Deacon Nicholas Denysenko (alumnus, ’00) was recently appointed the new Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), where he also holds the position of Assistant Professor of Theological Studies, Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts. The Huffington Ecumenical Institute (HEI) focuses on issues impacting the daily lives of Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians.
“I am delighted to have the privilege to serve Loyola Marymount University in my recent appointment to be the director of Huffington Ecumenical Institute,” said Dn. Denysenko. “One of my own goals for the institute is to encourage all Orthodox to participate in this robust ecumenical dialogue. My hope is that Orthodox will benefit not only from presenting the Orthodox perspective to Catholics, but that in hearing others, we might also learn more about ourselves and our context.
“In November 2010,” he continued, “I was privileged to share Orthodox views on the Virgin Mary with Fr. Dorian Llywelyn, S.J., representing the Catholic tradition. Events like these are of great importance to the institute. In ecclesial and academic settings, we often analyze the historical and theological developments that have separated Catholics and Orthodox. One of our goals is to identify the many things Catholics and Orthodox share and engage in faith, worship, and daily life, in honest and open conversation.
“The Huffington Ecumenical Institute seeks to be a home on the West Coast where Catholics and Orthodox can gather, exchange dialogue, share fellowship, and pray together. We will continue to make clergy and laity, along with academics, feel welcome to join our conversation. It is our hope and prayer that open and honest dialogue might serve as viable help in progress towards reconciliation,” he concluded.
Dn. Denysenko, who holds a doctoral degree from The Catholic University of America, has taught at The Catholic University of America, George Washington University, and at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. He is an ordained deacon of the Orthodox Church in America. He joined LMU in Fall 2010.
His areas of current research include the “Blessing of Waters in the Byzantine Rite”; “Orthodox Ecclesiology in Ordination Rites”; “Contemporary Pastoral Liturgy”; “Heortology”; “The Christmas and Lenten Liturgical Cycles”; “Mariology in Liturgy”; the “Ukrainian Famine of 1932–33” and “Faith.” He has published many articles in such prestigious journals as Logos: A Journal of Eastern Christian Studies, Studia Liturgica, Theological Studies, and St. Vladimir’s Theological Quarterly.
