Ecclesiological Investigations Unit
The EI Unit invites papers on the topic of "The Ecclesial Work of Unacknowledged Hands." We would welcome papers that discuss how many whose labor contributes to the life of the church often go unknown, unappreciated or underappreciated, and unacknowledged. We would hope for papers that discuss the relations between centers and peripheries in the churches; papers that address the contributions of women, indigenous peoples, young people, historically marginalized communities, LGBTQ+ persons, and non-elites/non-experts to the life of the church; and papers that address broadly how the work of church building, so often assumed to be dependent upon the work of its leaders, is more often a creative bricolage that is the work of many hands, using many different means at hand.
We also are planning a pre-arranged session on the academic and ecclesiological legacy of +Kallistos Ware (1935-2022). This session will be co-sponsored by the Eastern Orthodox Studies Unit and the Christian Systematic Theology Unit.
This Unit is a part of the Ecclesiological Investigations International Research Network, which seeks to serve as a hub for national and international collaboration in ecclesiology, drawing together other groups and networks, initiating research ventures, providing administrative support, as well as acting as a facilitator to support conversations, research, and education in this field. Hence the Network exists to promote collaborative ecclesiology. The Network’s five fundamental aims are as follows: • The establishment of partnerships between scholars, research projects, and research centers across the world • The development of virtual, textual, and actual conversation between the many persons and groups involved in research and debate about ecclesiology • Organizing and sharing in colloquia, symposia, and conferences • Encouraging joint teaching and exchanges of postgraduate students and faculty • The Unit seeks to publish the best fruits of all such collaboration in our new Palgrave Series, Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue, as well as in the journal Ecclesiology (Brill), published in association with the Network. The Network is a “network of networks” serving a “church of churches.” See http://www.ei-research.net/ for more information.