Eastern Orthodox Studies Unit

For November 2026 we welcome paper proposals on the following topics: 

John Zizioulas' Remembering the Future

In keeping with the AAR 2026 presidential theme of Future/s, this session will explore the potential legacy of the final work of one of the greatest modern Orthodox theologians, John Zizioulas’ (1931-2023) Remembering the Future: Toward an Eschatological Ontology (published posthumously in 2023). Remembering the Future presents eschatology as “a mode of existence,” and explores the significance of the Resurrection and the Eschaton for the most fundamental level of our being. We welcome a broad range of submissions for this session, including those that address this text specifically and/or the broader questions it raises with respect to the contemporary, and future, possibilities in Orthodox Christian theology in areas such as time, ontology, eschatology, theological anthropology, theology of creation, and ecclesiology.

Theology Bridging East and West During the “Long Nineteenth Century" (co-sponsored with the Nineteenth Century Theology Unit)

This panel explores the interaction between nineteenth-century Western philosophy and theology within nineteenth- and twentieth-century Eastern Orthodox thought. To foster interdisciplinary dialogue in theology, philosophy, religious studies, history, literature, and cultural studies, this session will explore the complex and often understudied interactions between nineteenth-century Western philosophy and religious thought and their reception within Eastern Orthodox theology in the “long nineteenth century” (1789- 1918). Panelists will explore interactions in both their historical reception histories and in their theological relevance for contemporary discussions. Session papers might include, but are not limited to, the following topics: reception histories of German Idealism and Romanticism in Eastern Orthodox theology, interactions between Orthodox thought and Western schools of thought (ressourcement, French Catholic mysticism, etc.), earlier nineteenth-century Orthodox engagements with Western modernity, personalist philosophy; aesthetics, literature, symbolism, and religious imagination after Immanuel Kant; and ecumenical dialogue.

Our unit will also hold the following pre-arranged session:

Paul Ladouceur Festschrift Roundtable

Honoring the legacy of Dr. Paul Ladouceur (1944–2025), a distinguished theologian in Anglophone and Francophone Orthodox Studies, this festschrift roundtable draws on the expansive work of Ladouceur to advance new trajectories in the field of Orthodox Christian Studies. Bringing together theologians, social scientists, and cultural studies scholars, the roundtable will provide engagements with Ladouceur’s body of work to consider the future of our field and research possibilities because of his work. Paying close attention to Dr. Ladouceur’s work on women’s studies and ecumenical dialogue, roundtable panelists will consider how the field can continue and expand his important conversations in theoretical and practical ways that will benefit Orthodox Studies for years to come.