Symposium at Loyola Marymount University

Symposium at Loyola Marymount University will be held on March 19, at 7 pm.

The Symposium will review the conclusions of the Fourth Ecumenical Council (451 AD) which not only organized the Christian Church but also defined the nature of Jesus.

How relevant are these decisions in our Postmodern understanding of reality? How do they counter the pervasive atheism and the corrosive nihilism of our age? How do the Orthodox churches address the limits of reason and the yearning for spiritual reawakening of the faithful? Two distinguished Orthodox Christian Hierarchs will offer the Orthodox responses to these questions.

The Huffington Ecumenical Institute was founded at Loyola Marymount University four years ago by a generous donation from Mr. Michael Huffington in order to promote the unity of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. By providing support for constructive dialogue, study and encounters between the two faith communities, the Institute hopes to bring an understanding of the dogmatic and ecclesial difference that exist between the two Churches. The Institute also aims to facilitate ecumenical conversations involving church leaders, theologians and scholars across traditional ecclesial divisions, beginning with the Roman Catholics and Orthodox, and broadening them to include other Christian traditions.

This Symposium is a continuation of a series of lectures, symposia, and conferences that have taken place in the past four years. On November 13, 2008, Loyola Marymount University and the Huffington Ecumenical Institute awarded a Honorary Doctorate in Humane letter, honoris causa, on His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.