Online Zoom Forum: Metropolitan John D. Zizioulas: The Spiritual, Ecological and Social Vision in His Life and Work.
Date: Wednesday 28 October 2026.
Time: 7pm-9pm (UK time).
Event Description:
Format: There will be five talks, each of 15 minutes, followed by discussion among the speakers and the chair, followed by Q & A.
Chair:
Bruce Clark:
Bio: I write, broadcast and speak on a wide range of subjects including religion and geopolitics, the history of south eastern Europe and the story of textiles. I am the online religion editor of The Economist, and I often contribute to other publications. I serve on the committee of the Maghera Historical Society and I have a strong interest in the local history of my corner of Northern Ireland, especially its linen heritage and its early American connections. I have been an active participant in global debates organised by the Ecumenical Patriarch on the subject of faith and the environment. The early Christian history of Ireland and Scotland is another strong personal interest.
What Bruce did before: Since 1998 I have worked mainly for The Economist, covering everything from conflict in the Balkans to transatlantic relations and comparative religion. Between 2002 and early 2004 I took a sabbatical to research the history of forced migration between Greece and Turkey. In 2006, I launched the international pages of The Economist’s foreign news section, a new editorial feature devoted to broad global topics from disarmament to development.
Bruce and Yeltsin: Before joining The Economist, I served as diplomatic correspondent for the Financial Times, working in London, Brussels and then Washington DC. From 1990-1993, I was a correspondent for The Times in Moscow, covering the fall of communism and Russia’s post-Soviet transition. In an earlier stint at the Financial Times, I was editor of the European news section. My first jobs as a journalist were with Reuters, as a junior correspondent in Paris and as the agency’s main correspondent in Athens. Thanks to these jobs, I have a good working knowledge of French, modern Greek and Russian and I can get along in Italian, Dutch, German and Spanish.
At Saint John’s College, Cambridge, I studied Philosophy and then Social and Political Sciences, graduating with a BA in 1979. Before that I was educated at Maghera Primary School, Brook House School in Dublin and Shrewsbury School.
I have written three books:
An Empire’s New Clothes: The End of Russia’s Liberal Dream was published by Vintage Paperbacks in 1995.
Twice A Stranger: How Forced Migration Forged Modern Greece and Turkey. Published by Granta in the UK in 2005 and Harvard University Press in the USA in 2007.
Athens: City of Wisdom. Published by Bloomsbury Publishing PLC in 2021.
Speakers:
Prof Davor Džalto:
Title: John Zizioulas and the Question of Human Creativity.
Description: Among John Zizioulas's various theological contributions is also his theology of human creativity. It is probably the least developed aspect of his theology (with only one study dedicated specifically to this question). In this paper, I revisit Zizioulas's argument (which I initially explored in my book The Human Work of Art), and particularly the logic of freedom-necessity dynamic upon which his argument rests. To illuminate this point, I also compare this dynamic in Zizioulas with the treatment of human freedom and creativity in the philosophy of Nikolai Berdyaev. I also address the relationship between creativity and art, and their potential soteriological dimensions.
Bio: Dr Davor Džalto is President of The Institute for the Study of Culture and Christianity, Research Scholar at Northwestern University, and Visiting Professor at Webster's University (Tashkent). His research focuses on the exploration of human freedom and creativity as metaphysical, political, as well as aesthetic concepts. As the author and editor, he published more than twenty books (including Beyond Capitalist Dystopia: Rethinking Freedom and Democracy in the Age of Global Capitalism, Routledge, 2022; Anarchy and the Kingdom of God: From Eschatology to Orthodox Political Theology and Back, Fordham University Press, 2021; The Human Work of Art: A Theological Appraisal of Creativity and the Death of the Artist, SVS Press, 2014), and over a hundred scholarly studies, essays and op-eds. His books include: . In addition to his academic work, Dr. Džalto is also a practicing artist, specializing in painting and printmaking.
Prof Athanasios N. Papathanasiou:
Title: John Zizioulas: Contradictions in a Prophetic Theology?
