Eastern Churches Go West: Minority Churches as Settlers and Transnational Actors in Finland
Maija Penttilä As the Russian-speaking population living in Finland has grown, so have the numbers of Russian-speaking churches and their members. Some of these churches are firmly rooted in Finnish soil, such as the parishes of the Russian Orthodox Church, which have almost 100 years, or the Baptist church Vifania, whose roots are claimed to […]
When is Christian Conversion Genuine? Two Patristic Perspectives
Harri Huovinen In the individualistic climate of contemporary Finland, being questioned about one’s innermost convictions has, until recently, been rather rare. The diversification of religious identity landscapes in Western societies, especially the inclusion of asylum seekers in churches, has sparked discussions around the authenticity of Christian conversion. As a result, immigration service officers now attempt […]
The Status of the Reinstitution of Deaconesses in the Orthodox Church Today: Consecrated in Africa, Considered Elsewhere
Carrie Frederick Frost Much of my scholarship is on the topic of deaconesses and I am chair of the St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess, a US nonprofit dedicated to the reinstitution of deaconess in the Orthodox Church, because I perceive these possible changes to be a fulfillment of the Church’s teachings that will help […]
The Dialogue between Christianity and Science in the West and in the East
Juuso Loikkanen In recent decades, the relationship between Christianity and natural science has become a popular area of research in academia. In addition to finding its way into university philosophy and theology departments, several research centres have been established dedicated solely to the study of science and religion. Owing to popular atheist authors, like Richard […]
Studies for whom? Eastern and Western Readership in the Age of Globalization
Serafim Seppälä We scholars publish a lot, but for what purpose? For whom? Who reads our papers and where? This is a question which may need some consideration and elaboration every now and then. In fact, the situation has been rather confounding. A decade or two ago, unbelievable as it may sound, most academic articles […]