Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria

Location: Ithacan Philanthropic Society, L.2, 329 Elizabeth Street.
Date: 12 June 2014, 7:00pm
Presenter: Nick Trakakis
Entry: Free

Synopsis

The Orthodox Church has a rich history and tradition, and today constitutes the third-largest Christian denomination in the world.

But the recent spread of Orthodoxy to secular and technologically advanced countries like the United States and Australia has introduced many challenges. How has the church fared? How has it met the challenges of a modern and postmodern world?

In this presentation I will identify some of the challenges now faced by the Orthodox Church, including a perceived incompatibility with the values of democracy, the prevalence of nationalism, ritualism and a patriarchal culture, and the lack of social engagement.

In light of such problems, many within the Orthodox Church are calling for renewal and reformation.

Biography

Nick Trakakis is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University. He works primarily in the philosophy of religion, and in this area his publications include The God Beyond Belief: In Defence of William Rowe’s Evidential Argument from Evil (Springer, 2007) and The End of Philosophy of Religion (Continuum, 2008).

He has also published four collections of poetry, the most recent being From Dusk to Dawn, and has edited Southern Sun, Aegean Light: Poetry of Second-Generation Greek-Australians (Australian Scholarly Publishing, 2011).

Sponsors

We would like to thank Dr Christos Fifis for sponsoring tonight’s lecture. Such initiatives assist us in providing these lectures free to the public. If you would like to participate as a sponsor from as little as $100 please send us an email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

We would also like to thank our corporate sponsor: