AHOS 2026 OAS Summer Symposium — Opening Remarks | Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Fadi Rabbat

Opening Remarks by Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Fadi Rabbat, Academic Dean of the Antiochian House of Studies, at the Ninth Summer Symposium of the Orthodox Academic Society. Theme: "Faith and Reason in the Patristic Mind — From Creed to Controversy: The Fathers' Intellectual Defense Against Heresies" Saturday, 30 May 2026 · Via Zoom In this opening address, Fr. Fadi Rabbat reflects on why such a symposium matters at all. Theology in the Orthodox Church, he reminds us, can never be reduced to detached analysis: it arises from revelation, matures in worship, is tested in ascetic life, and is entrusted to the Church as a living confession. Faith and reason, he insists, are not natural enemies. Reason is a God-given faculty that finds its fulfillment when illumined by revelation and purified by grace. The Fathers "did not defend orthodoxy by rejecting thought — they defended orthodoxy by disciplining thought." Pointing to learned saints such as Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, John Chrysostom, and St. Luke of Simferopol, Fr. Rabbat shows that the Church never feared learning, only the pride that mistakes learning for salvation — for clarity can be an act of charity, and careful theological language a protection for the faithful. — — — 📖 Read the full symposium report: https://ahos.edu/orthodox-academic-so... 🌐 OAS Website OAS.AHOS.edu 🌐 Antiochian House of Studies AHOS.edu — — — CHAPTERS Introduction Why theology is more than analysis Faith and reason are not enemies "Disciplining thought," not rejecting it The learned saints of the Church From Creed to Controversy A word to the students #OrthodoxChristianity #AntiochianHouseofStudies #PatristicTheology #ChurchFathers #FaithAndReason #OrthodoxTheology