Sophia Institute: International Center for Orthodox Thought & Culture

The Sophia Institute, International Center for Orthodox Thought & Culture, is located at Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary, in the City of New York. It is an Advanced Research Association and Philanthropic Foundation that focuses on the historical culture and ethical outreach of Orthodox Christianity. It is an independent foundation that functions in association with a number of university partners and collaborators, notably: The Harriman Institute (Columbia University), The Center for Early Christian Studies (Catholic University of Australia), The School of Early Christian and Eastern-Christian Affairs (Louvain University), The Institute of Ecumenical Studies (Lviv University, Ukraine), and The School of Social Ethics, Leeds Metropolitan University. The primary aims of the Sophia Institute are to encourage the study of the Eastern Christian Tradition – its history, thought, liturgical, artistic and spiritual cultures, as well as issues concerned with its ecumenical and socio-ethical engagement with the contemporary world. Its founder and President is Father John McGuckin.

The Sophia Institute organizes annual conferences and publishes conference proceedings. The Sixth Annual Conference, titled "Healing, Reconciliation and Forgiveness in Eastern Orthodox Perspectives," will be held on December 5, 2014.

The Sophia Institute aims to encourage the study of the Eastern Christian Tradition - its history, thought, liturgical and spiritual cultures - as well as issues of its ecumenical and social - ethical engagement with the contemporary world.

Annual Conference Publications

The academic papers of the annual conference are published under the Institute's imprint, Theotokos Press, under the series title, "Sophia Studies in Orthodox Theology."

• Women in the Orthodox Church: Past Roles, Future Paradigms. Sophia Studies in Orthodox Theology, Vol. 1. Edited by J M Lasser. Theotokos Press. New York. 2009
• Philanthropy and Social Compassion in Eastern Orthodox Tradition. Sophia Studies in Orthodox Theology, Vol. 2. Edited by M J Pereira. Theotokos Press. New York. 2010
• Power and Authority in Eastern Christian Experience. Sophia Studies in Orthodox Theology, Vol.3. Edited by F K Soumakis. Theotokos Press. New York. 2011
• Beauty and The Beautiful in Modern Orthodox Culture. Sophia Studies in Orthodox Theology, Vol. 4. Edited by Natalia Ermolaeva. Theotokos Press. New York. 2012