Continuing the theme he developed here at USML in his Paluch Lectures last year, we are pleased to inform the University community about the continuing work of Archdeacon John Chryssavgis on the theology of the environment.
Archdeacon John Chryssavgis and Dr. Le Ann Clement discuss the theological dimensions of the pandemic in a national program “COVID-19 and the Renewal of the Earth.”
In 2015, Pope Francis declared September 1st the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. Archdeacon John will be keynote lecturer along with Dr. Lee Ann Clement in a national online program co-sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Saint Augustine and the Saint Photios Greek Orthodox National Shrine, on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 7:00 PM Eastern time (6:00 PM Central) The event is free, but registration is required. Click here to register.
The Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis served as the 2019 Chester and Margaret Paluch Professor of Theology at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake. He is currently an author and theologian serving as theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch. In this role, he has worked closely with the Catholic Church on the care of creation. Pope Francis authored the preface to one of Archdeacon John’s books. Archdeacon John is a clergyman of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Born in Australia, he graduated from Athens University and Oxford University. His publications focus on medieval theology, as well as on the history of the Eastern Church. His interests embrace the areas of spirituality and ecology.
Lee Ann J. Clements, PhD, is the chair of the Committee on Integral Ecology for the Diocese of St Augustine. She is a professor of biology and marine science at Jacksonville University. Dr. Clements has served on the boards of the National Conferences for Undergraduate Research (NCUR), and the Jacksonville Museum of Science and History (MOSH). Her research interests center around adaptations of marine organisms to changing environmental conditions.
The Chester and Margaret Paluch Chair of Theology is an endowment established by the Paluch Family Foundation in honor of two great friends of Mundelein Seminary. Margaret (Mickey) Paluch served on the Board of Advisors for many years and was a champion of vocations. This visiting professorship brings distinguished scholars to Mundelein to enrich our offerings to the seminarians and the students of the five other schools and institutes. It also sponsors a series of public lectures that open the riches of the University of Saint Mary of the Lake to the wider public.
