As the holder of the Donohue Chair at the Pontifical Oriental Institute for the 2014-15 academic year, Dr. Paul Meyendorff, St. Vladimir's Father Alexander Schmemann Professor of Liturgical Theology, traveled to Rome, Italy on March 19–28, 2015. The Oriental Institute, part of the Gregorian University, offers graduate degrees in Eastern History, Theology, Liturgy, and Canon Law. At the Institute, the SVOTS professor taught a week-long course and delivered the annual Donohue Lecture to an audience of some 200 persons. The lecture was entitled "Towards a Baptismal Ecclesiology."
While in Rome, Dr. Meyendorff also visited with alumna Dr. Tamara Grdzelidze. An Orthodox theologian and former staff member of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Dr. Grdzelidze was appointed the nation of Georgia's new ambassador to the Holy See last year. She presented her credentials to Pope Francis at the Vatican in September of 2014.
