Orthodoxy and Human Rights Scholars Project

Participating Scholars

Meeting of the Orthodoxy and Human Rights Scholars Project

Inaugural seminar of the Orthodoxy and Human Rights Scholars Project, March 2019

The Orthodoxy and Human Rights Scholars Project is a five-year initiative that brings together thirty scholars and journalists from around the world with the goal of creating a more comprehensive understanding of Orthodoxy’s relationship to human rights across different geopolitical contexts.

With major support provided by the Henry Luce Foundation and additional support from Leadership 100, the Orthodox Christian Studies Center convened the first meeting of the international, interdisciplinary research project in spring 2019.

Participating scholar disciplines include theology, sociology, anthropology, and political science with expertise in diverse time periods, geographic regions, and Orthodox traditions. The project asks participating scholars to produce monographs and journal articles to fill in gaps in the current scholarship. Each of the scholars works on their own research projects from their respective disciplinary backgrounds and areas of specialization to address questions about Orthodox and human rights pertinent to their own fields.

Scholars also meet in person once a year to promote a cross-fertilization of ideas that can help to fill out a more comprehensive understanding of Orthodoxy’s relationship to human rights across different geopolitical contexts: its history, its current state, and its theological and practical possibilities for the future. Furthermore, scholars are paired with journalists to write op-eds and other pieces in popular media. The project aims to foster greater public understanding of the topic beyond academia and to promote a more informed foreign policy towards historically Orthodox countries.

See the full project bibliography and participant profiles on Public Orthodoxy

Senior Fellows

Scholars
Shaun Casey, Harvard University
Davor Džalto, Stockholm School of Theology/Sankt Ignatios College
Effie Fokas, Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy
Brandon Gallaher, University of Exeter
Michael Wahid Hanna, The Century Foundation
Slavica Jakelic, Valparaiso University
Pantelis Kalaitzidis, Volos Academy for Theological Studies
Fr. Isidoros Katsos, University of Cambridge
Fr. Philip LeMasters, McMurry University
Lucian Leustean, Aston University
Candace Lukasik, University of California, Berkeley
Vasilios Makrides, University of Erfurt
Ina Merdjanova, Trinity College Dublin
Ezekiel Olagoke, Waynesburg University
Elizabeth Prodromou, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University
Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, Arizona State University
Fr. Anthony Roeber, Pennsylvania State University
Christopher Sheklian, Zohrab Information Center
Vera Shevzov, Smith College
Andrey Shishkov, University of Tartu
Kristina Stoeckl, University of Innsbruck
Vasileios Syros, University of Jyväskylä
Mariz Tadros, Institute for Development Studies
Samuel Tadros, Hudson Institute
Nathaniel Wood, Fordham University

Journalists
Sergei Chapnin, chief editor of "Dary" (The Gifts) Almanac
David Gibson, Fordham University
Paul Glader, The King's College (New York)
Mark Silk, Trinity College (Connecticut)