   Archpriest Nicholas Afanasiev and Metropolitan John Zizioulas: Differences in the Method of ‘Basic Intuitions’
5. Ekaterina Alexeeva (SFI, Moscow)
   The Laity and the Bishops: The Experience of Old Believers’ Councils and Gatherings of the Early 20^th Century

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

18:30 – Dinner for participants

20:00 – Lecture: The Image of the Church in Christian Iconography
by Alexander Kopirovsky, PhD, Rector, SFI (Moscow)

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

Tue, 7 October

10:00 – Plenary Session 5

Moderator: Kirill Mozgov (SFI, Moscow)

1. Elena Nepoklonova, PhD (Russian State Hydrometeorological University, St Petersburg)
   The Notions of ‘Pride’ and ‘Humility’ in the Works of Alexey Khomyakov Dealing with the Problem of Christian Unity
2. Nikita Sindyukov (Presidential Academy, St Petersburg)
   The Charisma and the Hierarchy in the Theological Heritage of Archpriest Sergius Bulgakov
3. Archdeacon Konstantin Markovich, PhD Th (St Petersburg Spiritual Academy)
   The Main Ecclesiological Principles of St Augustin as Theological Basis for Practical Work in Building Church Unity and Promoting Community Atmosphere in Parishes
4. Archpriest Vasile Mihoc, PhD Th (Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, Romania) [Zoom]
   The Sobornal Principle in the Governance of the Lord’s Army in History and Today
5. Dmitry Gasak (SFI, Moscow)
   ‘Grassroots’ Sobornal Governance in the Russian Orthodox Church: The Experience of the Transfiguration Brotherhood

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

12:30 – Lunch Break

14:00 – Plenary Session 6

Moderator: Konstantin Obozny, PhD (SFI, Pskov – Moscow)

1. Yulia Balakshina, PhD (Russian State Pedagogical University named after A. I. Gertsen, SFI, St Petersburg – Moscow)
   Church Public and Church Communities in the Experience of the Russian Church in the Early 20^th Century
2. Natalia Ignatovich (SFI, Moscow)
   The Problem of Living Out Sobornost in the Church: The Example of the Brotherhood of the Moscow Saints Participating the Debate about the Case of Bishop Hermogen (Dolganev)
3. Tatiana Pronina, PhD (Leningrad State University named after A. S. Pushkin, St Petersburg) [Zoom]
   Evolution of the Orthodox Parish in the 20^th Century: A Community of Believers or a Church Institution
4. Uliana Gutner, PhD (Biochemical Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, SFI, Moscow)
   Realizing the Principle of Sobornost in the Russian Student Christian Movement: The Example of Holding General and Regional Councils in 1923-1939

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

16:00 – Tea Break

16:30 – Round Table Discussion: From Ecclesiology to Ecclesiodicea: The Problem of Witnessing about the Church in the 21^st Century

Moderator: Yulia Balakshina, PhD (Russian State Pedagogical University named after A. I. Gertsen, SFI, St Petersburg – Moscow)

Participants: 

• Fr Georgy Kochetkov, PhD Th (SFI, Moscow);
• Igor Zaitsev, PhD (Russian Christian Humanities Academy named after Feodor Dostoyevsky, St Petersburg);
• Victor Granovsky, PhD (SFI, Moscow);
• Marina Naumova (SFI, Moscow);
• Fr Georgy Ashkov (St Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, Paris) [Zoom].

Streaming on VK, RuTube, YouTube

18:30 – Vespers

19:30 – Dinner for participants