Patristic conference on ‘St. John Cassian and the Monastic Tradition of Christian East and West’ opens at Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies

Source: DECR Communication Service

November 20, 2015

On November 19, 2015, the 3d International Patristic Theological Conference was opened at the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies (CMI) under the theme ‘St. John Cassian and the Monastic Tradition of Christian East and West’.

Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations (DECR) and CMI rector, welcomed those present and reminded the audience that earlier the CMI held two patristic conferences devoted to the legacy of St. Isaac the Syrian and St. Simeon the New Theologian.

In his paper on ‘The Teaching of St. John Cassian on the Eucharist and Communion’, Metropolitan Hilarion spoke about the life of the saint and his basic treatises.

The first section of the conference on ‘The Biography and Works of St. John Cassian’ was chaired by the Revd Prof. Edward Farrugia, Pontifical Oriental Institute.

The meeting was opened with a paper read by Prof. Jonut-Alexandru Tudorie, University of Bucharest, who spoke about St. John Cassian’s childhood in Schythia Minor and shared various points of view concerning the saint’s birthplace.

D. Zaitsev of the Orthodox Encyclopedia church research center dealt with the theme ‘Chronology of St. John Cassian’s Last Days of Life and the Dating of His Works’.

Archimandrite Irenaeus (Steenberg), dean of the Ss Cyril and Athanasius of Alexandria Institute of Orthodox Studies (USA), presented a paper on ‘A Monk and a Friend: Friendship and Monastic Ideal in St. John Cassian’s Works and in Orthodoxy’, which provoked a lively discussion.

In conclusion of the first section of the conference, His Eminence Hilarion thanked all those present, saying, ‘I hope that the papers presented here will enrich the academic knowledge and help researchers discover new things in the works of St. John Cassian the Roman’.

The conference on St. John the Cassin will last till November 21. The forum is attended by theologians from Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, USA and Russia.