Description: The masterful theological work of John Zizioulas offers extensive grounds for insight and elucidation. In my talk, I will gratefully attempt to articulate a respectful critique of certain aspects of his thought that seem underdeveloped or even contradictory. While he creatively oriented himself toward building an "eschatological ethics" (i.e., the believer’s stance in everyday life in light of the Kingdom) regarding ecology, sexuality, social exclusion, and the sciences, he strangely viewed political and social justice with suspicion and a negative predisposition. This stance corresponds to his emphasis on the Eucharist to such a degree that he undervalued the missionary praxis, conceiving it as a secondary activity that does not belong to the core identity of the Church. His focus on ontology at the expense of the Biblical notion of the working God may be the root of his difficulty in acknowledging mission as liberation and accepting this mission not as the antipode of the Eucharist, but as a manifestation of the Kingdom inseparable from the Eucharist – and verifying the Eucharist.
Bio: Athanasios N. Papathanasiou is a lay Orthodox theologian, born in 1959. He is Professor of Missiology, Intercultural Christian Witness and Dialogue, at the university faculty Ecclesiastical Academy of Athens, Greece. He also teaches in the post-graduate theological program of the Hellenic Open University. He is the editor of the Greek theological quarterly Synaxis, and member of “The European Society for Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies”. His works focus on Missiology, cross-cultural studies and political theology. He obtained first-hand experience of short-term missionary work in Kenya (1995), Nigeria (2000) and Tanzania (2004), and he is a member of the “Mission Work and Evangelization Committee” of the Orthodox Metropolis of Nigeria (Patriarchate of Alexandria).
His publications include:
“Politics as a Weak Force”, in: Political Theologies in Orthodox Christianity: Common Challenges, Divergent Positions (eds. K. Soeckl, I. Gabriel, A. Papanikolaou), Bloomsbury, 2017, pp. 97–110.
“Orthodox theology’s hide and seek with Postcolonialism: Mission praxis and missiology as a field study», International Review of Mission 112.2 (2023), pp. 218-227.
“Icons of the Kingdom: Overlooked topics in St. Nicholas Cabasilas, some dangers of Eucharistic theology, and the mission of the Church”, International Journal of Orthodox Theology 15:2 (2024), pp. 9-25.
“A Negligible Rock, or the Chief Cornerstone? On Mission: A Dialogue with John Zizioulas”, OmegAlpha 1.2 (2025), 139-158.
“Mission(s) and Politics”, in: Politics, Society, and Culture in Orthodox Theology in a Global Age (eds. Hans-Peter Grosshans & Pantelis Kalaitzidis), Brill, 2022, pp. 292-309
“Mission in Orthodox Theology”, in: Christian Mission, Contextual Theology, Prophetic Dialogue: Essays in Honor of Stephen B. Bevans (eds. D. Irvin & P. Phan), Orbis Books, 2019, pp. 37-54.
“Synodality and Mission in Late Modernity”, in: The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Conciliarity in Modern Orthodox Christianity (eds. I. Paert, A. Shishkov, A. Kolosova), John Wiley, 2025.
“Traditional ‘African Anarchism’ and Orthodox Theology: Is a Dialogue between them Possible?” Communio Viatorum 64.2 (2022), pp. 234-258.
“Orthodox Theology’s First Encounter with Contextual Theologies: Nikos Nissiotis’ Pioneering Approach to Truth, Tradition, Witness, and Praxis”, in: Holding fast to the Mystery of the Faith: Festschrift for Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church (eds. D. Munteanu & S. Selaru), Brill, 2022, pp. 205-222.
Fr Nilos Nellis:
Title: The Ecological Crisis as an Ontological Crisis: Responding to Met. Zizioulas' statement that, "Christ recapitulates creation and gives it true being via humanity".
Description: After reading Met. Zizioulas' 'Remembering the Future' and grasping some understanding of his Eschatological Ontology I will attempt to reflect on how one might participate in the recapitulation of Nature with Christ as a response to the ecological crisis. My talk will be more of a personal reflection based on my own experience than an academic discourse. I will attempt to describe a way forward in the midst of a seemingly catastrophic future using Met. John as a guide.
Bio: Born and raised in Alberta Canada I travelled after university reading and sharing ideas. I discovered monasticism in Britain, milked sheep in France and had an experience of accidental asceticism in southern Algeria in the Hoggar mountains just above Niger. It was there that I discovered the legacy of Charles DeFoucauld and the Little Brothers of Jesus. Given 2 gallons of water for a week and staying 3 months I soon experienced a profound sense that 'Life is Gratitude'. Upon returning to Canada I studied Theology at McGill University in Montreal and volunteered at a Catholic Worker soup kitchen. It was at this time that I met Fr. Alexander Schmemann and began my journey to Orthodoxy in 1976. Two yrs later I was married and we were invited to live by the Philosopher Charles Taylor on his mt. farm in the Laurentians. We lived there for 13yrs. and enjoyed Charles and his family.
