St Andrews Annual Symposia

The purpose of these was to analyse the current state of the College and to come up with a strategy for the College's improvement in the various aspects of its life, namely, the scholarly, missionary, pastoral and the spiritually formative. More specifically, one of the outcomes of these meetings was the idea of organising a series of public lectures, on an academic level, with the intention of offering – to a broader audience than our students and alumni – glimpses of the Faculty’s scholarly standing and research interests.

Given the ecclesial and traditional character of our College, it was only natural that the area in which the Faculty could genuinely and originally contribute would be the field of Patristics (the study of the Holy Fathers, their meaning and legacy). After careful consideration His Eminence decided – at the proposal of the aforementioned group – that the inaugural 'St Andrew's Patristic Symposium 2009' be dedicated to the personality and perennial significance of St Basil the Great, the renowned Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia (d. 379).

The Symposia originally took the form of a series of scholarly lectures delivered annually throughout the month of September, two every week. Since 2012, the symposia adopted the form of regular, two-day conferences. In the wake of the sixth edition (2014), The Late Archbishop Stylianos, College Dean, gave His blessing so that the St Andrew's Patristic Symposia, will alternate biennially with the new Theology Symposia. The rationale behind this choice is the need to give a fuller account of Orthodoxy's treasures, which encompass both past and present witnesses.

Our symposia have become part of the living tradition of our Theological College welcoming a framework for scholars interested in the Church fathers and mothers, irrespective of their field of expertise, academic affiliation and denominational background. This aspect is evident, for instance, in the diverse expertise of the keynote speakers and contributors to our previous symposia, whom we acknowledge with gratitude -- an expertise which spans from dogmatic theology to ethics and Christian education, from early Christian studies to philosophy, from classical studies to Church history, and from scriptural exegesis to liturgics and patristic studies.

Shown below is a list of all Symposia held by St Andrew's.