On July 5, IES launched the first online Ecumenical School for Dialogue “Religious, Social and Geopolitical Dimensions” to study the ecumenical, religious, sociological and geopolitical processes happening in Ukraine and around under the guidance of some of the best experts and professors. The school united 34 participants coming from different countries: Ukraine, Poland, Check republic, Latvia, Austria, Slovakia, Tashkent, Hungary, Italy, Kenya, USA and Canada. The Open ceremony was in the day when the Western Church commemorates two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius, famous for their work evangelizing the Slavs.

At the Opening Ceremony the Most Reverend Borys Gudziak, Archeparch of Philadelphia for Ukrainians and Metropolitan for the Ukrainian Catholic Church in USA, the Founder and the President of the Ukrainian Catholic University in his Greeting Word to the ESD’s participants underlined that UCU is the place of many different encounters, where people are full of life and joy. His excellency called to get to know each other, to exchange the gifts of each other countries, cultures and to bring our Churches closer together. The school’s participants were greeted by Fr. Dr. Bohdan Prach, the Rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, Dr. Eva Baillie, she works at the department of international affairs and global justice in the diocese of Mainz, the main ESD’s sponsor, Fr. Dr. Iwan Dacko, the President of the IES, the member of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue Between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, Dr. Pavlo Smytsnyuk, the Director of the Institute of Ecumenical Studies.

The first introductory lecture has been presented by a vice-rector of the Ukrainian Catholic University, social activist, co-founder of Amnesty International Ukraine, and a founding member of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group, professor Myroslav Marynovych. In his lecture under the title “Christian Response to the Problem of Post-Truth and Its Ecumenical Dimension” he raised the problem of manipulation of the truth in different contexts. Prof. Marynovych underlined that meetings with others and a dialogue is a useful instrument to find the truth, which is always something bigger than any ideology.

Ecumenical School for Dialogue will last for two weeks. The program of the school is here