Our next chapter was a move to Vermont where I worked as the resource nurse on a busy Hematology/Oncology unit at Dartmouth College in Lebanon New Hampshire. It was there that I met Alexander Solzhenitsyn as he was preparing to return to Russia. In our Orthodox parish I was privileged to take part in a reading group on Dostoevsky led by Prof. Donald Sheehan. We used the work of Rene Girard as our critical lens. Later on my invitation , Rene and his wife Martha attended Orthodox liturgy at our parish.
Later again, after two trips to Mt. Athos and experiencing a word that held onto me, an unexpected opportunity came up where we were able to move to the mountains of British Columbia Canada. Since 2007 we have lived, boat access only, off grid, inside the Purcell Wilderness Conservancy on the north end of a lake 100 km long. I have served liturgy for those that ride the waves crossing the lake each week since 2015. We are building a Byzantine stone chapel to last a 1000 yrs.
Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis:
Title: John D. Zizioulas as the Theological Father of the Creation Day.
Description: This talk explores Zizioulas’s contribution to the establishment of Creation Day, instituted by Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios (1914-1991) in 1989 through a special encyclical. It argues that Zizioulas was not only the theological inspiration behind this encyclical, a fact recognized by those familiar with the history of this development and his overall thought, but he also wrote the encyclical itself, or at least a first draft of it, which received the approval of the late Patriarch. This encyclical marked a milestone in the eco-theological initiatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, in the framework of the increasing environmental crisis throughout the world.
Bio: Dr. Nikolaos Asproulis is deputy director of the Volos Academy for Theological Studies and lecturer at the Hellenic Open University. His research interests revolve around the history of modern Orthodox theology. He has authored numerous articles and essays, as well as edited volumes on systematic theology, ecotheology, and political theology. Since 2025, he has been chief editor of the OmegAlpha-Journal for the Study of Metropolitan John Zizioulas’ Theology; since 2019, a member of the International Orthodox Theological Association (IOTA); since 2026, a member of the Executive Committee of the European Academy of Religion (EuAre); since 2024, Chair of the PanOrthodox Concern for Animals (POCA) and since 2026, Fellow of the Oxford Centre of Animal Ethics. His publications include Towards an Orthodox Animal Theology. God, Humans, and Animals (T&T Clark, 2026 forthcoming); Theologically Reading Metropolitan of Pergamon John Zizioulas: Ecumenical, Orthodox, and Modern (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2025); (with John Chryssavgis, Priests of Creation: John Zizioulas on Discerning an Ecological Ethos (T&T Clark, London-New York, 2021).
Dr Christina Nellist:
Title: Metropolitan John of Pergamon on Isaiah 11:6-10:: Animals and Their Place in This World and the Next.
Description: This talk examines Metropolitan John of Pergamon’s view on Isaiah 11:6-10 and its importance for discussions relating to the place of non-human animals in this world and the forthcoming kingdom. I outline his view on the place of animals within the Orthodox tradition of creation care, a view which integrates worship, liturgical recognition, theological reflection and moral/ethical responsibility.
It is suggested that the metropolitan’s teachings offer a holistic vision of creation care that recognizes non-human animals as eschatologically significant participants in God’s plan, and proffers this Orthodox tradition as a corrective framework to earlier damaging theological and philosophical teachings, for addressing contemporary animal and environmental suffering.
Bio: Dr Christina Nellist is an Eastern Orthodox Theologian specializing in animal suffering and human soteriology. She is a Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics; President and Treasurer of Pan Orthodox Concern for Animals Charity (POCA); Board member of the Animal Interfaith Alliance UK; Board member of The Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration in the USA; Honorary Associate Life Member of the Progressive Veterinary Association; Consultant Editor Journal of Animal Ethics and Sub-Editor for the forthcoming Journal of Ecotheology. She was a consultant on the Orthodox film 'Face of God' and produced the 'Creation Care: Christian Responsibility Course', which is for individual, group, and parish study, and available free on the POCA website. Her works include Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Animal Suffering: Ancient Voices in Modern Theology; Climate Crisis and Creation Care: Historical Perspectives, Ecological Integrity and Justice; Climate Crisis and Sustainable Creaturely Care: Integrated Theology, Governance and Justice, and Creation Care: Orthodox Perspectives (forthcoming 2026).
An archive recording will be made for the EICSP archive.
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