• Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis

    Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis

    Theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch

    The Rev. Dr. John CHRYSSAVGIS, Archdeacon of the Ecumenical Throne, was born in Australia and studied theology (University of Athens) and Byzantine Music (Greek Conservatory of Music). He completed his Ph.D. at the University of Oxford.

    After spending time on Mt Athos, he served as Personal Assistant to Archbishop Stylianos in Australia, where he co-founded St Andrew’s Theological College and taught at the University of Sydney. Subsequently, he was appointed Professor of Theology at Holy Cross School of Theology and directed the Religious Studies Program at Hellenic College. He currently serves as theological advisor to the Ecumenical Patriarch and senior advisor to our Department.

    The author of many books and articles in several languages on theology, spirituality, and ecology, Fr. John’s publications include three volumes of collected works by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, whose biography by Fr. John was published by Harper Collins.
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Ethics

Do the Gospels Really Worry about Supporting the Nuclear Family?

by on August 12, 2022
by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis This essay was originally published by Religion News Service (RNS) and is republished here with permission. In the Orthodox Christian world, few places are better known or more lovingly venerated than Mount Athos, the 10th-century Greek monastery legendarily dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Composed of 20 citadels scattered over a...

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Public Life

Have We Hit Rock Bottom?
Reflections of a Not-So-Innocent Bystander

by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis on | Views: 7056 | Readers' rating:
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by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis There are very few occasions in our lives—critical, pivotal events—that are truly life-shattering. We Orthodox describe them as kairos moments. World War II was one of these. In my lifetime, there was 9/11. Institutions and individuals are defined by such moments. We... Read more.
Religion and Politics

An Orthodox Christian Standing with Ukraine
Personal Reflections on Russia’s War on Ukraine

by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis on | Views: 10890 | Readers' rating:
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by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis | български | ქართული | ελληνικά | Română | Русский | Српски Few, if any, would go so far as to claim that Patriarch Kirill, as head of the Orthodox Church in Russia (or “the Russias,” as he likes to say), could be charg... Read more.
Also available in: Ελληνικά | Română | Српски | български | ქართული | Русский
Christian Practice

The Value of Nothing: Lessons from COVID-19 on Silence and Stillness

by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis on | Views: 3639 | Readers' rating:
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by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis | ελληνικά | ру́сский  I’ve always admired the early monks and nuns of the desert literature. Not because they discovered ways of escaping the reality of paying taxes. Not only because their words were inspirational and their prayer transformative. And... Read more.
Also available in: Ελληνικά | Русский
Ecclesiology

A Renewed Diaconate Completes the Church

by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis on | Views: 1626 | Readers' rating:
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In recent centuries, the diaconate has only enjoyed a symbolical or transitional role in the church. Parish clergy are ordained to the priesthood after serving only briefly as deacons. It is as if they are expected to “move on!” or “move up!” The diaconate has been reduced to little more tha... Read more.
Also available in: Српски | Русский | Ελληνικά
Religion and Politics, Religion and the Environment

The President’s Men and the Emperor’s Clothes

by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis on | Views: 941 | Readers' rating:
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The UN Climate Change Conference taking place this week in Bonn, Germany, is once again revealing how unrestrained exceptionalism is digging our country only deeper into global isolationism. As an American citizen, I am often confronted with the U.S. announcement to withdraw from the Paris Agreement... Read more.
Religion and Politics

Politics by Candlelight: Contemplating Political Catharsis and Illumination

by Rev. Dr. John Chryssavgis on | Views: 1092 | Readers' rating:
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“Democracy is coming to the USA.” (Leonard Cohen) Americans don’t like talking openly about politics across party lines; they prefer to talk in their own silos and not to each other. American Christians – at least, this is my experience among Orthodox Christians in America – would almo... Read more.

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