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Eastern Orthodox Studies Unit and Quaker Studies Unit
Call for Proposals
Title: Spiritual Light in the Orthodox and Quaker Spiritual Traditions (Co-sponsored with the Eastern Orthodox Studies Unit and the Quaker Studies Unit)
The notion of spiritual light occurs in both Orthodox Christianity and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). For George Fox, founder of the Friends, God endows each human being with a measure of his own Divine Spirit. Fox spoke of the Inward Light, coming “from beyond”; the Inner Light is the Divine Light in every person, which guides, teaches, and leads to salvation, and brings those who accept it into unity with God and each other. Many ancient and modern Orthodox spiritual figures report experiences of God or Christ as Light, experiences understood to be Uncreated Divine Light, not created light nor psychological phenomena, and are compared with the light experienced by the Apostles at the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor (Mt. 17:1-8). This co-sponsored session will explore the sense and significance of the notion of spiritual light and the place of spiritual light in the overall theology and spirituality in the Orthodox and Quaker traditions. Emphasis will be given to proposed papers which compare and contrast explanations and descriptions of spiritual light in the two traditions, as well as actual experiences of such light by their adherents, highlighting commonalities and divergences.
Sponsors
Chairs
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Jennifer Buck, Azusa Pacific University1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Brandon Gallaher, University of Exeter1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Jon Kershner, Pacific Lutheran University1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Ashley Purpura, Purdue University1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
Steering Committee Members
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Daniela C. Augustine, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Brian A. Butcher, Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies, Toronto1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Jane Calvert, University of Kentucky1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Philip Clayton, Claremont School of Theology1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Pink Dandelion, University of Birmingham1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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George Demacopoulos, Fordham University1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Philip Dorroll, Wofford College1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Laurel D. Kearns, Drew University1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Paul Ladouceur, University of Toronto1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Esther Mombo, St. Paul's University1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Ivana Noble, Charles University, Prague1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Vera Shevzov, Smith College1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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Erin Walsh, University of Chicago1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025
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David Harrington Watt, Haverford College1/1/2020 - 12/31/2025