Conference on the Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church held in Germany

CONFERENCE ON THE BASES OF THE SOCIAL CONCEPT OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH HELD IN GERMANY

An international conference entitled “The Beginning of a New Era? The Social Doctrine of the Russian Orthodox Church adopted in August 2000” took place in Muhlheim am Ruhr, Germany, on February 19-20, 2003. The conference was organized by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation with assistance of the Catholic ‘Wolfsburg’ Academy, the Episcopal ‘Renovabis’ Foundation and the Commission for Public and Social Affairs of the Episcopal Conference in Germany. Among the speakers were Orthodox and Catholic sociologists, public figures and publicists from Russia, Germany and Austria.

Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, DECR vice-chairman, delivered a key report on the Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church: Grounds, Working Out and Prospects. Professors of the Russian Orthodox University G. Afanasyev and A. Zubov, members of the Synodal working group on the preparation of the draft text, also presented their reports.

Many participants in the conference pointed out a resemblance of the Russian Orthodox social teaching to that of the Catholic Church as well as the importance of the joint participation of the two Churches in social processes that challenge Christians with secularism and are characterized by a variety of new political, economic, scientific and technologic realities.

See also:

Bases of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church