St. Phoebe Center at IOTA

The St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess recently participated in the International Orthodox Theological Association’s (IOTA) second mega conference in Volos, Greece, January 11-15.

Above: St. Phoebe Center Board Members l to r: Susan Smoley, Kristina Baktis, Carrie Frederick Frost, Ann Marie Mecera, Gust Mecera, Teva Regule and Helen Theodoropoulos.

The event, co-hosted by the Metropolis of Demetrias and the Volos Academy for Theological Studies, attracted over 400 participants from 45 countries, and was the largest gathering of Orthodox scholars in modern times, surpassing the first mega-conference held in 2019 in Iaşi, Romania.

IOTA’s mission is to gather scholars of Orthodoxy from around the world together to build up the body of Christ with their work, which dovetails well with the mission of the St. Phoebe Center to advocate for the revival of the ordained female diaconate in the Orthodox Church to meet the ministerial needs of the Church and the world today.

Above: The International Orthodox Theological Association’s (IOTA) second mega conference held in Volos, Greece attracted over 400 participants from 45 countries, and was the largest gathering of Orthodox scholars in modern times.

Seven of the eight St. Phoebe Board members attended IOTA: Founding Chair Mrs. Ann Marie Mecera, Secretary and Chair Elect Dr. Carrie Frederick Frost, Treasurer Mr. Gust Mecera, Secretary Elect Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos, Dr. Teva Regule, Ms. Kristina Baktis, and Ms. Susan Smoley. These board members enjoyed fellowship at breakfast and dinner and throughout the conference, all agreeing that being together in person was invigorating and inspiring for the work ahead. Not present, but missed, was board member Ms. Sara Tsugranis. Also present at the conference were St. Phoebe Center Advisory Board member Deacon Perry Hamalis and former St. Phoebe Center board member Ms. Rachel Contos.

The St. Phoebe Center sponsored a coffee at IOTA during which board members handed out materials including very popular stickers with an image of St. Phoebe herself on St. Phoebe Center’s logo and a sticker with the names of beloved deaconess saints of the Orthodox Church. Many IOTA attendees expressed enthusiasm and support for the mission of the St. Phoebe Center and signed up for the St. Phoebe Center’s newsletter and joined the Network.

Above: Informational postcards, icon cards, pins, bookmarks and stickers were distributed at the coffee sponsored by the St. Phoebe Center.

Founding Chair Mrs. Ann Marie Mecera presented on the mission and vision of the St. Phoebe Center during the IOTA Co-laborers session, a time in which organizations affiliated with IOTA were able to share their stories.

Above: Ann Marie Mecera represented the St. Phoebe Center, one of the co-laborer organizations of IOTA, by giving a brief presentation on the work of the Center.

The St. Phoebe Center also co-sponsored two scholarly paper sessions at IOTA. Along with IOTA’s Women and the Orthodox Church group, the St. Phoebe Center sponsored Women and the Mission of the Orthodox Church: Thirty-Five Years after Rhodes, which included four papers reflecting on the legacy of the 1988 Rhodes Consultation that urged the Orthodox Church to ordain deaconesses once again:

  • Chair: Dr. Carrie Frederick Frost (USA)
  • Dr. Luis Sales (USA): “Maximos the Confessor Was Not a Feminist: A New Interpretation of Ambiguum 41 as an Instance of Orthodox Androprimacy”
  • Dr. Teva Regule (USA): “The Reception of Rhodes: The Female Diaconate”
  • Ms. Zipporah W. Mwaura (Kenya): “Women in the African Orthodox Mission: Challenges, Achievements, Opportunities”
  • Dr. Patricia Fann Bouteneff (USA): “Roles of Women in the Church: Rhodes 1988 and the Scene Today”

Above: Presenters at the session Women and the Mission of the Orthodox Church: Thirty-Five Years after Rhodes.

Along with IOTA’s Orthodoxy, Politics and International Relations Group, St. Phoebe Center sponsored a roundtable discussion on The Status of Deaconesses in Worldwide Orthodoxy which included four panelists:

  • Chair: Dr. Teva Regule (USA)
  • Ms. Zipporah Mwaura (Kenya)
  • Dr. Helen Theodoropoulos (USA)
  • Dr. Spyridoula Denia Athanasapoulou-Kypriou (GR)
  • Dr. Elizabeth Prodromou (USA)

Above: Participants in the roundtable The Status of Deaconesses in Worldwide Orthodoxy.

During the sponsored coffee and between sessions, conversation flowed freely among conference participants about the importance of reinstituting the ordained order of deaconess in the Orthodox Church today. Although much of the work of the St. Phoebe Center takes place in the United States, the international interest and need for deaconesses around the Orthodox world today was clearly and enthusiastically championed by many at IOTA. The St. Phoebe Center board came home freshly committed to our mission, hopefully looking to the future of the Orthodox Church in which deaconesses are ordained once again.