On July 26, 2008, Saint Athanasius and Saint Cyril Theological Library held its Second Annual Conference entitled “Understanding the Holy Trinity.” With God’s grace and through your prayers, the conference was a resounding success.
The conference commenced with a general youth meeting on the evening of Friday, July 25. Michael Wissa, a student at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in Brookline, Massachusetts, was the first speaker; he presented his paper entitled “Introduction to Theology” in which he outlined the intersection of theology with four areas of our lives, including faith, intellect, piety, and community. Mr. Wissa was followed by Daniel Habib, a graduate of Holy Cross presently serving at St. John Coptic Orthodox Church in Covina, California. He presented his paper entitled “The Holy Trinity in St. Athanasius’ Letters to St. Serapion.” Mr. Habib illustrated how St. Athanasius’ letters replete with Orthodox teaching on the Holy Trinity. Both of these papers submitted by young theologians were rich in spiritual and intellectual depth.
Our beloved guest lecturer and friend, the Reverend Father George Dion. Dragas was the next speaker. He delivered a brilliant and edifying lecture on the general Orthodox understanding of the Holy Trinity. Although the lecture was scheduled to finish at 9:30 p.m., the youth intently received Fr. George’s words with joy and enthusiasm until 11:00 p.m.
Early next morning, His Grace Bishop Serapion celebrated the Divine Liturgy. After a catered lunch, Fr. George presented his first lecture on the Orthodox understanding of the Holy Trinity. His Grace Bishop Serapion was the next speaker with his presentation on “The Knowledge of God,” which explored Saint Gregory Nazianzen’s teachings on theology and its study. Fr. George then completed his second lecture on the Holy Trinity. All of the lectures displayed great spiritual depth and were collectively a source of blessing for the conference’s attendees.
With God’s grace, DVDs and audio CDs of the youth meeting and conference will be made available through www.copticlibrary.org soon. The DVDs of the First Annual Conference entitled “Reading the Scriptures with Saint Cyril” will also be available soon.
The Library extends its thanks to His Grace Bishop Serapion for his spiritual and edifying presentation, and for his continued support and prayers. The Library likewise thanks the Reverend Father George Dion. Dragas for his commitment to the Library and his effort in preparing the wonderful lectures of this conference. We also thank all of the clergy from our sister churches and all of the attendees who made this conference a blessed success.
