Pro Ecclesia 2024 Conference

Conference Theme

Many clergy and laity are struggling more than ever to balance unity and truth, holiness and inclusion, ecclesiastical catholicity and cultural ductility, apostolicity and modernity. We have witnessed this in some of the recent schisms of the church, debates over the papacy of Francis I, disappointments surrounding the recent Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church (Crete 2016), and the everyday struggle of many faithful priests/pastors to manage expectations regarding their ministries to those who transgress their churches’ teachings regarding sexual activity. How are God’s people meant to manage these tensions? How might their leaders work together to champion the ancient marks of the church—that is, all of them together--in an age when ethnocentrism, libertarian freedom, and culture wars have overwhelmed the sphere of public opinion? Please join us in June as we work on these questions in the spirit of evangelical catholicism. Our speakers will include Paul Gavrilyuk (University of St. Thomas), Francesca Murphy (Notre Dame), Angela Franks (St. John’s Seminary in Boston), David Luy (North American Lutheran Seminary), Matt O’Reilly (Christ Church Birmingham and Wesley Biblical Seminary) and Russell Levenson (St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston, banquet speaker). All are thoughtful church people active in addressing these questions with care. The Protestants among them will address their churches' efforts to balance ancient marks of the church with Reformation-era marks such as faithfulness in the ministries of the Word and sacrament (and, for some, church discipline). All will help us think about how best to champion the creedal marks of the church in an ecumenical manner and with cultural sensitivity.

Conference Speakers

**Paul Gavrilyuk**

**University of St. Thomas** | Published in nine languages, his works include: The Suffering of the Impassible God (Oxford, 2004), Histoire du catéchuménat dans l’église ancienne(Cerf, 2007), The Spiritual Senses: Perceiving God in Western Christianity (co-edited with Sarah Coakley, Cambridge, 2012) and Georges Florovsky and the Russian Religious Renaissance (Oxford, 2014). In addition to his teaching at the University of St. Thomas, he held visiting appointments at Harvard Divinity School (spring 2007) and Calvin College (summer 2013).

**Francesca Murphy**

**Notre Dame** | Francesca Aran Murphy is the author of numerous books, including: Christ the Form of Beauty (T & T Clark), God is Not a Story (OUP) and a theological commentary on I Samuel (Brazos). She is currently editing a series for Bloomsbury Academic called Illuminating Modernity.

**Angela Franks**

**St. John's Seminary in Boston** | *University of Dallas, B.A.; Catholic University of America, M.A.; Boston College, Ph.D. Angela Franks is a Theology Professor at St. John’s Seminary.*

**David Luy**

**North American Lutheran Seminary** | Dr. David Luy is the Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at the North American Lutheran Seminary in Ambridge, Pennsylvania. He has published a book entitled Dominus Mortis: Martin Luther on the Incorruptibility of God in Christ (Fortress, 2014), has contributed to various theological journals and encyclopedias (e.g., Luther Digest, The International Journal of Systematic Theology, Modern Theology, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Martin Luther, and the Oxford Handbook of Deification) and is currently at work on a monograph project entitled The Fate of Christocentrism in Modern Theology (Oxford University Press).

**Matt O'Reilly**

**Christ Church Birmingham and Wesley Biblical Seminary** | As Director of Research, Dr. O’Reilly provides leadership in Wesley’s Doctor of Ministry program. He also serves as Lead Pastor of Christ Church Birmingham. Dr. O’Reilly is the author of Paul and the Resurrected Body: Social Identity and Ethical Practice (SBL Press) and The Letters to the Thessalonians (Seedbed). His essays have appeared in Journal for the Study of Paul and his Letters, Wesleyan Theological Journal, Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies, The Bulletin of Ecclesial Theology and The Princeton Theological Review. He is married to Naomi, and they have three children.

**Russell Levenson**

**St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston** | Dr. Levenson has been an ordained Episcopal priest for nearly thirty years. Having served in various roles at churches in Alabama, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Florida, he and his wife Laura live in Houston, Texas where he has been the rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church for the last twelve years. He has published several books on faith and Christianity. His newest book, Witness to Dignity, is now available.

Conference Schedule

Monday, June 10, 2024

Holy Trinity + Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Birmingham.

6:00 p.m. | Registration: Holy Trinity + Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Birmingham
7:00 p.m. | Session 1: Dr. Paul Gavrilyuk, University of St. Thomas (Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards, Dean, Holy Trinity + Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral, Birmingham; Assistant Professor, St. Valdimir’s Orthodox Seminary)
8:10 p.m. | Compline: Fr. Gregory Edwards

Tuesday, June 11, 2024

Beeson Divinity School, Birmingham.

9:00 a.m. | Morning Prayer: Rev. Dr. Brad Jantz, Ecumenical Officer, Diocese of Birmingham, Pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Montevallo, AL
9:30 a.m. | Session 2: Dr. Angela Franks, Professor, St. John’s Seminary, Boston (Facilitator: Dr. Michael Root, Professor Emeritus, Catholic University of America)
10:40 a.m. | Break: Commons Room, Divinity Hall, Beeson Divinity School
11:00 a.m. | Session 3: Dr. David Luy, Associate Professor, North American Lutheran Seminary (Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Piotr Malysz, Associate Professor, Beeson Divinity School; Assistant Pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Birmingham)
12:30 p.m. | Lunch: Commons Room, Divinity Hall, Beeson Divinity School
1:30 p.m. | Session 4: Rev. Dr. Matt O’Reilly, Lead Pastor, Christ Church Birmingham; Director of Research, Wesley Biblical Seminary (Facilitator: Dr. James P. Byrd, Professor, Vanderbilt University)
2:40 p.m. | Guided Tour of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute: Rev. Dr. Thomas Wilder, Pastor, Bethel Baptist Church, Birmingham
6:00 p.m. | Banquet: The Club Birmingham
Banquet Speaker: Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr., Rector, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston (Facilitator: Rev. Dr. Jonathan Linebaugh, Anglican Chair of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School)

Wednesday, June 12, 2024