Webinar: The Impact of the Greek Revolution on the Universal Character of Greek Orthodoxy
Speaker: Fr. Chrysostom Frank
Description: The Greek War of Independence of 1821, set within the context of a rising 19th -century ethno-nationalism that culminated in various revolutions throughout Europe, was instrumental in the creation of both the modern Greek state and the modern Greek Church. Freedom from what was experienced as an oppressive Ottoman Empire is crucial for understanding not only the sociopolitical history of present-day Greece, but also for understanding contemporary Greek Orthodoxy as embedded in the Greek nation. Separation from the Ottoman Empire brought with it separation also from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the ecclesiastical structure that had preserved a catholic, universalist sense within Eastern Orthodoxy, even as it experienced very difficult socio-political circumstances under Turkish hegemony. The newly-found freedom of the Orthodox Church in Greece became intertwined with the ideology of the emerging nation-state. This resulted in a certain loss of the catholic consciousness of Eastern Orthodoxy and the morphing of the Greek Church into a more nationalistic form of Christianity.
Fr. Chrysostom Frank is a Russian Greek Catholic priest. He currently serves SS. Cyril and Methodius Russian Greek Catholic Church in Denver and teaches at Regis University. Fr. Chrysostom is married to Marica Frank (neé Catacousinos), and they have three sons. Fr. Frank has a BA from Concordia College, an MDiv from Nashotah House Theological Seminary; he has also spent time at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Both Fr. Chrysostom and Marica have doctorates (in Church History and Classics respectively) from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where they met and were married. After working in South Africa from 1983 to 1999, the family moved to Denver. Included among the institutions where Fr. Chrysostom has taught are the University of Cape Town, the University of South Africa, Theological Academy (now the Ukrainian Catholic University) and Seminary in Lviv, St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, and Regis University. He has given papers at conferences in South Africa, England, Sweden and the United States, and has published articles in various journals, including Greek Orthodox Theological Review, St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly, Studia Historiae Ecclesiasticae, Ekklesiastikos Pharos, Theological Studies, Acta Patristica et Byzantina, Eastern Churches Journal, and Currents in Theology and Mission.
Hosting Organizations:
Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Denver
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Denver (OLLI at DU)