Center for Orthodox Thought Takes Root at Eastern

The wait is over! After much prayer and thoughtful deliberation, the Agora Institute at Eastern University has officially launched the Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture. According to the Agora Institute’s website, the center will provide students with the option to minor in Orthodox Thought and Culture and will “serve as an intellectual and spiritual home for Orthodox students and scholars.” Dr. Gary (Cyril) Jenkins, alongside many faithful Orthodox intellectuals, has spearheaded this exciting new project.

This fall, the center will be running its first course at Eastern University, entitled Modern Greek Literature in Translation. The class will be taught by Anastasia Alexander, M.A. in Comparative Literature, Greek (Classical, Biblical and Modern), French and English, University of California, Riverside.

According to Cosmos Philly, “the course will explore the texts’ distinctively Greek character, how they reflect Greek life, culture, religion, philosophy and history…and seek to understand the place of Modern Greek Literature within the field of European and Oriental (Asia Minor) literature, focusing on the common themes of the human condition.” There is limited availability left in this course, so all interested students should sign up sooner rather than later.

Recently, the center released a promotional video featuring students, as well as faculty, involved with the institute. A core message of the video is that the center allows students to study Orthodox Thought and Culture alongside of their major.

According to the Agora Institute’s website, “students at the Center benefit from a rigorous education in the Great Books of Eastern Christianity, a daily cycle of Orthodox worship and, as fully integrated students in the Eastern University system, are able to pursue accredited degrees in 35+ different fields.” Emmie Moffitt, a rising junior in the Templeton Honors College, expresses this in her interview: “You can be a chemistry major and also know the Church Fathers really well.” The video also makes clear that the aim of institute is to form whole persons, not just intellects. The faculty are dedicated to forming virtuous and moral human persons, dedicated to a life of community within the Orthodox Church.

I know I speak for the entire Eastern community when I say that we are excited and honored to officially welcome the Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture.

Sources: agorainstitute.org, cosmosphilly.com, eastern.edu