From June 10–21, 2017, Archpriest Alexander Rentel, assistant professor of Canon Law and M.Div. program director at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, travelled to Italy to participate in two different seminars and to attend the First European Academy of Religion, a large member-based research network, connecting organizations that deal with religious studies in Europe. During this time he was able to meet with SVOTS Alumni, SVS Press authors, and friends of our school.
In Vatican City, from June 12–13, Fr. Alexander participated in a workshop at the Congregation for Oriental Churches on the subject, “‘Ancestral Traditions’ (Orientalium Ecclesiarum 6): Status Questionis, Problems, Challenges.” At this workshop, Fr. Alexander presented a reflection entitled “The Orthodox Vision on the Concept of ‘Ancestral Traditions.’” The workshop was organized by Fr. Thomas Pott, OSB, and included participants from the different Byzantine Catholic Churches. His Eminence Archbishop Job of Telmessos, of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, also participated as an Orthodox observer at this event.
From Rome, Fr. Alexander traveled to Bologna and took part in a seminar at the John XXIII Foundation for the Study of Religious Science, from June 14–16. The international seminar was held in honor of the Giuseppe Alberigo on the subject of Election of Bishops throughout history. During this colloquium, Fr. Alexander gave a formal paper titled, “Father John Meyendorff and the Election Procedures for the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America: Theology in Action.” In his paper, Fr. Alexander discussed a series of editorials that Protopresbyter John Meyendorff had written in 1977 for The Orthodox Churchnewspaper, concerning the election of a new metropolitan for the Orthodox Church in America, following the resignation of Metropolitan Ireney. The paper compared the 1971 and 1974 Statutes of OCA with the Decisions of the 1917–18 Moscow Council and demonstrated the influence of Fr. Nicholas Afanasiev on both the drafting of the OCA Statute and the writing of Fr. John.
After this seminar, Fr. Alexander attended the opening of the European Academy of Religion–Ex nihilo “Zero Conference.” At this conference, Fr. Alexander was able to meet with SVOTS Alumnus, Dr. Brandon Gallaher (M.Div. 2003), lecturer of Systematic and Comparative Theology, University of Exeter. By happenstance both Fr. Alexander and Dr. Gallaher were able to visit with our alumnus John Shoji (M.Div. 2007), who was traveling in Italy at the same time of the conference.
