Repentance in Glory: Byzantine Liturgy as Counsel for Apocalyptic Times

Join us for an evening of learning and fellowship as we listen to Prof. Fr. Khaled Anatolios of Notre Dame followed by a reception at Harvard Faculty Club. Prof. Anatolios is the John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He is also a priest of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. He has published on a variety of early Christian theologians including Irenaeus, Origen, Athanasius, Augustine, and Gregory of Nyssa. A particular focus of his work is the engagement between early Christian theological reflection and contemporary theological concerns.

Talk Title: Repentance in Glory: Byzantine Liturgy as Counsel for Apocalyptic Times

There seems to be a prevailing mood of such pessimism about the future of the world as would warrant the label of “eschatological anguish”. But Christian faith has always recommended a posture of readiness for the impending end of the world “at an unexpected hour” (Mt 24:44). This posture includes both the enactment of a repentance for one’s complicity in the corruption of the old world and the experience of joy at the inbreaking of the new world of the Kingdom of God. The inculcation of this posture in the celebration of the Byzantine Divine Liturgy provides invaluable guidance for grappling with “eschatological anguish”.