17 June 2022
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Dear Fathers and Friends,
- OTSA and IOTA—January 2023: The unusual and exciting opportunity of pairing our annual OTSA meeting with the next IOTA mega conference will provide many occasions for scholarly interchange and collaboration. The OTSA meeting is on Jan. 10, 2023 and the IOTA meeting runs Jan 11-14, both in Volos, Greece. Mission is the theme for both meetings. We recall the success of the first IOTA mega conference in Romania in 2019, and how many of our OTSA members were active participants at that event. Now is the time to submit paper proposals for the IOTA meeting, and for both the OTSA sponsored sessions within IOTA (deadline August 1, 2022), and the sessions for the OTSA meeting itself (deadline Sept. 1, 2022).
- Call for IOTA papers: All proposals must be submitted as pdfs and limited to 1,000 words. The deadline for proposals has been extended to August 1, 2022. (This is the FINAL Deadline for IOTA paper proposals.) For more information, see: https://iota-web.org/call-for-papers2022/
- Within the IOTA conference are three sessions sponsored by OTSA. These proposals should include an abstract of less than 250 words and an abbreviated CV of the presenter(s), sent to the OTSA secretary, Helen Theodoropoulos, at secretary@otsamerica.org or helen60076@yahoo.com. (Deadline for OTSA sessions within IOTA papers: August 1, 2022)
- The three topics for the OTSA sponsored sessions at IOTA are:
- Academic and Ecclesiastical Freedom–When to Speak the Truth in Love: e.g., what is prophetic “speaking” in the Church? How do we use our academic and ecclesiastical voices in this time of turmoil?
- Mission to and in North America: e.g., ecumenical outreach, youth, philanthropy, etc. How is our preaching of the Gospel and mission to N. America impacted by the war and its aftermath? How do we reach those who identify with no faith (the “nones”)? How do we reach out to those Christians—including Orthodox Christians—who have grown up in the Church but now have left (the “dones”)?
- Orthodoxy in North America—Its Promise and Struggles/Tensions: e.g., the inner dynamics of Orthodox life in N. America—ecclesial polity, social media, cradle vs. convert, immigration, the rise of nationalism, etc.
- OTSA Annual Meeting papers and panels: Papers and Panel proposals exclusive to the OTSA meetingcan pertain to the theme of mission more broadly. We will also consider proposals on other topics. The deadline for these proposals: Sept. 1, 2022.
- Travel Grants: In order to help defray expenses for presenters, OTSA officers have authorized up to ten travel grants of $500.00/each for members who present at the OTSA/IOTA meetings in Volos, and submit their proposals before the deadline. Preference will be given to those without institutional support. Apply by submitting your proposal along with a request for the travel grant and a CV to the OTSA secretary, Helen Theodoropoulos, at secretary@otsamerica.org or helen60076@yahoo.com.
- Continuing Work of the OTSA Board and invitation for membership to assist:
- OTSA officers successfully completed and submitted all the required reports requested by the Assembly of Bishops, due by the end of May. Included in these reports is an extensive financial audit. We are extremely grateful to our consultant Daniel Powell for his gracious and vital assistance, and for his continued help as we organize according to the best practices principles for non-profits. This includes establishing new committees.
- We are forming three new committees to oversee OTSA’s responsibilities and objectives and invite OTSA members to assist in these areas:
- Finance and Investment: which will, in conjunction with our treasurers, prepare the budget and oversee finances, financial reporting, and investment policy
- Programs: which will help coordinate OTSA webinars, programs and the annual meeting, and who will help look for grants
- Membership: which will reach out to prospective members and promote communication among OTSA members.
Please contact Teva (teva@mit.edu) or Helen at secretary@otsamerica.org or helen60076@yahoo.com if you are interested in joining one of these committees.
- Dues: Please take the time to become current in your dues. We hope to assist members and Orthodox scholars in multiple ways, and this is possible only when we all contribute through our dues and participation in our various activities. Dues can be paid here.
- Invoicing Members: Furthermore, we want to share that our financial consultant has informed us that in order to comply with financial best practices we need to begin invoicing our members regarding dues. We will begin implementing this new procedure shortly.
- In Memoriam: David M. Dutko, a former member of OTSA, fell asleep in the Lord Friday, May 20, 2022 at his home. He was an active member of the parish family of St. Michael’s Orthodox Church in Binghamton, NY, as cantor and member of its choir, and active within the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Diocese. May his memory be eternal.
- Please send us notices about publications, webinars, etc., by you and other OTSA members so we can share this information with our membership. Send to Helen at secretary@otsamerica.org or helen60076@yahoo.com.
- The ACLS (American Council of Learned Societies) has announced a 2023 two-week summer residency in Bulgaria (the Summer Institute for the Study of East Central and Southeastern Europe) for scholars working on East Central and Southeastern Europe, at the Center for Advanced Study, Sofia. More information is here.
Respectfully submitted,
Teva Regule, PhD, OTSA President
Helen Creticos Theodoropoulos, PhD, OTSA Secretary