In an event organised by the Archdiocese of Athens, the 34th Conference of Representatives of Orthodox Churches and Metropolises of the Church of Greece, dealing with the issues of sectarianism and para-religions is taking place in Piraeus, Greece, on the theme “Manifestations, Influences, and the Pan-Religious Vision of the New Age.”
Hosted by the Metropolis of Piraeus, the conference will be held from 5th to 7th November 2024. At the invitation of His Beatitude Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens and All Greece, the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church has appointed Archimandrite Eusebius (Meandžija) and Presbyter Dr. Oliver Subotić to participate in the conference.
The first day of the conference commenced with a Small Blessing of Waters, performed by His Eminence Metropolitan Damaskinos of Kidonies and Apokoronas, with the blessing of Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus. Following this, the local Church’s representative, Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Kyriakos Tsouros, Secretary of the Synodal Commission for Contemporary Heresies, welcomed the conference participants. Greeting letters were then read from the Primates of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, as well as from the Serbian Patriarchate, the Bulgarian Patriarchate, the Archdiocese of Cyprus, the Polish Orthodox Church, the Albanian Archdiocese, and the Archdiocese of Athens.
In his greeting address from His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije of Serbia, read by Archimandrite Eusebius, the historical origins, key characteristics, and operational directions of the so-called New Age sects were highlighted. Following this, the Serbian Patriarchate’s second representative, Presbyter Dr. Oliver Subotić, briefly introduced the participants to a project initiated by His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije, through the establishment of the Missionary Department of the Diocese of Belgrade-Karlovci, specifically its Section for Apologetic Mission, which addresses sectarian and heretical challenges of the so-called New Age in a thorough and expert manner.
The host of the conference, Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, also addressed the participants, officially opening the expert conference dedicated to contemporary sects and heresies within the New Age phenomenon. He provided an insightful reflection on transhumanist ideology within the context of the conference theme. The opening was attended by Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira, Metropolitan Mark of Chios, and Bishop Paul of Thespiae, Vicar of the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece.
The first lecture was delivered by Professor Konstantinos Kotziopoulos from the Faculty of Theology in Thessaloniki, on the topic “The New Era, Post-Humanism, and Artificial Intelligence.”Source: Serbian Orthodox Chirch
