Orthodox Theologies of Divine Participation: Matta al-Miskīn and Dumitru Staniloae

Dr Wagdy Samir, AIOCS Director for Orthodox Studies, has won a grant from the Australian Research Theology Foundation Inc. (ARTFinc) for project “Orthodox Theologies of Divine Participation: Matta al-Miskīn and Dumitru Staniloae.”

The project will run for a whole year within the framework of AIOCS, and will include both academic and popular outputs.

Popular outcomes will include written and video materials made freely available via the website and social media platforms such as AIOCS’ Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Academic outcomes include one or more research articles on the contributions of two giants of modern Orthodox theology, Fathers Matta al-Miskīn (Coptic Orthodox) and Dumitru Staniloae (Romanian Orthodox). The comparative analysis will also include research by Associate Professor Doru Costache, AIOCS Founding Director. This cooperation derives naturally from the competence of the contributors. Samir is an expert in the thinking of Father Matta, with a relevant doctoral dissertation that recently earned him his second PhD, while Costache has published extensively on various aspects of Father Dumitru’s thinking.

AIOCS expresses its heartfelt gratitude to ARTFinc for supporting its mission. Indeed, this is not the first grant AIOCS receives from the Foundation, two other projects having benefited from its generous support (“John Chrysostom: Past, Present, Future” and “Reading Scripture in the Orthodox Church”).