Economos Orthodoxy in America Lecture

The Christ and Anastasia Economos Orthodoxy in America Lecture at Fordham University is the largest annual lecture of its kind and the only one housed within a university setting. In addition, the annual lecture series is the only one to explore the Orthodox tradition as it intersects with the American religious experience. And since it is housed within a Roman Catholic institution, the lecture series provides an unparalleled opportunity for an advanced ecumenical conversation about the common issues facing the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions.

More information about our previous lectures is included below. Many lectures are also viewable on the Center’s YouTube channel. In addition, text from the lectures from 2018 onward can be found in the Center’s Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies.

Past Lectures

  • Deconstructing Russia’s Ukraine Wars and Understanding the Diplomacy of Religion: Lessons in Orthodox Christianity, Geopolitics, and Power

    Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodmorou

    Senior Fellow at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

    Wednesday, November 2, 2022 | 6 p.m.
    Costantino Room | Fordham Law School
    150 West 62nd Street | New York, NY

  • His Grace Bishop Daniel Findikyan
    "Returning to Normalcy and the Sacrament of Penance"

  • The Future of Orthodox-Catholic Relations in the USA

    His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

    September 21, 2020

  • "Theological Education in the 21st Century"

    Very Rev. Dr. John Behr
    Father Georges Florovsky Distinguished Professor of Patristics
    St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary

    Watch video

  • Presenting Byzantium in the Modern World

    Helen Evans, Ph.D.
    Mary and Michael Jaharis Curator of Byzantine Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

    October 23, 2018


    Today, as the study of the past is questioned, it is critical to consider ways to present Byzantium so that the relevance of its art, religion, and culture are recognized in the modern world. Exhibitions using the visual voice of the empire and its related cultures can demonstrate the inaccuracy of Edward Gibbon’s long-lasting, negative definition of the state. This talk considers modern presentations of Byzantine art with special emphasis on American contributions to effectively defining the lasting importance of the empire the Romans ruled from Constantinople from 330 to 1453.

    Read about the event on Fordham News.

  • Orthodoxy in America and America's Orthodoxies

    Presented by David Bentley Hart
    Research Fellow at The Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study

    September 26, 2017

    This lecture reflects on the degree to which Orthodoxy in America, under pressure from convert communities and the society as a whole, might be seen as bringing about a new phase in Orthodox identity, or even (for both good and ill) a new Orthodox synthesis. Is the emerging American expression of Orthodoxy truly Orthodox, or is it more truly American? Or, conversely, is Orthodox identity a single thing, or does it emerge anew in every new cultural setting?

    Watch a video of the lecture and read about the event on Fordham News.

  • Vera Shevzov, Professor of Religious Studies, Smith College

    ​"Religion in America through Orthodox Eyes: The Travelogue of a Nineteenth-Century Russian Orthodox Thinker"

    Tuesday, September 27, 2016

    Watch a video of the lecture and read about the event on Fordham News.

     

  • Rowan Williams, 104th Archbishop of Canterbury and Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters, honoris causa, and presented the Annual Orthodoxy in America Lecture on September 30, 2014, University Church, Rose Hill Campus, Fordham University.

    Watch a video the lecture and degree ceremony.

  • On Tuesday, 28 January 2014, His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës, and All Albania delivered the lecture "Sharing the Good News in a Multi-Religious Country: Theological Reflections on Other Religions" at the University Church on the Rose Hill campus.

    For more information, please read the article about the lecture. You can also watch a video of the event.

  • "How the Philokalic Tradition Came To Modern America - And What America Made Of It"

    Presented by: The Very Rev. John Anthony McGuckin.
    Ane Marie and Bent Emil Nielson Professor of Byzantine Christian Studies, Columbia University
    Director, Sophia Institute, the William and Maria Spears International Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture

  • "A Reflection on Contemplation, Speculation and Action in Orthodox Theology"

    Presented by: David Tracy, STL, STD
    Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago
    Monday, 28 November 2011

    This lecture has been published in the Journal of Orthodox Christian Studies.

     

  • "Perceptions and Realities in Orthodox-Catholic Relations Today: Reflections on the Past, Prospects for the Future"

    Presented by Robert F. Taft, SJ, Professor Emeritus of Oriental Liturgy at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome

    The lecture has been published in the book Orthodox Constructions of the West.

  • "Discerning God's Presence in the World"

    Presented by: His All Holiness Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch.

    You can read about his visit Page not foundor view the video of the lecture.

  • "The Future of Orthodox Christianity in America: A Normative Approach"

    Presented by: Rev. Dr. Stanley Harakas, the Archbishop Iakovos Professor of Orthodox Theology, Emeritus, at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology.

  • "Women’s Voices Bearing Witness: Biblical Memories in Ancient Orthodox Liturgy"

    Presented by: Susan Ashbrook Harvey, PhD
    Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University

  • "Heart in Pilgrimage:  St. Augustine's Reading of the Psalms"

    Presented by: Rev. Dr. Andrew Louth
    Durham University
    14 June 2007

    For more information, read the article about the event.

    This paper is published in Orthodox Readings of Augustine.

  • "In the World, not of the World, for the Sake of the World: Orthodoxy and American Culture"

    Presented by: Albert J. Raboteau, Henry W. Putnam Professor of Religion at Princeton University

  • "Ecological Crisis: Ecological Hope Our Orthodox Vision Of Creation"

    Presented by: His Grace Bishop Kallistos Ware of Diokleia

  • “The Dynamics of the Orthodox Faith in Contemporary America”

    Presented by: His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios
    Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America