For reasons I still do not comprehend, I have been invited to give a talk in Wales at the November Theotokos Institute Conference. God knows I have no qualifications, but I have to trust the conference organizers to know what they are doing. I of course had to accept. While I will not be doing any touring of Wales, it will still be great to visit Cardiff, imbibe one or two (or three) pints of famous Welsh beer, and to share my eclectic thoughts with the brethren.
My talk is entitled “St Isaac the Syrian, Apocatastasis, and the Renewal of Orthodox Preaching.” I’m neither theologian nor scholar, but I do have some thoughts on how preachers should proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hopefully the address will be of interest to all who attend. I’m fairly confident that no one will be bored by it.
If you live in the U.K., do consider attending the conference, not particularly to hear me; but you sure don’t want to miss out on the lecture given by the esteemed theologian Fr Andrew Louth!
Over the next two months you may find that my blog is a tad less active than it has been for the past two years. I now need to devote my time to preparing for and writing my lecture. EO is not going dark, but you probably won’t be seeing long series of articles (the angels rejoice!). One or two articles a week, plus the occasional citation from the Fathers, is probably all I’ll be able to manage. I ask for your prayers.
Eclectic Orthodoxy 
Fr. Aidan, I wish you all the best with your lecture I am sure it will be very fine my hope is that it will be avaliable somehow on Youtube or in podcast form after the fact.
LikeLike
You will do well. My prayers are with you.
“Lord, help Fr. Kimel to prepare for the lecture he is going to be giving.”
Taking a break is also good. I’m taking a break from my blog for school. Maybe some day I’ll be in your shoes giving a lecture.
LikeLike
I think the decline of “Christendom” offers a golden opportunity for the church and Europe is generation or two in front of us in that regard. Let the Spirit speak!
LikeLike
apropos of nothingness, one of my favorite quotes came to mind:
It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world … but for Wales, Richard?
–Sir Thomas More, A Man for All Seasons
LikeLike
Wonderful, father.
I recommend a book called A Welsh Childhood by Alice Thomas Ellis, btw. Wish I could be there to hear your lecture.
LikeLike
For years now our family has watched the BBC production of “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” every Christmas Eve.
LikeLike
Find out if there are any open theists in Wales for me!
LikeLike
Haha! Open theists generally don’t hang out in Orthodox & Catholic circles. I suspect the topic won’t come up in my conversations. 🙂
LikeLike
Hopefully your talk is recorded in some form or manner!
LikeLike
If you lecture is recorded Fr. Al, could you purty please post it for those of us who are unable to get to jolly ole England to see it in person???
LikeLike
My wife is also hoping that the talk is recorded, as she’ll be unable to join me on the trip.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is terrrific! Yes, definitely, if it gets recorded, do make it available to us, lest several of us commit the sin of envying your audience. 🙂
LikeLike
Delightful news (even should it not feel simply like that during all your preparatory work…)! May Christ Our True God in the Zoopoeic and Philanthropic Trinity bring you safely through time and space – and labor – to that occasion and back again!
Not long before seeing this post, I saw the announcement of the 21st and last of the Rev. Professor Andrew Louth’s lectures in his series on The Ways of Modern Orthodox Theology for the Amsterdam Centre for Eastern Orthodox Theology on 6 November. (Here’s the link:
http://www.aceot.nl/pages/sub/64545/Modern_Orthodox_Theology.html )
I don’t expect I will be able to Channel-hop and come along to (one of) my ancestral homeland(s), Wales, for your talk, but if you could find out a way to make it a mini-European tour by hopping over to, say, the Amsterdam Centre for Eastern Orthodox Theology, to give it again… (That’s only about an hour away for me…!)
LikeLike
What a great course Fr Andrew is offering. I would love to hear those lectures!
LikeLike
Yes! We can only hope they’ll be more widely available in one form or another!
I almost always seem to hear about Centre-related public events after they have taken place (need to check the site oftener!), and so, absurdly enough, have never made it to any, yet. (And now, I have a choir rehearsal at the same time as this lecture… maybe I can get permission to miss one, this once…)
LikeLike