RSVP for the Event

Join us for this year’s Figel event for Ecumenism on February 23, 2023 at The Catholic University of America. This year’s recipient of the Consortium’s Ecumenism Award is Archdeacon John Chryssavgis, an Orthodox Christian theologian who serves as advisor to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew on environmental issues. He is a clergyman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.  His address is entitled:

Toward an Ecumenical Outlook:   

Reviving Foundational Principles of Ecumenism

A Prayer Service for Christian Unity planned and lead by the WTC Student Board will precede the lecture.   This year’s service features students from Wesley, VTS, the Dominican House, the John Leland Center, and more.

PREACHER:  Rev. Yaa Addison of Virginia Theological Seminary

MUSIC:  by the Student Scholar of the Dominican House of Studies

The Figel Event, held annually by the Consortium, focuses on contemporary issues in ecumenism and is sponsored by the devoted layman-ecumenist Jack Figel. It includes the annual Ecumenism Award of the Consortium.  A reception will follow the presentation and discussion. 

RSVP below! Free parking in the evening; closest Metro is Brookland/CUA on the Red Line.  (Virtual attendance is possible for long-distance participants). 

CUA Campus Map with Caldwell Hall Marked

Speaker Biography

John Chryssavgis  is an Orthodox Christian theologian who serves as advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch on environmental issues. He is a clergyman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. In January 2012, he received the title of Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. In 2016, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary. In 2020, he was elected Honorary Professor of Theology in the Sydney College of Divinity. He received his degree in Theology from the University of Athens in 1980, a diploma in Byzantine Music from the Greek Conservatory of Music in 1979, and was awarded a research scholarship to St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary in 1982. He completed his doctoral studies in Patristics at the University of Oxford in 1983. 

His work and writing have focused on medieval theology, as well as on the history of the Eastern Church. He holds degrees in theology and sacred music. His teaching has covered wide- ranging topics, such as theological, political, and social developments, themes and personalities of the Middle Ages, including cultural and religious relations and tensions between East and West. His interests have embraced the areas of spirituality, ecology, and liturgy. His research has specialized in the ascetic thought and practice of the early Church, especially from the desert tradition of Egypt (4th century) through the regions of Palestine (5th–6th centuries) and Sinai (7th century). After several months in silent retreat on Mount Athos, he worked with the Greek Orthodox Primate in Australia (1984–1994) and was co-founder of St Andrew’s Theological College in Sydney, where he was Sub-Dean and taught Patristics and Church History (1986–1995). He was also Lecturer in the Divinity School (1986–1990) and the School of Studies in Religion (1990–1995) at the University of Sydney.  In the United States, Dcn. Chryssavgis has served as Professor of Theology at Holy Cross School of Theology and directed the Religious Studies Program at Hellenic College until 2002. He established the Environment Office at the same School in 2001. He has also taught as professor of Patristics at the University of Balamand in Lebanon.

Our speaker has published several books and countless articles in international journals and encyclopedias in the area of religion and ecology, social justice and peace,  including John Climacus: from the Egyptian Desert to the Sinaite Mountain (Ashgate, UK, Winter 2004); and Light Through Darkness: Insights into Orthodox Spirituality (Orbis Books, Summer 2004).