How can something be both modern and traditional simultaneously? Dr. Vladimir Latinovic, our guest from the University of Tübingen, will delve into this question in his upcoming lecture. His objective is to explore how the Orthodox Church, the second-largest individual Christian denomination with nearly 300 million members worldwide, can maintain fidelity to its traditional roots while embracing the principles of modernity and its associated values.
This exploration is sparked by the Orthodox Church’s profound commitment to the unaltered tradition of the early church, endowing unconditional authority upon Christian authors and councils from the first eight centuries. This commitment significantly influences the Church’s stance on rejecting key modern principles, including the non-adaptability of its ecclesiology to embrace more democratic forms, its intricate relationship with the secular state, its interpretation and application of human rights, and its lack of endorsement for gender equality and rights.
Beyond its scholarly significance, this topic carries profound social and political implications. Should the Orthodox Church persist in its largely anti-modern trajectory, enduring consequences could unfold both internally, such as diminished missionary capability and an identity crisis among future generations, and externally, leading to decreased societal integration, heightened national tensions, extremism, and gender and interfaith intolerance. Moreover, such a trajectory could wield a profound influence on the global stage, shaping significant geopolitical dynamics (e.g., a return to tradition is shaping and influencing the ideology behind the ongoing conflict in Ukraine).
Speaker Biography:
Vladimir Latinovic graduated from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the University of Belgrade (Serbia) and obtained a PhD in Catholic Theology from the University of Tübingen (Germany). Currently, he is pursuing a second PhD (habilitation) in Protestant Theology at the University of Heidelberg (Germany). Employed as a lecturer at the Ecumenical Institute in Tübingen, he teaches Dogmatics, Ecumenism, and Orthodox theology. Furthermore, he serves as a board member of the International Research Network Ecclesiological Investigations (EIIRN) and co-chairs the Orthodox/Eastern-Catholic Dialogue Group (OECD).