Scholar Lectures


Elaine Catherine MacMillan
"The Nature and Mission of the Church":  Feminist Perspectives

Thursday, January 29 ~ 7:30pm ~ St. Benedict's Monastery Dining Room.  Co-sponsored by St. Benedict's Monastery and School of Theology·Seminary. 

Very few Roman Catholic feminists consider themselves ecumenists and even fewer consider themselves ecclesiologists.  Though both feminism and ecumenism have influenced theology in the post-Vatican II Church, rarely does one discipline use the work of the other.  This lecture will use the work of Roman Catholic feminists from around the world as the lens through which to study the recent ecumenical text, The Nature and Mission of the Church.  View lecture poster.  

Andualem Dagmawi
"Soteriology in the Hymnody of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church"

Thursday, February 5 ~ 3:00pm, Reception ~ 3:30pm, Lecture ~ Alcuin Library, AV1.  Co-sponsored by Hill Museum and Manuscript Library (HMML). 

Theology and hymnody were intimately linked in early Eastern Christianity, as exemplified in the hymns, poems, and scholarship of St. Ephrem the Syrian (4th century).  St. Yared, the great Ethiopian composer of the 6th century follows in the tradition of Ephrem.  Both use symbols and images in their hymns that unfold a Christo-centric, ecclesial, and sacramental understanding of salvation.  Join us for this lecture that focuses on St. Yared's unique contributions through song to the Christian theological tradition.  View lecture poster.

Paul Philibert, OP
"Ministry in a post-Christendom Context"

Thursday, February 12 ~ 3:00pm ~ Emmaus So. Lounge, SOT.  Co-sponsored by School of Theology·Seminary. 

This lecture will consider the following questions:  Are the faithful clients or agents of the Church's ministry?  Is the world an object of disdain or a partner in the manifestation of the Kingdom of God?  Are the ordained the masters or the servants of the faithful, the anointed members of Christ's ecclesial Body?  Should the Church seek to control all social structures, or to liberate and encourage them?  View lecture poster.