Conference Programme

All keynotes, discussions and paper presentations in Joensuu take place at the auditiorion AG 100 (Agora building).

Abstracts of the papers can be found here.

Wedesday 2 September, 2026

  • Arrivals and registration. Registration starts at 12.00 at the lobby of Agora building.
  • 13.00 Opening of the conference and greetings
  • 13.30 Keynote 1: H.G. Bishop of Synada, Dr. Anthony Vrame. 20 Years Later: Old Challenges, New Opportunities
  • 14. 45 Coffee break
  • 15.15 Paper session 1
    • Stavros Fotiou: Living Tradition and Dialogical Minorities (TEAMS)
    • Magdalena Legkostup: Orthodox Religious Education in Majority and Minority Contexts: Comparing Bulgaria and Finland towards a Dialogical Model of Identity (TEAMS)
  • 16.15 Paper session 2
    • Elisa Balčin: Minority teachers in the school community – a study of Orthodox religion teachers
    • Marina Kiroudi: That’s me’: Identity Markers in Glocal Contexts and Orthodox Religious Educational Spaces
  • 17.30 Paper session 3
    • Shtelyan Dimov: The Role an impact of Religious Education in Bulgaria
    • Maria Chaita:Tradition and Empowerment: Roma Women in Religious Education (TEAMS)
  • 18.30 Closing of the first day
  • 19.30 Dinner (at own expence)

Thursday 3 September, 2026

  • 9.15 Keynote 2: Professor Arniika Kuusisto (University of Helsinki). Minority Religious Socialization and Sustainable Existential Well-Being in Superdiverse Global Context: Pathways to Resilience
  • 10.45  Paper session 4
    • Nikolaos Tsirevelos: Intercultural communication and Christian witness: The path towards democratic culture and the acceptance of minorities in education (TEAMS)
    • Evangelos Pepes: Minorities as a Lens for Rethinking Orthodox Religious Education in Religiously Plural Contexts (TEAMS)
  • 11.45 Coffee Break
  • 12.15 Paper session 5
    • Madara Mickevica: Spiritual Care for Non-Religious Minorities in a Christian-Majority Context: Christian Chaplains in Latvian Clinical Settings
    • Teemu Toivonen & Pekka Metso: What is catechumen teaching for?  Teachers’ and priests’ perspectives on the purpose of catechumen activities
  • 13.15 Panel discussion of RE among minorities
  • 14.15 Lunch
  • 15.00 Keynote 3: Dr. Yauheniya Danilovich (University of Vienna). Negotiating Tradition: Rethinking Orthodox Religious Education in the Diaspora through the Perspectives of Children and Adolescents
  • 16.15 Paper session 6
    • Evangelia Karakostantaki & Kyriakos Stavrianos: The Greek Religious Education Curriculum and the Challenge of Religious Diversity in Primary Schools (TEAMS)
    • Niki Papageorgiou: Ethics as an Alternative to Religious Education in Greece: The Challenge of Religious Pluralism
    • O.L. Yanushkyavichene & E.R. Kupriyanova: Motivation for Learning on Educational Platforms and Orthodox Conceptions of Humanity
  • 17.30 Closing of second day
  • 18.00 Visit to Church of St. John Theologian (Orthodox seminary church) and closing of the second day
  • 19.30 Dinner (at own expence)

Friday 4 September, 2026

  • 9.00 Departure to excursion to Lintula convent and Valamo monastery
  • 10.00 Arrival at Lintula convent and meeting with igumenia Ksenia
  • 11.30 Departure for Valamo monastery
  • 12.00 Meeting with igumen Mikael and a tour at the monastery
  • 13.00 Lunch and free time
  • 14.30 Visit to Valamo lay Academy
  • 15.00 Paper session 7
    • Elena Pugacheva: What Cannot Be Automated: Saint Nektarios of Aegina, Artificial Intelligence, and the Pedagogy of the Heart in Orthodox Religious Education
    • Vasiliki Mitropoulou: Bridging Tradition and Algorithms: Attitudes of Theology Students at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) towards AI Integration in Religious Education
  • 16.00 OCREA´s Administrative meeting – what next?
  • 17.15 Return to Joensuu (arrival to Joensuu approximately 18.00)
  • 19.30 Conference dinner (at own expence)

Saturday 5 September, 2026

Departures