Orthodoxy, Human Rights, Peace Studies

Orthodox Theology and Human Rights

One of the Chair’s main focus points of research is the exploration of conflicts, differences, but also intersections and potentials for mutual enrichment between the concept of human rights and patterns of the Orthodox theological tradition. Human rights are still often – inappropriately – perceived and treated as a Western project, nurtured by both Christian tradition and particular Western traces such as Renaissance, Enlightentment. Orthodox Christian tradition, on the other hand, is a Christian, but not Western tradition.

Peace Studies

A second focus of the chair’s scientific and public activities is connected with the teaching on war and peace in both the Eastern and Western tradition. There is obviously more than a mere theoretical relevance to such studies. Eastern Christians, for example in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, Armenia and, last but not least in Russia and Ukraine are finding themselves in the midst of the conflict zones of today’s world. More often than not there is a historical dimension to these conflicts, which needs to be known for an appropriate understanding.

The current war against Ukraine has repeatedly been framed as a “war of ideas”. Most of these ideas include patterns presented as religious. Finding ways back towards peace, however difficult this might seem, presupposes an adequate understanding of these ideas and their potential for either peace building or escalation of conflict. A current task of the chair is in analyzing existing conflicts and motivating ideas, debunk distortions and exaggerations, indicate potentials and possible partners for dialogue. That includes, next to scientific research, also – as far as possible – a participation in public debates and media coverage.

Valorization, Public Relevance

In cooperation with Dutch (partly also international) media and journalists especially since February 2022, a series of journalistic articles of explaining and orientational character has been published concerning Eastern Christian tradition, religion in Ukraine and beyond, and backgrounds of the alleged “war of ideas”. They appeared in newspapers and on websites such as Trouw, liberaalchristendom.nl, nieuwwij.nl, platform-oc.net and others.

Public lectures by invitation of, among others, the Radboud Reflects program at Radboud University Nijmegen, the NOSTER study group, the Rotary Clubs in Nijmegen and surroundings have added to these activities. Further invitations for 2023 in the Netherlands and Germany have arrived and will be followed up on.

Cooperation with public institutions, NGOs and think tanks, include working with Amnesty International, PAX Netherlands, more recently the REKA-network (Rusland-Europa-Kennis-Alliantie, together with the platform raamoprusland.nl), and the Clingendael-Institute Den Haag paved the way for functioning as an advisor, on questions of “value debates” or “religion and the war” for the named institutions, but also for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since 2019, lectures and written contributions were part of a cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Justice.