Broadening the Horizons of Metropolitan John Zizioulas’s Theology
International Conference on the Thought and Legacy of Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon
Monastery of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos, Hildesheim, Germany
October 15–18, 2026
Message of His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Announcement · Participants and Program
To the President and Members of the Governing Board of the John Zizioulas Foundation: Grace be with you and peace from God.
With sentiments of paternal joy and deep satisfaction, we extend our heartfelt greetings to all the participants in the International Conference organized by the John Zizioulas Foundation in Hildesheim, Germany, from 15 to 18 October 2026, under the title “Broadening the Horizons of Metropolitan John Zizioulas’s Theology”.
As is evident from its thematic scope, the present Conference aims not merely to highlight the original theological and ecclesiological principles of the late Metropolitan of Pergamon, but above all to broaden the horizons of his theological contribution. This indicates that his theology was not reducible to a scholastic systematization of theological positions, nor was it confined within a closed ideological framework. Rather, it was, first and foremost, a creative theology, engaged in dialogue with the fundamental existential concerns of the human person. With profound insight, Metropolitan John grappled with the themes of death, freedom, love, human dignity, and the ecological crisis, as well as with contemporary philosophical thought.
As a theologian, he embodied the theological model described by his teacher, Father Georges Florovsky, combining spiritual vision with a wide-ranging Orthodox theological culture, both grounded in the liturgical life and experience of the Church. His work thus contributed to the recovery of Orthodox theological culture, setting forth an incomparable theological vision of the highest relevance to contemporary humanity. Such, indeed, was the pattern bequeathed to us by the late Hierarch, who for many years served as a most valued theological adviser of our Modesty.
In an era when horizons are more often narrowed than broadened, we are heartened to learn of this auspicious Conference and its purpose. The late Metropolitan often expressed his concern at the threat of a narrowing of perspective in modern Orthodoxy, a tendency that typically manifests itself in a theology of mere repetition. Yet this kind of neo-Pharisaism has no place in the life-giving theological culture of Orthodoxy, which must always be fearlessly, boldly, and lovingly open to dialogue and engagement with the other. We must face the world and its challenges with the indestructible message of Christ’s victory and with the Eucharistic spirit of offering “on behalf of all and for all”. If the Church is to continue this mission effectively in our spiritually parched and exhausted world, she must draw continually upon the inexhaustible wellspring of her theological inheritance and bear fresh witness to it. We cannot allow this inheritance, entrusted to our care, to grow stagnant and thus ineffectual. Our theology must vivify, not stultify. In this regard, the ever-memorable Metropolitan John was an exemplary labourer in the whole Vineyard of Christ. Following our Lord’s injunction, we must earnestly pray for and seek to raise up more labourers like our beloved Brother and fellow Hierarch, for the abundant harvest that is set before us in our time.
From the Sacred Centre of Orthodoxy at the Phanar, in the Queen of Cities, we bestow upon the organizers and the distinguished speakers of the Conference our Patriarchal blessing and offer our paternal prayers, expressing the hope that the Conference may bear rich theological fruit and contribute to the further creative appropriation and development of the precious theological legacy of the late Metropolitan John of Pergamon. Upon all of you we invoke the grace and infinite mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ.
At the Ecumenical Patriarchate, 13 October 2026
Your fervent supplicant before God,
† Bartholomew
Archbishop of Constantinople–New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch