INSTITUTE FOR STUDIES IN EASTERN CHRISTIANITY

AT UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK

ENGAGING ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY

WITH TODAY'S WORLD

The Institute for Studies in Eastern Christianity (ISEC) of Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, with the blessing of Bishop Jerome (Shaw), is happy to announce the upcoming Fall 2026 conference on the theme of:

ORTHODOXY & SCIENCE

Saturday, Dec 11, 2026

Christianity has participated in traditions of learning and inquiry for nearly two millennia, while Christian thinkers have continually reflected on the nature and limits of human knowledge, the relationship between reason and revelation, and the intelligibility of the created world. These questions have intersected, in different historical contexts, with natural philosophy, medicine, mathematics, education, and what we now call science.

These questions have acquired renewed urgency in the digital age. Artificial intelligence and other technologies increasingly mediate how we encounter information, communicate, learn, conduct research, and produce knowledge. At the same time, technological transformation has generated new anxieties concerning authority, expertise, social alienation, human agency, economic displacement, and the meaning of personhood. The result is a curious combination of unprecedented technological power and renewed apocalyptic anxiety about what that power may mean for human beings.

We call on scholars, religious leaders, lay people and social activists to offer academic papers related to the conference theme. Please email us a short abstract (200 words), including your email address and mailing address, before November 15, 2026.

A half-day conference (Dec 11th: 8:00am – 3:00pm EST) will focus on the various ways the Eastern Orthodox Churches, over past centuries and in recent times, have theologized on the significance of science in Christian life and on its role for securing well-being. This conference will thus address the central topics of spiritual, pastoral, medical, ascetic and ethical knowledge in the context of Christian life and education.

The Rev. Dr. Conrad Fischer

Chair, Institute for Studies in Eastern Christianity (ISEC)

Please email your submission to:

st2399@columbia.edu and stnickbrotherhood@gmail.com

The conference will be held online.

Conrad Fischer

Chair of Board, Institute for Studies in Eastern Christianities

Professor of Medicine
Program Director and Vice
Chair of Medicine, Brookdale Hospital and Medical Center