WORKSHOP: Orthodox Resources of Social Peace

From September 19 to 21, an international conference on “Orthodox resources for social peace” took place at the Center for East European and International Studies (ZOiS) in Berlin. The conference is part of the research project “Orthodoxy and Social Peace”, which Prof. Dr. Regina Elsner is conducting as part of the competence network “Conflict and Cooperation in Eastern Europe. The consequences of the reconfiguration of political, economic and social spaces since the end of the Cold War (KonKoop),” funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. Over the course of two days, a total of 14 international theologians discussed various aspects of Orthodox theology, exploring new approaches to questions of conflict transformation and social cohesion.

Since the Orthodox churches have often played a destructive or escalating role in domestic and international military conflicts in recent decades, there is a need for more than just a theological analysis of the church’s patterns of legitimization for violence and conflict. In this context, the overdue reckoning with the legitimization of violence in hagiography and liturgy, as well as the instrumentalized ecumenical relationships within the peace movement, were discussed Additionally, according to the predominantly Orthodox participants, there must also be a focused effort on exploring options for a new approach to dealing with a violent past, addressing societal and ecclesiastical cultures of error, and developing new liturgical and pastoral forms of collective repentance and penance. The theological discussion was interdisciplinary, integrating concepts from peace and conflict studies to emphasize the relevance of theological discourses for peace research and the corresponding interactions between them. The conference also served to prepare a thematic anthology, which is scheduled for publication next year.