SSJC Pittsburgh Meeting June 2018

On Monday June 4 2018 the third meeting for the Pittsburgh chapter of the Society of St. John Chrysostom was held at SS Cyril & Methodius Seminary on Pittsburgh’s northside.

SS Cyril & Methodius Seminary is an accredited theological school providing priestly formation since the 1950s and a Theological Center of Learning, handing-on the Tradition of the Christian East offering degree and certificate programs both in person and online. The seminary kindly donated the use of the chapel and smart classroom for the SSJC meeting.

SSJC meetings consist of opening prayer, generally in the tradition of the hosting facility, followed by a main presentation with discussion on the topic for the day. More information in the SSJC mission and Pittsburgh chapter can be found here.

Opening prayer: The session opened with the moleben to the Holy Spirit in the seminary chapel. This brief liturgical service focusing praise on a specific person or event in the Byzantine liturgical tradition offered an opportunity to pray as a group and reflect on the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Presentation & discussion: Fr. David Fisher was the featured speaker covering two topics at this session, Comparing and Contrasting Purgatory of the Latin/Roman Tradition with the Eastern Tradition of Final Theosis” & “Pneumatology (Theology of the Holy Spirit) in the Liturgical Theology and Practice of Catholicism and Orthodoxy. Fr. David organized the scriptural, patristic and liturgical foundations used for the various positions presented in the lecture. The slides contained the key quotations and citations of the original sources then justifying that position. The questions and comments from the group provided a positive engagement with the material.

Presentation Downloads

Fr. David has provided the slides for download to all four presentations made during his Pittsburgh and Youngstown lectures.

Purgatory and Theosis

The Holy Spirit and the Liturgy

The History of the Filioque Problem

Western Scholasticism and the Eastern Orthodox Response

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Email: ssjc-pgh@puluka.com

Presentation Recordings

The History of the Filioque Problem

How Western Scholasticism Changed the Theological/Philosophical Approach of the Fathers