International conference in Kyiv dedicated to the First Ecumenical Council

Conference at the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary. Photo: KDAiS website

On October 21, 2025, the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary (KDAiS) hosted the 17th International Scientific and Practical Conference “Spiritual and Secular Education: History of Relations – Modernity – Prospects.”

A total of 69 speakers participated, both in person and online, including representatives of the theological schools of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, faculty members from secular universities in Ukraine and abroad, and students of the Kyiv Theological Schools. The opening and plenary sessions were held in the Assembly Hall of the Holosiiv Monastery (academic building).

The presidium of the plenary session included:
– Metropolitan Clement of Nizhyn and Pryluky, chairman of the UOC Synodal Educational Committee;
– Archbishop Sylvester of Bilohorodka, rector of the Kyiv Theological Academy and Seminary;
– Archbishop Ambrosii of Zghurivka, vice-rector for educational work;
– Bishop Panteleimon of Baturyn, vice-rector for academic affairs;
– Professor Volodymyr Bureha, vice-rector for academic and theological research.

The first plenary report, “The First Ecumenical Council and Its Place in the History of the Orthodox Church,” was delivered by Archbishop Sylvester, rector of KDAiS. He was followed by Metropolitan Victor of Khmelnytskyi, professor at the Kyiv Theological Academy, with his paper “The Church’s Mission in an Era of Change: Reflections of His Beatitude Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan),” dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the late Primate’s birth.

Next, Professor Volodymyr Bureha, vice-rector for academic and theological research, presented a report titled “The Sixth Canon of the First Ecumenical Council and Its Interpretation in the East and West.” The final plenary paper, “The Liturgical Life of the Church During the Period of the First Ecumenical Council,” was presented by Fr. Mykola Stets, vice-rector for educational work at the Seminary.

Following the plenary session and lunch break, a roundtable for instructors of canon law was held, and the conference continued with six thematic sections:

1. Theological, Canonical, and Historical Dimensions of the First Ecumenical Council
2. Theology and Patristics in Historical and Contemporary Perspective
3. Biblical Exegesis, Hermeneutics, and Isagogy
4. The Historical Path of Orthodoxy in Ukraine
5. The Church in the Modern World: Mission, Liturgy, and Diakonia
6. The Church’s Tradition in the Light of Modernity

For participants from other cities and countries, the sessions were held online via Google Meet. The section moderators included professors of the Kyiv Theological Schools and representatives of other theological institutions.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the conference also discussed Metropolitan Volodymyr’s views on autocephaly.

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