Catholic-Orthodox Community Gathering: Gospel, Cosmos, and Theological Imagination
Program Title: Gospel, Cosmos, and Theological Imagination
Program Description: Across languages and geographical regions, early Christians employed interlocking concepts from the disciplines of meteorology, geography, music, mathematics, and astronomy in order to articulate the coherence of a fourfold Gospel, with itself and with the rest of the world. Thinkers from across the Christian tradition conceptualized a divinely ordained correspondence between fourfold Gospel and quadriform cosmos. This ancient bibliographic cosmology invites continued ecclesial reflection on the role of metaphor, imagination, and the physical cosmos in theological hermeneutics.
Sponsored by The Aquinas Center's Catholic-Orthodox Initiative.
Doors open at 6:30pm for Happy Hour. Dinner and the program will begin promptly at 7:00pm. Registration is required.
Catholic-Orthodox Initiative: In 2017, the Aquinas Center began a Catholic-Orthodox Initiative, thanks to an endowment by Solon and Marianna Patterson. This Initiative…
University Event Topic: Religion & Ethics. Department / Organization: Aquinas Center. Speaker/Presenter: Jeremiah Coogan is Associate Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. He is a historian of religion, textuality, and enslavement in the Roman Mediterranean, with a focus on the New Testament and early Christianity. He is author of the award-winning monograph Eusebius the Evangelist: Rewriting the Fourfold Gospel in Late Antiquity (Oxford 2023) and co-editor of Writing, Enslavement, and Power in the Roman Mediterranean, 100 BCE–300 CE… Cost: Free.
Thursday, October 15, 2026, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
Transfiguration Catholic Church
1815 Blackwell Road
Marietta, GA 30066.
Orando y Cantando la Alegria del Sẽnor with Santiago Fernández
En esta sesión, Santiago expondrá la importancia del canto en la Santa Misa y en nuestra jornada de fe, y hablará también de cómo se puede incorporar el canto a la oración personal. Nuestra vida en si es una oración y una alabanza al Señor, entonces juntos hablaremos de la importancia de vivir la verdadera alegría que viene de Dios, orando y cantando. El Papa Francisco nos dice: “No rezar es cerrar la puerta al Señor, para que no pueda hacer nada. En cambio, la oración es abrir la puerta al Señor para que venga.” Vengan a aprender, gozar, orar y cantar. ¡Juntos alegrémonos en el Señor!
Ubicación:
Cena: 6:30 - 7:30pm
Charla: 7:30 - 9:00pm.
University Event Topic: Theology. Department / Organization: Aquinas Center. Speaker/Presenter: Santiago Fernández es un conocido compositor, director de música litúrgica y ministro pastoral católico de origen hispano, radicado en Estados Unidos. Con más de 35 años de experiencia, ha publicado su música a través de OCP (Oregon Catholic Press), destacándose por sus cantos litúrgicos y bilingües utilizados en comunidades hispanas. Event Open To: All (Public). Cost: Free. Registration / R.S.V.P. link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ZomFSiR956jLIdmYyj63C0ghPVnhS2SpVVk6a9A1zdM/edit. Contact Name: Tina Guyden. Contact Email: tina.guyden@emory.edu.
Friday, October 23, 2026, 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
St. Patrick Catholic Church
2140 Beaver Ruin Road
Norcross, GA 30071.
Catholic-Orthodox Prayer Service: Christ Our Peace
This ecumenical gathering, is entitled CHRIST OUR PEACE: Welcoming the Prince of Peace Together, Healing Divisions, Christian Peacemaking, and Witnessing Together in Today's Society.
Sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta and the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The Aquinas Center's Catholic-Orthodox Initiative is sponsoring the reception that follows the prayer service. Catholic-Orthodox Initiative: In 2017, the Aquinas Center began a Catholic-Orthodox Initiative, thanks to an endowment by Solon and Marianna Patterson. This Initiative consists of a series of programs and events promoting greater understanding and cooperation between the Orthodox and Catholic churches. Programs and events focus on a greater understanding of the commonality of the Catholic and Orthodox traditions. This initiative’s programming includes an annual Orthodox lecture, and events that build community rooted in our shared history.
University Event Topic: Religion & Ethics. Department / Organization: Aquinas Center. Cost: Free.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM.
Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation
2500 Clairmont Road
Atlanta, GA 30329.
The Stranger and Strange Hope
The stranger is a figure of both fascination and terror. Often portrayed in religious traditions as someone sacred who must be welcomed, the stranger also is depicted as someone dangerous who must be guarded against, expelled, or even eradicated. Debates around immigration, race, and nationalism throw this ambivalence into stark relief, as co-religionists find themselves lined up on opposing sides. To reconcile these tensions, it is necessary to recognize the ambiguity inherent in the experience of otherness and offer a framework for navigating it. To that end, this lecture explores a Catholic comparative theology that centers the mystery of hope in the encounter with the stranger.
Lunch will be provided for those who register for the in-person program. Please email aquinasemory@gmail.com with any dietary restrictions. Recommended Parking: Peavine Visitor's Lot, 27 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA 30322.
University Event Topic: Theology. Department / Organization: Aquinas Center. Speaker/Presenter: Tracy Sayuki Tiemeier is Professor of Theological Studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. She specializes in comparative theology, interreligious dialogue, Asian/Asian American theology, and Hindu-Christian Studies, with a focus on gender, race, and liberation. Event Open To: All (Public). Cost: Free. Contact Name: Tina Guyden. Contact Email: tina.guyden@emory.edu.
Thursday, November 12, 2026, 12:00 PM – 1:30 PM.
Candler School of Theology
Room 102
1531 Dickey Drive
Atlanta, GA 303322.