Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Science and Orthodox Christianity: An Overview (1 of 2)


By Efthymios Nicolaidis, Eudoxie Delli, Nikolaos Livanos, 
Kostas Tampakis, and George Vlahakis

Abstract

This essay offers an overview of the history of the relations between science and Eastern Christianity based on Greek-language sources. The civilizations concerned are the Byzantine Empire, the Christian Orthodox communities of the Ottoman Empire, and modern Greece, as a case study of a national state. Beginning with the Greek Church Fathers, the essay investigates the ideas of theologians and scholars on nature. Neoplatonism, the theological debates of Iconoclasm and Hesychasm, the proposed union of the Eastern and Western Churches, and the complex relations with the Hellenic past all had notable impacts on the conception of science held by the Byzantine Orthodox. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, the Christian Orthodox world did not actively participate in the making of the new science that was developing in modern Europe. It had to deal with the assimilation of scientific ideas produced by Western Christianity, and its main concern was the “legitimacy” of knowledge that did not originate directly from its own spiritual tradition. Finally, with regard to the Greek state, beyond the specific points of contact between the sciences and Orthodox Christianity—pertaining, for example, to materialism, evolution, and the calendar—the essay presents the constant background engagement with religion visible in most public pronouncements of scientists and intellectuals.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

How I Became Orthodox (Herman Tristram Engelhardt)



Dr. Engelhardt was born in Texas to Roman Catholic parents, but became Orthodox in his mature years, taking the name Herman after St. Herman of Alaska. He studied philosophy and medicine and is now a professor at two Universities in Houston, Texas. His research has been done mainly in Bioethics and his most important contribution to Orthodox ethics is his book "The Foundations of Christian Bioethics".


Monday, June 11, 2018

Saint Luke of Crimea and Albert Schweitzer: Bringing Together Two Great Men


Saint Luke of Crimea and Albert Schweitzer:
Bringing Together Two Great Men

By George Papageorgiou

Saint Luke of Crimea and Albert Schweitzer are two great figures who marked the 20th century with their presence. One of them exposed himself to illnesses and had a hard life working in the tropics, while the other worked in the freezing cold of Siberia, facing endless exiles and prison due to a totally atheistic regime. They both practiced medicine without anything to gain, either using modern means whenever possible, or using basic and quite primitive means whenever it was necessary. The combination of their Christian faith and medical knowledge revealed another form of love for people through their work. Although they belong to different worlds, they are united by the love they had for less fortunate people and by their eagerness to help others in need.

Read the Introduction to the book and place your order here.


Saturday, June 9, 2018

Holy Synod of Greece Approves of Two New Patron Saints in the Medical Field


The Standing Holy Synod of the Church of Greece, on Friday 8 June 2018, under the presidency of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, approved among other things, of two new patron saints in the medical field.