Tapahtumat
Suomen patristisen seuran vuosittainen päätapahtuma on Helsingissä järjestettävä Symposium Patristicum Fennicum, jossa kuullaan sekä kotimaisten että ulkomaisten tutkijoiden esitelmiä. Vuonna 2026 symposiumin korvaa Helsingin yliopistossa 20.–22. elokuuta järjestettävä kiertävä yhteispohjoismainen tutkimuskonferenssi 12th Nordic Patristic Meeting: Prayer in Late Antiquity. Edellisen kerran Aarhusissa Tanskassa järjestetty konferenssi tulee ensimmäistä kertaa Suomeen, ja Suomen patristinen seura toimii sen pääjärjestäjänä. Tapahtuma on kaikille avoin, mutta maksullinen. Tarkempia päivittyviä tietoja ja alustavan konferenssiaikataulun löydät oheisen linkin takaa:https://blogs.helsinki.fi/npm2026helsinki/
PRAYER IN LATE ANTIQUITY
12th Nordic Patristics Meeting
20–22 August 2026, University of Helsinki (Finland)
Finnish Patristic Society acts as a main organizer in the 12th Nordic Patristics Meeting on “Prayer in Late Antiquity”, which will be held 20-22 August 2026 at the University of Helsinki (Finland). The meeting aims to explore the theme of prayer in late antiquity, both as a religious practice, the subject and medium of theological thought, and a socio-religious identity marker. Conference website: NPM2026 – 12th Nordic Patristics Meeting in Helsinki
Registration
Registration for the conference is now open and can be completed here.
Please register by 13 July 2026.
The registration process consists of two steps. First, please complete the Google Forms registration available through the link above. After submitting the form, you will receive an invoice by email. Your registration will be confirmed only after the conference fee has been received.
The conference fee is €80.
Please note that meals are not included in the conference programme. However, light refreshments and coffee will be provided during scheduled breaks. Participants are kindly asked to arrange their own lunches and dinners, and a variety of cafés and restaurants can be found within walking distance of the conference venue.
Schedule
Thursday, 20 August 2026
Theologies of Prayer
9.00–9.15 Opening words
9.15–10.15 Keynote 1
Anni Maria Laato
“Christ Prescribed a New Form of Prayer for the New Disciples of the New Covenant” (Tert. Or. 1.1) — Prayer Defining the Christian Community
10.15–10.35 Coffee break
10.35–11.35 Session 1 — Scriptural, liturgical, and comparative foundations
11.35–12.35 Session 2 — Origen and the formation of prayer
12.35–13.45 Lunch
13.45–14.45 Keynote 2
Harald Buchinger
Towards a Taxonomy of Prayer
14.45–16.05 Session 3 — Augustine and doctrinal reflection
(4 papers)
16.05–16.25 Coffee break
16.25–17.45 Session 4 — Philosophical and apophatic theologies of prayer
(4 papers)
18.15 Reception at the Faculty of Theology
Friday, 21 August 2026
Theologies of Prayer
9.00–10.00 Keynote 3
Maria Munkholt Christensen
Beyond Words? Prayer as Practice in Late Antiquity
10.00–11.00 Session 5 — Virtue, contemplation, and visuality
11.00–11.20 Coffee break
Practices of Prayer
11.20–12.40 Session 6 — Embodied, gendered, and biographical practices
(4 papers)
12.40–13.50 Lunch
13.50–14.50 Keynote 4
Bishop Damaskinos (Olkinuora) of Haapsalu
Prayer in Joyful Sorrow According to Greek Patristic Thought
14.50–15.50 Session 7 — Ritual experience and ascetic efficacy
15.50–16.10 Coffee break
16.10–17.10 Session 8 — Prayer, memory, and communal identity
Saturday, 22 August 2026
Prayer in Practice
9.00–10.00 Keynote 5
Barbara Crostini
Joyous Prayer: Interweaving Chaire and Chara in the House of Assembly
10.00–10.20 Coffee break
10.20–11.40 Session 9 — Prayer in communal, contested, and social contexts
(4 papers)
11.40–11.55 Closing words
12.00 Lunch / departures
The programme committee for the 12th Nordic Patristics Meeting:
Harri Huovinen (University of Eastern Finland), Tomi Ferm (University of Helsinki), Ella Sahivirta (University of Helsinki), Panagiotis Pavlos (University of Oslo), Katarina Pålsson (Lund University), Florian Wöller (University of Copenhagen), Joel Waris (University of Helsinki)
More information will be updated on the conference website: NPM2026 – 12th Nordic Patristics Meeting in Helsinki
Image: Glass medallion, Rome, 4th c. CE, Landesmuseum Württemberg, Stuttgart, Photo: H. Zwietasch (CC-BY-SA)
8. Ortodoksisuuden tutkijana -symposiumi
Seuraava Ortodoksisuuden tutkijana -symposiumi järjestetään Itä-Suomen yliopistolla 19.–20.11.2026 yhteistyössä Itä-Suomen yliopiston teologian osaston kanssa. Tapahtuma on kaikille avoin ja maksuton. Osallistuminen on mahdollista myös etäyhteyksin.